Here are two more TED Talks on perception. It is pity the quality of the video in the first one is a little blurred:-
https://www.ted.com/talks/al_seckel_...wired#t-571278
And here is another which is fairly mind blowing:-
https://www.ted.com/talks/donald_hof...t_is#t-1264332
In flying such illusions do occur, usually when only limited visual information is available but also when we have very strong expectations of what we want to see - not unlike what may have happened on your early map reading exercises when you erroneously fitted what you saw to what you hoped to see from the map.
These things do happen, even to experienced pilots, which is why we should always back up our visual flying with as many radio aids as possible.
BUT, sometimes, despite this, we can find ourselves overwhelmed by the power of the illusion.