Joseph Jastrow

Joseph Jastrow (January 30, 1863 – January 8, 1944) was a Polish-born American psychologist notorious for inventions in experimental psychology, design of experiments, and psychophysics. He also worked on the phenomena of optical illusions, and a number of well-known optical illusions (notably the Jastrow illusion) that were either first reported in or popularized by his work. Jastrow believed that everyone had their own, often incorrect, preconceptions about psychology. One of his ultimate goals was to use the scientific method to identify truth from error, and educate the layperson, which Jastrow accomplished through speaking tours, popular print media, and the radio.