The Constructive Aspect of Visual Perception: A Gestalt Field Theory Principle of Visual Reification Suggests a Phase Conjugate Mirror Principle of Perceptual Computation

Many Gestalt illusions reveal a constructive aspect of perceptual processing where the experience contains more explicit spatial information than the visual stimulus on which it is based. The experience of Gestalt illusions often appears as volumetric spatial structures bounded by continuous colored surfaces embedded in a volumetric space. This suggests a field theory principle of visual representation and computation in the brain. A two-dimensional reverse grassfire algorithm, and a three-dimensional reverse shock scaffold algorithm are presented as examples of parallel spatial algorithms that address the inverse optics problem The phenomenon of phase conjugate mirrors is invoked as a possible mechanism.