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"Caustics ([wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caustic_%28optics%29) are luminous patterns which are resulting from the superposition of smoothly deviated light rays. It is for instance the heart-shaped pattern in your cup of coffee which is formed as the rays of the sun are reflected on the cup's surface. It is also the wiggly pattern of light curves that you will see on the floor of a pool as the sun's light is *refracted* at the surface of the water. Here, we simulate that particular physical phenomenon. Simply because they are mesmerizingly beautiful, but also as it is of interest in visual neuroscience. Indeed, it speaks to how images are formed (more on this later), hence how the brain may understand images. \n",
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"In this post, I will develop a simple formalism to generate such patterns, with the paradoxical result that it is *very* simple to code yet generates patterns with great complexity, such as: \n",
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