ManBabies

The text discusses how even as newborns we quickly develop an ability to distinguish between faces (e.g. mother and stranger) and a preference for faces in general, and familiar faces in particular. It is unclear whether we have a "face detection" mechanism in place when we are born or if we simply quickly develop neurons that specialize in this unique type of "object recognition."

Size constancy is similar to color-constancy and light-constancy and has to do with our ability to recognize that what changes is more than likely depth and viewing angle rather than the object itself. We still assume the car is the same size as a normal car and is simply getting closer rather than growing.

There are features of a baby's face, namely smooth skin, big eyes, smooth bald head, etc., that cue us in to seeing the face as a baby face. Similarly for an adult, facial hair, rough, blotchy, scarred skin, glasses, full head of hair, which do the same thing.

Since a baby's head is supposed to be smaller there is a tendency for us to assume that the baby's face is closer than the man's, yet his arms holding the babies body betray's this interpretation. When I look at the picture it seems like the man face is looking behind the baby face at something off camera.

As your eyes scan the picture you can almost feel yourself modifying your interpretation. Start with the man's face and see it as further, trace down the hands which should be smaller since they are holding the baby's body back into the picture like he is throwing the baby over his shoulder. Then you see the baby face and it's the same size as the hands but should be much bigger since it should be closer... All of this is what causes the pictures to just look crazy. It's like visual comedy.