He is known for his research on evolutionary origins of biological and cognitive design, including the "Perceiving the present" hypothesis to understand optical illusions, the "Nature-Harnessing" theory for the origins of writing, speech and music, the skin-signaling hypothesis for the origins of primate red-green vision, and the rain-tread hypothesis for pruney fingers.
[1] He graduated from the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia.
[1] Changizi says that visual illusions are due to a neural lag which most humans experience while awake.
When light hits the retina, about one-tenth of a second goes by before the brain translates the signal into a visual perception of the world.
Changizi asserts that the human visual system has evolved to compensate for neural delays by generating images of what will occur one-tenth of a second into the future.