Why are angles misperceived?

Although it has long been apparent that observers tend to overestimate the magnitude of acute angles and underestimate obtuse ones, there is no consen sus about why such distortions are seen. Geometrical modeling combined with psychophysical testing of human subjects indicates that these misperceptio ns are the result of an empirical strategy that resolves the inherent ambig uity of angular stimuli by generating percepts of the past significance of the stimulus rather than the geometry of its retinal projection.