If instead of layers of warm/cold air there were giant glass lenses hovering over the ocean, the mirage wouldn’t be mysterious.
I think they were attempting a joke. Hot-road mirage is a common thing that most people that were in a car trip during summer have seen, same principles.
I’m aware it was a joke :) But I think the confusion was sincere; the explanation in the article is lacking if you don’t have a clear picture to begin with.
I’d find giant lenses hovering over the ocean to be pretty mysterious.
Ah, so there's a man on an island bobbing fake ships on his massive attenae. It's like the myth of the Sirens but instead of ladies saying, "come heeeeere" it's a dude saying, "look a shiiiip".