When false eyes are eyes ...
This expression may hint to the infamous two-headed dragon or the rules issue moonshine life.
Many people seem to use this expression with the following position in mind:
The circled points are eyes. The point marked a is a connection rather than an eye. Black can play there without altering his life and death status, which is not true of either of his eyes. (Black would lose a point, in Japanese counting).
It is true that White cannot play at a, ever, which makes this point resemble a single point eye?. It is also true that if Black occupied one of the squared spots, the point a would also be an eye.
Yet, the point a should not be thought of as a false eye or a real eye but as a connection.
WME'd to completely rewritten at 24-01-2004/. Previous version --Dieter