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Lifestyle

Gabija Palšytė

80 Photos That Make Your Brain And Your Eyes Fight About What’s Actually In Them

Brain

We’ve all had moments when an image made us do multiple double-takes. It’s as if our brains were playing a rude prank, making us question reality as we know it.

It’s the kind of photo you would see on the Confusing Perspective subreddit. If the name isn’t much of a giveaway, this online community features images likely to deceive anyone for the first few moments. And no, none of them have been manipulated.

Here are some photos from the page to give you a mind-bending experience today. Don’t forget to upvote those that left you with the most questions.

#1 Resting On A Motorbike

#2 Showing Off My? Ring

#3 Skaterina ?

Most of us may call these optical illusions, but some experts may disagree to an extent. NYU psychology and data science professor Pascal Wallisch, for one, differentiates optical illusions from visual illusions.

In his explanation, Pascal writes that the former involves light’s interaction with matter, creating a reality-distorting perception. Meanwhile, the latter involves the brain’s visual system making educated guesses.

#4 The White Lines Are Camels And The Black Are Their Shadows

#5 These Guys Are Not Holding Hands

#6 This Mountain Looks Like An Explosion

For example, Wallisch described the pencil-in-a-glass-of-water trick, where it may look bent when submerged.

“The pencil is not actually bent – it is perfectly straight, but immersing it in water (which is an optically denser medium than air) gives the appearance of a kink,” he stated.

#7 The Angle Of The Reflections Is Making My Brain Hurt

#8 Cat Is Taking A Selfie

#9 Thought The Driver Of This Car Was Just Staring Me Down For No Reason

Regarding visual illusions, Wallisch says it is more physiological than physical. Since vision is about gathering information to guide action, our brains connect the dots to make what we see easier to understand.

In his example, Wallisch used the Scintillating Starburst image, which appears to show rays of light emanating from the center. In reality, the streaks tend to appear because of the gray background behind the black image.

#10 Gaming With The Dawgs

#11 The Lady And Her Little Man

#12 My Friend Feeding An Antelope

One of the most infamous illusions in recent years is “the dress.” The image went viral in 2015, prompting people worldwide to debate whether it was gold, white, black, or blue.

According to Live Science, people who thought the dress was photographed in daylight or shadow saw it as gold and white. Meanwhile, those who thought it was photographed in artificial light saw a blue-and-black dress.

#13 The Glass Reflection On Top Of The Örebro Water Tower Looks Like A UFO Is Approaching

#14 Took Me A Solid Sec

#15 Cryptid Spotted!

Wallisch made a strong analogy in his piece when he said perception works like auto-correct. It isn’t always accurate, but it tries to reach an acceptable enough conclusion to keep the conversation going.

“Your perceptions are the end product of many cognitive processing steps. They might or might not correspond to objective reality, so one might not necessarily want to take them at face value,” he stated.