Did you find the black dot in the image above? Well, there are no black dots in the image. What you saw is an optical illusion. The image had tricked your brain into seeing something that was different.
Optical illusions have become a popular way to trick and fascinate others. Take this next image. You should see a background with a gradient and a line in the middle with another gradient. However, the line is entirely the same color. Only the background is a gradient.
You may wonder why these optical illusions work. While there isn’t a single, main conclusion to these optical illusions, scientists have proposed different ideas for many illusions. The illusion above could be a result from our ancestors. We used to need to be able to detect deadly predators, so, our brain makes the unidentified object more distinct to the background so we could easily detect it. This means we see a brighter color in the darker area and a darker color in the lighter area.
This next illusion makes it look like tile A and B are different colors. However, they are the same colors. Similar to the last illusion, the shadow creates a darker area. Thanks to our ancestors, it makes the tiles more distinct compared to the area.
The next illusion involves a video. Stare at the center, and in a few seconds, you should see a green dot in the gap.
This next video takes a look at the portal illusion. Check it out!
Some illusions unfortunately don’t have a reason why they work. We do understand that somewhere between when our eyes look at the image and our brain processes it, our perception somehow gets changed.
Here’s a final illusion. The shapes make it look like the image is warping in waves. Can you figure out why it works?
RELATED STORIES:
https://neuroscienceresearch.wustl.edu/how-your-mind-plays-tricks-on-you/
https://mcgovern.mit.edu/2022/05/13/use-your-illusion/
https://science.howstuffworks.com/optical-illusions.htm
TAKE ACTION:
- Draw your own optical illusions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_puljgpWssI
- Learn magic! Deceive people’s eyes: https://www.alanhudson.net/article/how-do-i-start-learning-magic/#:~:text=One%20great%20place%20to%20start,card%2C%20any%20card’%20routine.
