DUBAI: This is going to send you mad, because what you are looking at and what you see are probably two completely different things.
It is such a stunning piece of trickery to the eyes that it has been shared thousands times on social media, with people amazed by the truth.
So what is all the fuss? The illusion, named “Cafe Wall Illusion,” might give the impression to some that the horizontal bars are bent and at an angle.
It is such a baffling puzzle, that even its creator, Victoria Skye, admitted she is still tricked by it.
“Thanks for checking out my Illusion. I created it and it still fools me,” she tweeted.
Thanks for checking out my Illusion. I created it and it still fools me. https://t.co/SOvQsupIw2
— Victoria Skye (@victoria1skye) August 8, 2017
So what is all the fuss? What are we meant to see and how is it possible?
Twitter user @ckozielec explains how you can change what you see on the illusion.
If looking on phone, tilt phone and look down the image from the side to see parallels
— ck (@ckozielec) August 7, 2017
Good job they jumped in to help, because it was making @suchChrisDavies’ eyes go mad.
Literal gasp here, when tilting the phone to the side! Thanks for the suggestion. Irrationally angry with my brain for lying to me like this
— Chris Davies (@suchChrisDavies) August 7, 2017
And according to Sanjiv Sethi – aka @EyeManSonny — this is where the inspiration for the illusion came from.
And here's the original that inspired it - a #cafe in #Bristol #cafewallillusion #opticalillusion pic.twitter.com/BHxm0AlaH5
— Sanjiv Sethi (@EyeManSonny) August 8, 2017
Skye explained: “In my version of the famous Cafe-Wall illusion, I have mixed together both the original Café-Wall illusion that was made famous by Richard Gregory — and which showcases the brickwork laid on the wall of a cafe in Bristol, England — with the work of Akiyoshi Kitaoka, who has developed a number of different versions using the same underlying effect.”
And she went on to explain why this amazing piece of trickery actually works: “The scientists say that the reason the illusion exists has to do with how the white and black edges interact in opposite directions along the straight edge, tricking the brain into thinking there is a slant in the line.”
