And this picture is a real case in point.
Advertisement
Interestingly, when someone took the original image and lightened the lines in the pattern (below), it changed everything, making it possible to see all 12 dots at once.
And this spot the dot picture is proof of that.
The frustrating image was tweeted by games developer Will Kerslake on Sunday, and has enjoyed viral success since then. On the plus side, there are not only two or three dots, but twelve!
Numerous comments on the image were accusing the poster of major trolling, claiming the image had to be a moving gif, but, go ahead and screen grab it, you’ll see that it is indeed a static image.
The science behind the image was explained when a puzzle like it was first published in the journal Perception in 2000.
The paper’s abstract explains the phenomenon thusly: “When the white disks in a scintillating grid are reduced in size, and outlined in black, they tend to disappear”. Your eyes just can’t see all 12 back dots at the same time.
Why? Is there a moratorium on seeing black dots?
However your brain will not let you see them all at the same time. Some black sparkling can be seen at those crossings where no disk is seen.
WB Young tweeted this image, perhaps as a throwback to the optical illusion previous year when people argued over the colour of a dress.
Advertisement
It’s called an extinction illusion, and works on the principle that light receptors in your eyes sometimes get confused with the ones next to them.
