A BAFFLING optical illusion reveals how your brain lies to you.
Using two photos of a bridge, TikTok user beatonthebeeb explains the illusion and the trick our mind is playing on us.
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The user, who also goes by the name Dean Jackson, starts by showing a black-and-white photo of the bridge.
He then displays that same image but with a filter over the top that gives it a psychedelic hue.
The illusion expert, who has 600,000 TikTok followers, asks viewers to stare at a white circle in the centre of the scenery.
He then switches back to the black-and-white photo, but due to some brain trickery, the viewer perceives it in colour.
“The psychedelic colours are designed to fatigue receptors in the back of your eyes,” he says in the video uploaded on April 25.
“When I remove them, the only the ones needed to colour the picture should be stimulated.”
The result is the brain lying to your eyes by telling you the photo is in full colour when it is not.
The moment you pull your gaze away from the white dot in the middle of the image, it snaps back to black-and-white.
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The key is to maintain focus on the white circle while the eyes adjust.
“Whatever you do, keep looking right at the centre of that circle,” beatonthebeeb says.
“Keep your phone at a constant distance. Keep your eyes focussed. Don’t be distracted.
“If your eyes moves then the colour will be lost.”
Optical illusions are often just a bit of fun, but they also hold real value for scientists.
The brain puzzles help researchers shed light on the inner workings of the mind and how it reacts to its surroundings.
Dr Gustav Kuhn, a psychologist and human perception expert at Goldsmiths University in London, told the Sun earlier this month that illusions are important to our understanding of the brain.
“We typically take perception for granted, and rarely think about the hard work that underpins everyday tasks, such as seeing a cup of coffee in front of you,” he said.
“Visual illusions highlight errors in perception, and they provide important glimpses into the hidden neural processes that allow us to see the world around us.”
It follows the release of a spooky illusion earlier this month that makes the viewer feel as though they are tumbling into a black hole.
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This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk
