Optical illusions can really mess with your head and the latest one to go viral online has left people baffled.
An optical illusion is an image that deceives or misleads our brains.
They exploit how the brain processes colour, light and patterns to trick our brains into seeing an image that differs from the reality of what is in front of us.
Take a seemingly innocuous picture of a group of six women sitting on a couch and you’d have a field day trying to figure out why there only appear to be five pairs of legs.
Optical illusions use colours, light and patterns to trick the brain into perceiving an image that differs from reality
Now, a picture of two overlapping skyscrapers has gone viral on Reddit after it seriously messed with people’s vision.
Taking to the site’s Confusing_Perspective forum – a thread dedicated to mind boggling illusions – one user asked: “Which building is closer?”
It’s a surprisingly tricky question to answer.
While you may initially think that the lighter-coloured building on the right is nearer, many are convinced that the one on the left is actually closer.
And the more you look at it, the more confused you’ll get.
One person simply responded to the post: “The one in front,” but many others tried to work out why the image was so confronting.
Which building do you think is closer?
“This one is one of the best ones I’ve seen,” wrote one user. “My first impression was ‘right’ but then I quickly realised it was ‘left’ but even after that the buildings were taking turns popping into the front.
“I have to look at the right building’s edge where it angles (to the right), which is smaller than the left building’s edge, to sort of force the image to stay still in my head.”
Another added: “If you look closely the building on the left clearly overlaps the one on the right.”
A third commented: “Great illusion, but those glass balconies just don’t hold up to scrutiny.”
And a fourth explained: “Left because of the shadow. The building on the right has a shadow on the right of the image where the building goes around a corner. The sun is up and to the left, which is shining on the side of the building.”
Honestly, I’m still a bit baffled, but I’m happy to agree with the majority.