We still have nightmares about that damned infernal dress that everyone saw as “white and gold” or “blue and black”, but optical illusions don't stop. In fact, there is the Best Illusion of the Year award, and first place went to “Splitting Colors”, a creation of Mark Vergeer. In short: the two thin lines are identical, but when their surroundings are modified by the other blocks, they change color and direction in their animation. Don't throw your monitor in the trash: it's your eyes, and your brain.
The Best Illusion of the Year
Optical illusions aren't only surprising for obvious reasons; they help us “visualize” our limits in a compelling way. When we “see” something, anyone might say it's just light reflected off the surface of that “something”, but there is a complex process of collecting and interpreting data. Under certain conditions, this process can fail, producing astonishing and utterly wrong results. One of the most media-friendly examples was that horrible dress from the depths of chaos, which I still see as white and gold, even with the real catalog image next to it, showing it as blue and black. Today we have something similar.
How “Splitting Colors” Works
The optical illusion is called “Splitting Colors”, developed by Belgian Mark Vergeer. It begins with two thin lines animated with an identical pattern. Nothing strange so far, but our vision starts its betrayal when two blocks with a blue and yellow pattern appear moving from right to left. These blocks enclose the first line, and it automatically changes to red and cyan, moving its pattern in the opposite direction. The second group of blocks reverses the process: the pattern is red and cyan, and the animation moves from left to right, but the result is that the second line changes to blue and yellow, moving in the other direction. We know a color can look altered depending on its surroundings, and Splitting Colors demonstrates it remarkably.
The Runner-Up: “Ambiguous Garage Roof”
This optical illusion took first place in the Best Illusion of the Year competition, which we explored last year. The second video belongs to the runner-up, “Ambiguous Garage Roof”, which unlike its rival appeals to geometry instead of playing with color. In simple terms... the roof of that small garage is haunted and we must run for our lives, while the real explanation says the human brain prefers to interpret the roof's edge as a perpendicular cut to its axis.
There's more on the official site, enjoy!
