How the hell does this work

[Jahira]

This is one of those crazy things I just don't understand. Someone explain please.

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/castle-illusion.html

[Shari]

Its an inverse color image of the picture. Think like color negatives. When you put them into the enlarger and balance the color right it will create the positive image. For whatever reason, it mind-fucks you with the optics. Its a total trip though!

[Bobmuhthol]

I guess Jesae would understand more than me as to why the cursor rollover to a black and white image appears colored.

As far as why it's black and white again when you move your eyes: you're actually totally blind for that split second that you move your eyes to look at something else, and your brain fills in that time the best it can. When you keep the photo up and look at a different part of it, you go blind and regain your vision, so there's a sort of reset effect as if you stopped looking at the photo altogether and are just seeing it for the first time.

[Celephais]

Has to do with what I mentioned in the other vision thread... your brain assumes your eyes are fucked up and that you're incorrectly seeing too much of whatever the colors are, it then "subtracts" those colors from what you see, and since it's a color negative as mentioned, you get the real color image for a split second, has less to do with the flicker fusion effect.

[Bobmuhthol]

The colors stay for as long as your eyes stay focused, though.

[Celephais]

Wasn't saying you were wrong, just meant the reason for the inverse is based on your brain overcompensating, as for being able to hold the colors, I imagine that's because your brain has no reason to think it's seeing false info now (because the colors are right) when you change your focus and see everything else is wrong your eyes figure it out.

Or I'm pulling this out of my ass, it was only a single class I took, didn't exactly major in (and the class was pretty non-in depth... definatly intresting stuff)

[Latrinsorm]

Rods are really awful at detecting color. It stands to reason that the negativey effect is based on color, therefore doesn't affect the rods. Staring prevents the cones from chemically recovering, so the illusion continues. Moving the eyes from the center causes the rods to perceive the image, making it look greyscale. If you flick your eyes fast enough, it stays colorful when you get back to the cones doing the work. If you don't, the illusory effect fades.

[mgoddess]

Woah.

That just freaked the hell outta me..

(My eyes are screwed up and I've never gotten any sort of optical illusion like this or those 3D ones where you stare at it for so long and then see the 3D image.)

[Sean of the Thread]

Doesn't "work" for me.

[Asha]

rofl I couldn't remember if the picture was ever in colour or not. That's pretty intense.

[Sean of the Thread]

Damn it I just tried it again and this time stared longer..

[DeV]

Very cool

[Back]

The human body continues to amaze me on a daily basis.