A photo of a brick road has taken Reddit by storm and as stumped the users. It is actually two photos side by side creating an optical illusion that leaves the users scratching their heads. The exact same image of a very average looking lane when placed side by side looks like two completely different images.
On the first glance, it seems as if the two images are taken from a different angle or a different height. But, on closer inspection, you see that they are perfect replicas of each other no matter how different they may seem. This image is a perfect example of how powerful our brain is and can alter what we think we see.
Reddit user Saberfox said, “I can tell that it’s the same picture, but something makes my brain not want to believe it.” An explanation for what is going on was offered by Reddit user All-Cal: “It’s because the two streets come together at the bottom of the pictures. Your brain tries to perceive this as one image with a fork in the road and therefore the street in the picture on the left must be at a different angle than the picture on the right.”
The images were uploaded on Imgur two days ago and have already racked up more than 2 million hits. There are a number of other examples of similar optical illusions all around the world. Architects often use optical illusions in buildings to attract the tourists.
Another example is the cafe wall illusion discovered by the British psychologist, Richard Gregory. The black and white tiles look like they are bending when they are in fact perfectly straight. This is again because of the way neurons in the brain interact.
What do you think about this optical illusion? Were you able to guess it was the same picture or were you baffled like millions of others?