How many blue dots do you see? New optical illusion trick...

What’s Happening

So get this: An object’s color and our perception of it are two different things.

The post How many blue dots do you see? New optical illusion tricks the brain. (shocking, we know)

Appeared first on Popular Science.

The Details

Credit: Hinnerk Schulz-Hildebrandt Get the Popular Science daily 💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. A new optical illusion excellently illustrates just how finicky our eyes are when it comes to perceiving colors .

Unfortunately, staring at it too long with a friend may kick off an argument much like The Dress did in 2015. How many purple dots are in this image, fr ?

Why This Matters

The illusion is an example of simultaneous contrast. Credit: Hinnerk Schulz-Hildebrandt Spoiler: It’s a trick question. They look kind of purple, but they’re all technically the same blue.

The scientific community tends to find developments like this significant.

Key Takeaways

• An object’s actual color and our perception of its color are two different things.
• The wavelengths of light absorbed or reflected by a surface may determine its hue.
• But, your brain only interprets it through information collected your eye’s retinas called cones.
• There are three types of cones, each named after the type of wavelength they are capable of detecting.

The Bottom Line

“The S-cones make up only 8–12 percent of all cones in the retina and are almost completely absent in the absolute center of the fovea. ” Taken all together, this means some colors are easily recognizable than others—and blue is a tricky hue.

What’s your take on this whole situation?