(cache) The Trippiest Optical Illusions on the 'Net

The Trippiest Optical Illusions on the 'Net

by Switched Staff — Oct 17th 2007 at 4:14PM

Look at squares 'A' and 'B'. 'A' might appear darker, but, in fact, it's not.

From http://web.mit.edu/persci/people/adelson/checkershadow_illusion.html

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)

Chantee said 8:45PM on 10-17-2007

Wow...this one is hard to believe, but I actually copied/pasted into Photoshop, and compared the colors, and it's true!

Mike said 9:02PM on 10-17-2007

Square A looks darker than B on matter how many times I look at it

kurin said 9:22PM on 10-17-2007

haha, someone needs to get a life... cough Chantee.. cough. lol jk.

ideastore said 9:41PM on 10-17-2007

I think you should say A appears darker than B because that is what would be most obvious. Although they are both the same.

TATIANA said 9:52PM on 10-17-2007

A LOOKS DARKER TO ME

Vic said 10:03PM on 10-17-2007

One square is gray and the other is white. How can you say they are the same.

VERA said 10:30PM on 10-17-2007

I SEE B IS LIGHTER THAN A.

Jon said 10:42PM on 10-17-2007

Square A looks darker than square B to me.

JusBancci said 11:21PM on 10-17-2007

I don't see it!!! "B" is a white square and "A" is dark grey! I'm confused!

chiggers410 said 11:35PM on 10-17-2007

It's the letter "B" that appears darker. Not the square you idiot.

ann said 12:00AM on 10-18-2007

poorly worded instructions!!

Cindy said 12:18AM on 10-18-2007

THIS IS CRAZY,,i didnt believe it so i copied it into corel draw and cut out the a square and cut out the b square and put them near each other,,,,it sounds crazy, but they are the same color....try printing it out and putting them together by folding them to be near each other.

Amanda said 12:56AM on 10-18-2007

yeah... i dont get it... square B might be in a shadow but it's a white sqaure and A is black... hows B look darker at all? and no, they def arent the same color either.

K Nang said 5:32AM on 4-10-2008

they def are!

Derrick said 1:15AM on 10-18-2007

Yes, indeed, the actual squares themselves are the same color. They don't look like it at first glance...far from it, actually. However, if you try to focus only on those two squares, and block the rest out, you can plainly see that they are the same shade of gray. Very interesting...I'm guessing the mind sees the shadow cast by the cylinder and automatically "corrects" the square B into what it thinks should be there according to the pattern. Makes you wonder how many things we think we are seeing but are actually being tricked into seeing by our mind "fixing" it for us!

devany said 1:25AM on 10-18-2007

might just be me but square A looks a lot darker than B??

Reebee said 2:44AM on 10-18-2007

Square B definitely looks lighter to me, than square A. I've studied this, trying to see the squares as being the same color, but I just can't see it. Can someone please explain this?? I'm at a loss! I sure can't figure it out! Thanks! Reebee...

Lisa said 3:03AM on 10-18-2007

Did they get it wrong? A is darker than the square it is inside of and A is in a DARK square. B is of course darker than the square but B is in a light square. So how can B be darker than A? A shows itself more and so is darker than B in my opinion. So if they are the same color then maybe they meant A might appear darker?

frank said 4:47AM on 10-18-2007

looks the same to me, the letters do that is

Skook said 5:10AM on 10-18-2007

The instructions are wrong! They meant to say that Square A looks darker than Square B... but actually they are identical. I took the image to Photoshop and eyedropped the colors, and yes, both squares are actually the same color. You'll probably never believe it unless you can do that too. An easier way is to print it out and cut out the 2 squares, then compare them. Amazing.

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