Can you spot the smiling man hiding in this optical illusion?
Can you see the portrait of a man hidden in this optical illusion?
The new take on the classic Magic Eye illusion was shared online by Akiyoshi Kitaoka, a psychology professor of visual perception and illusion at Ritsumseikan University in Kyoto, Japan.
One of my portraits pic.twitter.com/URmDspcwnH
— Akiyoshi Kitaoka (@AkiyoshiKitaoka) March 22, 2017
[SCROLL DOWN FOR THE ANSWER]
Kitaoka has created hundreds of extremely popular illusions, some of which you have probably seen popping up on your social media channels.
So can you see the smiling man? Take a closer look and the illusion should eventually be revealed.
If you are struggling to see it, then doing the below could help:
Try looking at the illusion from a sideways angle
Try moving the image around as you look at it (or scroll up and down)
Try looking at the illusion from a distance
Kitaoka explains the illusion is a “masking phenomenon”, adding: “High-spatial-frequency components disturb the perception of low-contrast objects.”
Here's what you should see:
@AkiyoshiKitaoka This schema shows how to make this type of hidden image. pic.twitter.com/XF41N5oOcq
— Akiyoshi Kitaoka (@AkiyoshiKitaoka) March 22, 2017
@AkiyoshiKitaoka That is AMAZING!! Well done!
— Jake Achée (@jachee) March 22, 2017
Here's how you probably reacted:
@AkiyoshiKitaoka haha I see you now lol pic.twitter.com/bKxX36gKPh
— Costa C. (@costachung) March 22, 2017
@AkiyoshiKitaoka had to step away from my monitor screen to see it. Very cool.
— Єd LααЬеѕ (@EdLaabes) March 22, 2017
You can take a look at more of Professor Kitaoka’s illusions here, although he warns: “This page contains some works of anomalous motion illusion, which might make sensitive observers dizzy or sick. Should you feel dizzy, you had better leave this page immediately.”
Though more straightforward experiments, such as the eye's interpretation of the colour, are important to science, the professor said that the public generally prefer his more artistic works.
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