Optical illusions come in all forms, from simple tricks of the eye to complex geometric designs, but my personal favourites are the simple illusions that leave my brain well and truly frazzled. While this 3D box optical illusion might seem unassuming at first, it shifts in the blink of an eye as if by magic – a prime example of the classic ambiguous figure illusion.
There are plenty of optical illusions online, some trickier to decipher than others. It took me a while to get this brain-bending illusion to transform and it seems I’m not alone. Optical illusion fans on Reddit were just as perplexed, but keep blinking and it should flip perspective in an instant (the real challenge is getting your brain to see both).
If you’re struggling to see the illusion, it may help to focus on the letters at each corner of the object or tilt your head to help your brain readjust. “I don’t need to blink, I can instantly change the perspective by alternately imagining the A or X side facing the viewer. Maybe others can?” one Redditor on the r/opticalillusions subreddit commented. “The real optical illusion is that you see this as a 3D box when it’s just a bunch of lines,” another chimed in.
This simple yet astonishing illustration is an example of an ambiguous figure illusion, taken from an 1832 publication by Louis Albert Necker. You may have seen his famous illusion ‘The Necker Cube’, which demonstrates how a 2D figure or 3D object can be seen in two or more distinct ways. Due to the lack of shading our brains can’t perceive the depth of the image, causing our perspective to shift.
The Necker Cube created by Louis Albert Necker. (Image credit: Louis Albert Necker)
If you’re after more mind-bending illusions, check out the simple number optical illusion that well and truly broke my brain. Creating your own optical illusion art is easier than it might seem – watch thisartist paint a trippy optical illusion right before your eyes and learn how to recreate it.
