White and gold? Blue and black?

[Mr-Paul]

My brain hurts so much right now.

 

 

It's blue and black.

 

[D_prOdigy]

It's charcoal.

[bob]

I'm so confused. Is this actually at joke where there are two different pictures doing the rounds? The one I saw this morning was definitely white and gold, but that one is blue and black...

[Cube]

I see turquoise and brown.

 

Anyway, this isn't strange at all to me as seeing the wrong colours is a daily occurrence.

[MoogleViper]

I'm so confused. Is this actually at joke where there are two different pictures doing the rounds? The one I saw this morning was definitely white and gold, but that one is blue and black...

 

I saw that picture, and clicked the buzzfeed article, and it was definitely white and gold (albeit with terrible lighting). I read the article, then scrolled back up and the dress was clearly blue and black.

 

I call foul play.

 

EDIT: I cleared my cookies, thinking that might make it go back to white and gold, but it didn't. Imma confused.

Edited February 27, 2015 by MoogleViper

[Mr-Paul]

It's definitely the same picture. A friend of mine posted the picture saying it was white and gold. It was white and gold to me. I then read the article saying it was black and blue. I blinked, and since then, every version of the pic has appeared black and blue, including the first one I saw.

 

The brain and eyes do funny things sometimes!

[Agent Gibbs]

its always been blue black for me, at some points where more light is present the black has an almost golden hue, and at the extreme edges of the blue its so pale its almost white

 

 

Superior eye master race FTW! screw you normies

[Daft]

It's ugly.

[Rummy]

Well, the 'suspected' dress in the article is rather damning evidence, but I honestly can't see anything properly black and blue about the original, and before that suspected it was just one massive trollfest conspiracy.

[Shorty]

I don't know why this is such a big deal.

 

It's Blue and Black.

 

But it doesn't look it, especially if you start by looking at the top, because the light was unusual, the photo was overexposed and the white balance was completely off.

 

Move along, people.

[Daft]

It's a big deal because the human brain is amazing and usually has no problem with shit like this. It's the marvel of sentient life realising a limitation, or that what is real is in fact a matter of perspective.

 

Science, we don't talk enough about it. It's pretty fucking cool.

[Cube]

Here's another fun colour/shade-based illusion:

 

 

The A and B squares are both the same (#777777 to be precise).

[Charlie]

It's because the photo is either under exposed or over exposed but you can't really tell which. Your brain will decide automatically one way or the other and 'show' you that version of it.

 

You can 'trick' your brain into showing you the other way. Kind of similar to that GIF of the train that you can make go the other way.

[Shorty]

It's a big deal because the human brain is amazing and usually has no problem with shit like this. It's the marvel of sentient life realising a limitation, or that what is real is in fact a matter of perspective.

 

Science, we don't talk enough about it. It's pretty fucking cool.

It's interesting no doubt, but by "big deal" I specifically mean why is this one item grabbing every news outlet like it's a one-of-a-kind phenomenon? Even celebs are getting in on the debate.

 

Our brain will be automatically making these "decisions" all the time, it's just this one that has been asked out loud, in a sense.

 

The image Cube posted, I think I first saw that on these very boards years and years ago, and it's the perfect example of this illusion, in that case it's forced that you can only see it one way. The dress circumstance on the other hand has polarised its viewers because we either see a white dress overexposed/under blue light or a blue dress underexposed/under yellow/white light.

 

It probably just comes down to how your brain works individually, what its past experiences lead it to believe is the most likely effect they're seeing.

[bob]

The reason I'm so confused us that normally I can trick may brain into seeing both, but I've seen both versions this morning and neither time could I see the other version. I just saw the gold version on the Independent website, and I couldn't even begin to see how it's could be black.

[Eenuh]

Yeah the first time I looked at it it was definitely black and blue and I couldn't see how anyone could see it as white and gold.

 

But when I looked at it again later, it was now white and gold... and no matter how much I try, I can't get it to show up as black and blue again.

 

Why are you deceiving me eyes/brainnnnnn?! =(

[MoogleViper]

no matter how much I try, I can't get it to show up as black and blue again.

 

That's the weird bit about it. I really want to see it how I first saw it, but I can't. And I can't even imagine how I saw it any other way.

[Rummy]

The reason I'm so confused us that normally I can trick may brain into seeing both, but I've seen both versions this morning and neither time could I see the other version. I just saw the gold version on the Independent website, and I couldn't even begin to see how it's could be black.

 

Exactly the same for me, and why I am actually now finding it quite intriguing - I genuinely couldn't possibly see the alternative before(and even can't now I know the blue/black dress exists) and I was adamant that it must have been some sort of joke. I saw an article preview with the photo a bit smaller, and next to a picture of the actual dress, and for the briefest of moments my brain almost believe the black/blue, but it didn't last.

[Agent Gibbs]

 

for those who need extra visual aid's

 

exposure and how the brain works is a magical thing

[Kav]

I've not been able to see it as white and gold for the life of me!

 

 

for those who need extra visual aid's

 

exposure and how the brain works is a magical thing

 

I still can't see white and gold at all.

[Cube]

Both versions in that image look like turquoise and brown to me. Just lighter and darker.

[Rummy]

It's interesting no doubt, but by "big deal" I specifically mean why is this one item grabbing every news outlet like it's a one-of-a-kind phenomenon? Even celebs are getting in on the debate.

 

Our brain will be automatically making these "decisions" all the time, it's just this one that has been asked out loud, in a sense.

 

The image Cube posted, I think I first saw that on these very boards years and years ago, and it's the perfect example of this illusion, in that case it's forced that you can only see it one way. The dress circumstance on the other hand has polarised its viewers because we either see a white dress overexposed/under blue light or a blue dress underexposed/under yellow/white light.

 

It probably just comes down to how your brain works individually, what its past experiences lead it to believe is the most likely effect they're seeing.

 

I'd say it's just a new, and easily relatable, optical illusion. As you say, you've seen Cube's post before, and probably countless times too. Things like optical illusions always do the internet rounds, and I think this is just a sort of very modern equivalent of it. Only it's possibly even more interesting because a.) it doesn't appear to have been specifically engineered as one b.) it's appearing to be very difficult for people to experience the shift in perception. With the one Cube posted, it forces you onto one particular side(it's darker than the other, rather than the same) but this still seems to hold a duality - and whilst there's the similar classics like the necker cube or spinning dancer illusion, those are ones where it's generally more possible to mentally switch between the dualities.

[flameboy]

 

for those who need extra visual aid's

 

exposure and how the brain works is a magical thing

 

I was all ready to be irate as the picture I have on my phone of this thing is clearly white and gold....this GIF is the only way I can remotely see Blue and Black.

[Goafer]

I think a lot of it is to do with what you've seen before looking at the photo. If you've been seeing bright or white things before, your eyes become used to the brightness and it will make the dress appear darker than usual, hence blue and black. If you've been looking at dark things beforehand, the dress will appear lighter, making it look white and gold.

 

That might explain why someone will see one thing to begin with, then scroll down to the article text where there eyes will become accustomed to mainly white space, then scroll up and see something completely different.

 

I also think it has a lot to do with how peoples monitors are set up. At home I could see both, but here at work its definitely white/gold (or a bluey grey/brown)

Edited February 27, 2015 by Goafer

[Dannyboy-the-Dane]

Rummy shared this on Facebook, and I immediately made the charcoal joke. I came on here to check the original thread, I saw this thread, and the first reply showed me that I'll always be a KNEE'er despite having been absent lately.