Fun optical illusion that I thought some here might enjoy.

[I Have A Dream]

If your eyes follow the movement of the rotating pink dot, the dots will remain only one color, pink.

However, if you stare at the black '+' in the center, the moving dot turns to green.

Now, concentrate on the black ' +' in the center of the picture. After a short period, all the pink dots will disappear, and you will only see a single green dot rotating.

It's amazing how our brain works. There really is no green dot, and the pink ones really don't disappear. This should be proof enough that we don't always see what we think we see.

(Thanks to Proud_Lefty for sending it to me!)

[Lindsey]

1. Wow -that's exactly what happened. Thanks for posting. n/t

[mysticalchick]

2. Weird AND cool!

Thanks for posting it. I have no idea behind the science of it and probably wouldn't understand it if I could but it's cool just the same.

[MorningGlow]

3. Woah

Far out man. :hippie:

Seriously, our brains are funky places. Thanks for sharing, Dream!

[Flying Dream Blues]

4. Cool! I love optical illusions... nt

[kentauros]

5. They're playing with afterimages more than the brain...

The eyes see after-images in the opposite colors from what was first looked at. So, a pink dot becomes a green one. Staring at the center creates pink on green or green on pink, and they cancel each other out :)

Of course, if your eye gets the slightest bit off from dead-center, you start to see pink dots again ;)

It's a cool demonstration anyway :D
Reminds me of an art-car idea I once had of painting a car with messages hidden by color-blindness patterns :P

[I Have A Dream]

7. kentauros, do you know why the dots ultimately disappear?

Thanks! :)

[kentauros]

8. My guess is that as your eyes develop the after-image of green

and it's the exact opposite of the pink dots, they cancel each other out. The only reason you see the green dot rotating is because there's a blank space at that point in the animation so it isn't canceled out.

At least, that's how I'm 'seeing' it :)
I've played with after-images a fair amount...

[Cleita]

6. Amazing!

Thanks!

[Proud_Lefty]

9. Pretty strange stuff, huh?

[wovenpaint]

10. Afterimages!

Our retinas "imprint" the exact complementary color from what is viewed-I've done color exercises where I'd have to mix the exact color paint for afterimages. It's great information to have if you want to add accent colors that will "pop" the color in paintings and designs.

[SheilaT]

11. How long do I need to stare for

the pink dots to disappear? It didn't take long for some of them to go away, and then they came back for me.

But it's still very cool, even if my eyes or my brain don't quite work the way they're supposed to.

[I Have A Dream]

13. I personally can't focus well enough to be able to make them...

all go away for very long, but I can see it for a very short time. Maybe this is what's happening to you...

In the E-mail that I received, the description started with "If your brain works normally...". My issue is focus; yours may be that your brain is different from most others.

[Kind of Blue]

12. Wow! I also got white-plus

signs appearing and disappearing all over the place, as well as green dots superimposed on the pink ones. Thanks, IHAD - fun stuff :)