This optical illusion that turns squares into circles will blow your mind
A mind-boggling mirror puzzle has been baffling the internet but we can reveal how it's done
PREPARE to be driven crazy by an optical illusion which is, frankly, mind-boggling.
A set of plastic squares is put in front of a mirror but, rather than reflecting what we see in front, the glass reflects cylinder.
Bizarrely, when the shape is turned around, the images reverse.
To make matters worse, the video then shows more symmetrical shapes being added, creating a whole new illusion.
A set of four squares becomes overlapping cylinders and two interlinked squares becomes two SEPARATE cylinders.
Not surprisingly, this mind-bending illusion has been driving people absolutely crazy.
The video of the illusion, named ‘ambiguous cylinders, was posted on Reddit and got quite a reaction.
One user wrote: “I just kept saying “what the f***?” over and over, getting progressively louder.”
Another added: “Was literally just going “Ahhhhh!!” louder and louder till my boss told me to keep it down…”
The illusion won its creatore, Kokichi Sugihara, second place at the annual illusion of the Year contest.
Luckily, you can stop scratching you head as another clever boffin has revealed the secret behind the confusing images is “reverse engineering”.
Devon, from 3D printing company Make Anything, proved that one side of each cylinder is shaped like a square and the other is more circular.
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At the same time, He explained: “Two of the sides are arching upwards, while the other two dip downwards and that basically ‘corrects’ this hybrid ‘squircle’ into either a square or a circle by compensating in opposite directions, which means it blends back into a square or circle when the true shape is right in between.
“Which is pretty cool.”
The tired puzzle-solver posted the video at 2am after staying up to get to the bottom of this illusion.
Devon, we salute you.
