A perplexing optical illusion has taken the internet by storm, leaving countless viewers questioning their own perception after it was revealed that two seemingly different coloured squares are, in fact, exactly the same shade.
The Illusion That Broke Brains
Shared on Reddit, the image features a 3D-looking chequered block composed of alternating dark and light grey squares. A green cylinder sits in one corner, casting a diagonal shadow across the pattern. Two squares are marked for comparison: square 'A' on the top row and square 'B' in the very centre.
To the naked eye, the contrast is stark. Square A appears to be a dark grey, while square B looks significantly lighter, as if bathed in light. The post's bold claim, however, insists: "The square labeled A and B are exactly the same shade." This assertion left many utterly stumped, with one baffled user summarising the collective feeling by commenting, "Ok so my brain is broken."
Putting the Claim to the Test
Sceptical viewers didn't just take the claim at face value; they set out to prove or disprove it using digital tools. One method involved taking a screenshot and cropping in until only the grey of each square remained, then comparing them side-by-side. Another user went a step further, stating they had "Verified with Photoshop colour picker." The unanimous conclusion confirmed the mind-bending truth: the squares are identical.
Some offered practical tips for seeing past the trick. One viewer revealed, "Tilting the top of my phone away from me made seeing it easier," a simple hack that helps the brain disengage from the illusion's context.
The Science Behind the Trick
The secret lies in the clever use of context and shadow. The green cylinder's shadow appears to fall across square B, creating a powerful visual cue. Your brain, interpreting the scene as a 3D object, automatically adjusts its perception of colour, expecting the square in shadow to be lighter than it appears. In reality, there is no genuine shadow; it's all part of a flat, 2D image designed to deceive.
This contextual override is so strong that even when we know the truth, our visual system struggles to accept it. The only way to see the reality clearly is to isolate the squares from their surroundings. As one astonished commenter put it after verifying the colours, "Well bust my buffers. It is indeed the same colour."
The illusion, which sparked widespread discussion and disbelief, serves as a powerful reminder of how our brains construct reality based on context and expectation, not just raw visual data.
