Rapid Afterimage Optical Illusion

June 6, 2005 1:50 PM

Rapid Afterimage Optical Illusion
posted by srboisvert (38 comments total)

Wow. The effect is so strong that I initially suspected a trick, you know, like all the magenta dots actually did disappear.
posted by MrMoonPie at 2:08 PM on June 6, 2005

are we all sure that's not a memory-stealer? did that thing just reach into my subconscious mind and steal my thoughts??!
posted by dopamine at 2:35 PM on June 6, 2005

Yeah, these kinds of optical illusions are common on the net, but the effect from this one is very strong, and quite interesting.
posted by Simon! at 2:35 PM on June 6, 2005

MY EYES! MY EYES!

Sorry, just wanted to use that on a thread that didn't reference goatse. Cool trick.
posted by soyjoy at 2:38 PM on June 6, 2005

I enjoyed the effort of trying to get the magenta dots to disappear. At first I started to suspect a trick too. Very fun.
posted by mystyk at 2:42 PM on June 6, 2005

What was really cool is how the magenta dots disappeared one after the other as the green spot moved around.
posted by kenko at 2:45 PM on June 6, 2005

Truly amazing. Eyes and brains are weird things.
posted by languagehat at 2:47 PM on June 6, 2005

I was surprised at how quickly the green appeared. Neat-o.
posted by Specklet at 2:49 PM on June 6, 2005

(head explodes)
posted by brain_drain at 2:54 PM on June 6, 2005

That is awesome. I swear this guy has been posted before, but this appears to be a new illusion on the site. (I went through all of them last time, it was great.)
posted by knave at 2:57 PM on June 6, 2005

Didn't the Supreme Court just outlaw this kind of stuff?
posted by UseyurBrain at 3:34 PM on June 6, 2005

Wierd, I'm *still* seeing wierd afterimages as I type this in the blue...
posted by PurplePorpoise at 3:35 PM on June 6, 2005

Actualy, I've noticed that you can make pretty much any low-contrast object dissapear if you just stare long enough. I remember doing this with ceiling fan blades even. Yeah. I was really bored


The purple dots never totaly dissapeared for me, which was a little dissapointing. I also found that I could "bring them back" a little just by concentrating on doing so.

Finaly, you don't need to focus on the black plus in the middle, any point will do. I first noticed the effect while reading the explanation :P
posted by delmoi at 4:14 PM on June 6, 2005

Great find. I've been on the site for a half an hour now, going through all of them. Thanks.
posted by interrobang at 4:17 PM on June 6, 2005

Hi, I've been reading MeFi via RSS for six months now, and this is my first comment.

I've got to ask: is it considered cool to take a post off somewhere else and just paste it here without attribution? I mean, we all find interesting things somewhere, but isn't it considered good form to acknowledge the source?

This post cost me $5.
posted by hybernaut at 5:17 PM on June 6, 2005

You got suckered.
posted by Balisong at 5:43 PM on June 6, 2005

This illusion makes me question my own existence.
posted by renesisx at 5:48 PM on June 6, 2005

Metafilter: this post cost me $5
posted by Doohickie at 6:10 PM on June 6, 2005

Welcome to metafilter, hybernaut.
posted by interrobang at 6:12 PM on June 6, 2005

Aren't all links from somewhere else? I mean, what are the odds that you will be the first person to link to anything?
posted by LittleMissCranky at 6:39 PM on June 6, 2005

All links are from somewhere else. I saw this yesterday on #mefi and had no idea where it came from. It does rock, though.
posted by Doohickie at 6:45 PM on June 6, 2005

srboisvert, thanks for the link. I'll add it to my collection, and try it out on some of my co-workers who had trouble seeing the various illusions here.

hybernaut: a) Are you sure that's where the link was discovered? b) Links can't per se be plagiarized, so there's no requirement the source be posted, but it often is a good idea to show where a link came from, since others might then become readers of the link source site. c)A steal at twice the price.
posted by birdsquared at 7:17 PM on June 6, 2005

birdsquad, they had TROUBLE seeing those?? Gaah! Those things are like brainslippage torture devices!
posted by gorgor_balabala at 7:53 PM on June 6, 2005

oh, sorry i meant birdsqared.
posted by gorgor_balabala at 7:58 PM on June 6, 2005

bird^2: of course, passing links around without attribution is perfectly normal. Hardcore linkmasters like Andy painstakingly link back to their sources, and I feel they deserve the same respect. Thanks for the level-headed response. I have just spent a good half hour reading what has come before and will drop this before embarrassing myself further.
posted by hybernaut at 8:00 PM on June 6, 2005

bullshit, i've seen this one 3 different sites at virtually the same time, not including here.

also, how do you NOT see snakes #7?
posted by puke & cry at 9:05 PM on June 6, 2005

I'm amazed at how fast it all turns into just one green dot. A matter of seconds.

I've got to ask: is it considered cool to take a post off somewhere else and just paste it here without attribution? I mean, we all find interesting things somewhere, but isn't it considered good form to acknowledge the source?

This is a better question for metatalk, and in fact has been covered there before, but attribution has turned into a polite gesture, but certainly not required. How do you know the link was from waxy? I found it elsewhere. And while waxy attributes all his links, kottke.org makes a living off of his site and rarely gives credit to anyone. So if you can make money and not credit links, certainly you can post to metafilter without worrying about attribution.

This post cost me $5.

You just wasted 5 bucks.
posted by justgary at 9:11 PM on June 6, 2005

did that thing just reach into my subconscious mind and steal my thoughts?

No, stupid, nothing will happen to your subDADDY NEVER LOVED ME!
posted by NickDouglas at 9:19 PM on June 6, 2005

How long was I staring at that thing?

Was I walking like a chicken a minute ago?

Heh heh... that's excellent.
posted by BoringPostcards at 9:24 PM on June 6, 2005

It's not a schooner... it's a sailboat.
posted by spilon at 9:26 PM on June 6, 2005

I found it on j-walk first. Just for the record.
posted by noizyboy at 9:53 PM on June 6, 2005

Not recommended on little sleep. My stomach is about to throw me up.

hybernaut: I challenge you to a duel in the Upcoming.org forums. Okay, not really. Welcome to Metafilter.
posted by VulcanMike at 10:42 PM on June 6, 2005

The afterimage effect can also be seen in a secondary form as part of the same illusion.

Once you've managed to make the magenta dots 'disappear', or at least fade out a bit, move your head towards or away from the image. You'll probably see green trails radiating from the pink dots. The effect is quite pretty.

Hints for those who've had trouble 'seeing' these effects: It's easier if your eyes are about six inches from the screen. The dots will only 'disappear' if your gaze doesn't shift at all; to limit eye movement, try focussing on just the tip of one arm of the 'plus'.

Please don't bruise your forehead...
posted by popkinson at 1:54 AM on June 7, 2005

This post cost me $5.
posted by hybernaut

If you keep posting, over time the monetary value of your insights with be diluted to 2¢.
posted by MiltonRandKalman at 5:05 PM on June 7, 2005

For some further info into the perceptual questions this rasies check out my post here. There are also a couple more illusions there which will make you think twice before thinking that seeing is believing...
posted by 0bvious at 7:41 PM on June 7, 2005

*Sol Rosenberg voice*
My eyes is goin crazy over here
posted by Smedleyman at 11:40 PM on June 7, 2005

What color(s) do you see in this demonstration?

My answer is rot-13'd so as to not influence yours: V fnj cnqqvat-gb-bofpher-ahzore-bs-yrggerf-va-jbeq-terra, ohg gur nhgube ercbegf frrvat erq-oebja-cnqqvat-gb-bofpher-jbeq.
posted by orthogonality at 12:00 AM on June 8, 2005

V fnj n terravfu pbybe gbb. NAQ CNAPNXRF!!!
posted by VulcanMike at 7:52 PM on June 8, 2005