Uploaded March 2015 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The bigger the screen and higher the quality the better here.
Perceptions are only that. The moving images in this vid are called 'anomalous motion illusions' and they are all two dimensional images. Just by playing around with the placement of colours in relation to each other they fool our brains into perceiving movement.
The dress hoo-hah last week was probably so startling because we're only used to seeing these illusions as diagrams or illustrations. You don't often get to see them in real life. Unless it resembles a Medieval representation of an iron age housewife, in which case it's called a miracle. ;¬)
Alarm your eyeballs here
Akiyoshi's illusion pages (for the 'anomalous motion illusions):
ritsumei.ac.jp/~akitaoka/index-e.html
The Blue and The Green, by Phil Plait (The Bad Astronomer):
slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2009/06/24/the_blue_and_the_green.html
Devil with the Blue Dress: An Explanation, by Stephen Pinker:
dropbox.com/s/hmc3zq4czkzpmt6/Devil%20with%20the%20Blue%20Dress%20On%20explanation.pdf?dl=0
It's impossible to know why things go viral on the internet, or hyper-viral as #TheDress did last week. I think that one went extra viral because it tapped (in a palatable way) into something intensely subjective that many of us aren't used to being challenged on: the reliability of our perception of the world.
It's one thing to talk about your disagreements in an abstract way, but to stand shoulder to shoulder with someone, both staring at the same image we both agree is right in front of us, and each of us seeing something completely diffferent is really challenging.
We weren't disputing shades of the same colour, and whichever combination *you* saw there were thousands or millions of others who agreed with you. So neither one could dismiss the opinion of the other. We were faced with a situation where we had to agree wholeheartedly to accept an opinion that conflicted with the evidence of our own eyes.
Nobody was considered stupid or deluded for seeing what they saw, and, peculiarly, nobody I spoke to acted superior for having seen what turned out to be the actual colours. One person seeing the figure of Mary in a tree-stum is a loony, ten people make it a miracle. In this situation there were just too many seeing each combination to do anything but accommodate them without agitation.
I think there's a few lesson to be learned from the incident. I'm definitely of the opinion that it was *not* a frivilous waste of time, or some media manufactured diversion. It struck a chord because it went to the heart of that existential anxiety we all have about not quite knowing what's going on most of the time. That nervy sensation that you're kind of clueless and coasting and dreading the moment someone finds out.
We'd do well to take the acceptance and empathy demanded of us last week and apply it more liberally in other areas of our lives. We'd do well to accept that certainty isn't absolute. And we could definitely afford to remember that we don't have to agree with someone to accept them.
*********
Hello, hello, hello!! Especially to the regulars who read my description waffles. Long time no do anything me. It's been almost a year since I've done anything here. Very busy year for me, personally, and a nice break mentally from the commitment of time I used to give to this channel. I've had pangs off loss from time to time, and I've often thought of my friends here.
This video was just a bit of fun that managed to give me an outlet for some ideas I've been mulling over recently. And seemed like a good excuse to slip back into DaithiDublin and test the water.
As I type this I haven't yet visited my channel or G+, just came straight to upload. It's funny, but I have a similar kind of tingly anticipation to the one you get going back to an old haunt. A school reunion type vibe where there's some folk you can't wait to see again and plenty of dicks you never liked in the first place.
Now I'm thinking I should probably shelve that idea for now and make it a vlog. A rambly 'howerya' to everyone. Right now, specifically, I'm going to hit publish and smoke a joint with a red hot cup of tea. It's been a long day.
Smell yis later. ;¬)
_
Daithi
The bigger the screen and higher the quality the better here.
Perceptions are only that. The moving images in this vid are called 'anomalous motion illusions' and they are all two dimensional images. Just by playing around with the placement of colours in relation to each other they fool our brains into perceiving movement.
The dress hoo-hah last week was probably so startling because we're only used to seeing these illusions as diagrams or illustrations. You don't often get to see them in real life. Unless it resembles a Medieval representation of an iron age housewife, in which case it's called a miracle. ;¬)
Alarm your eyeballs here
Akiyoshi's illusion pages (for the 'anomalous motion illusions):
ritsumei.ac.jp/~akitaoka/index-e.html
The Blue and The Green, by Phil Plait (The Bad Astronomer):
slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2009/06/24/the_blue_and_the_green.html
Devil with the Blue Dress: An Explanation, by Stephen Pinker:
dropbox.com/s/hmc3zq4czkzpmt6/Devil%20with%20the%20Blue%20Dress%20On%20explanation.pdf?dl=0
It's impossible to know why things go viral on the internet, or hyper-viral as #TheDress did last week. I think that one went extra viral because it tapped (in a palatable way) into something intensely subjective that many of us aren't used to being challenged on: the reliability of our perception of the world.
It's one thing to talk about your disagreements in an abstract way, but to stand shoulder to shoulder with someone, both staring at the same image we both agree is right in front of us, and each of us seeing something completely diffferent is really challenging.
We weren't disputing shades of the same colour, and whichever combination *you* saw there were thousands or millions of others who agreed with you. So neither one could dismiss the opinion of the other. We were faced with a situation where we had to agree wholeheartedly to accept an opinion that conflicted with the evidence of our own eyes.
Nobody was considered stupid or deluded for seeing what they saw, and, peculiarly, nobody I spoke to acted superior for having seen what turned out to be the actual colours. One person seeing the figure of Mary in a tree-stum is a loony, ten people make it a miracle. In this situation there were just too many seeing each combination to do anything but accommodate them without agitation.
I think there's a few lesson to be learned from the incident. I'm definitely of the opinion that it was *not* a frivilous waste of time, or some media manufactured diversion. It struck a chord because it went to the heart of that existential anxiety we all have about not quite knowing what's going on most of the time. That nervy sensation that you're kind of clueless and coasting and dreading the moment someone finds out.
We'd do well to take the acceptance and empathy demanded of us last week and apply it more liberally in other areas of our lives. We'd do well to accept that certainty isn't absolute. And we could definitely afford to remember that we don't have to agree with someone to accept them.
*********
Hello, hello, hello!! Especially to the regulars who read my description waffles. Long time no do anything me. It's been almost a year since I've done anything here. Very busy year for me, personally, and a nice break mentally from the commitment of time I used to give to this channel. I've had pangs off loss from time to time, and I've often thought of my friends here.
This video was just a bit of fun that managed to give me an outlet for some ideas I've been mulling over recently. And seemed like a good excuse to slip back into DaithiDublin and test the water.
As I type this I haven't yet visited my channel or G+, just came straight to upload. It's funny, but I have a similar kind of tingly anticipation to the one you get going back to an old haunt. A school reunion type vibe where there's some folk you can't wait to see again and plenty of dicks you never liked in the first place.
Now I'm thinking I should probably shelve that idea for now and make it a vlog. A rambly 'howerya' to everyone. Right now, specifically, I'm going to hit publish and smoke a joint with a red hot cup of tea. It's been a long day.
Smell yis later. ;¬)
_
Daithi
