"A couple of years ago an optical illusion came along and almost broke our site. Over three million people read an article about the most dizzying illusion ever to grace our screens - the rotating horse. And all this time later, I still can't work out which way it is turning. The horse spins and spins but seems to keep changing direction, and making my head spin in the process."
"According to WhatPsychologyIs,"due to the image's lack of visual cues for depth, the ambiguous 2-dimensional figure can be seen from two different perspectives. This alternation between two perceptual states is referred to as bistable perception.""
"The gif was originally posted on a TikTok account that doesn't exist anymore, but the horse reigns on as one of the most confusing things we've ever reported on. Recently we found this spinning ballerina that does a very similar trick - and comments on this illusion offer advice on making the ballerina change direction. Unlike the rotating horse, the ballerina only spins one way for me - does it for you?"
A rotating silhouette of a horse creates a striking optical illusion that many observers cannot agree on which direction it turns. The image lacks visual depth cues, allowing perception to flip between two interpretations, a phenomenon called bistable perception. Common tricks like blinking, stepping back, or viewing sideways generally do not stabilize the perceived direction. The gif originated on a TikTok account and attracted viral attention. A similar rotating ballerina illusion produces comparable effects for some viewers, while other illusions, such as a Van Gogh–style color illusion, rely on different visual mechanisms.
Read at Creative Bloq
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