You may have noticed that we're fond of a good optical illusion here at Creative Bloq, but some of them should really come with a health warning. This one doing the rounds at the moment is severely headache-inducing, especially if you try to take on the challenge of counting how many circles it shows.
The optical illusion, which has become popular on Imgur and other platforms, shows what appears to be a spiral or a series of interlinked circles or overlapping circles. But alas, while that might be what we see, our brain is fooling us. The image actually shows a number of separate concentric circles – but can you count how many? Just be warned that trying to do so may generate serious nausea. This might be one for our pick of the best optical illusions of the year.
Can you count the circles in this optical illusion? (Image credit: Pinna & Gregory)
We've tracked down the image, and while it's resurfaced lately, it actually comes from a 2002 academic articled entitled Shifts of Edges and Deformations of Patterns written by Baingio Pinna and Richard L Gregory. Named Pinna’s Illusory Intertwining Effect, the figure looks like a warped spiral comprising black and white and black squares on a grey background, but it's actually made up of concentric circles.
The confusion occurs because our visual system receives contradictory stimuli, some tell us 'circle,' and other 'spiral.' While the squares form rings, their slant is consistent with what we expect from a spiral. Faced with this contradiction, in our peripheral vision, the spiral prompts win because we can't keep track of all the visual details. The brain opts for a 3D interpretation since that's the kind of scene it evolved to understand. OK, enough science. How many circles are there?
All is revealed (Image credit: Pinna & Gregory / Future)
We overlaid coloured circles over the image to make it easier to separate and identify each one. This should, if you've not got a migraine yet, allow you to identify five concentric circles in the optical illusion For more optical illusion goodness see our must-see optical illusions, and if you want to make your own, consider investing in the best graphic design software.
Joe is a regular freelance journalist and editor at Creative Bloq. He writes news, features and buying guides and keeps track of the best equipment and software for creatives, from video editing programs to monitors and accessories. A veteran news writer and photographer, he now works as a project manager at the London and Buenos Aires-based design, production and branding agency Hermana Creatives. There he manages a team of designers, photographers and video editors who specialise in producing visual content and design assets for the hospitality sector. He also dances Argentine tango.
