Baffling optical illusion tricks the mind into seeing black and white photo in colour – can you spot why?
Look at the picture from a distance, it’s in colour right? Now look closer. Up close, you can see that the image is actually black and white. It has coloured lines on top of it.
Housed in London West-End-based multisensory illusion attraction, Twist Museum, The Girl with a Pearl Earring is an exhibit that displays two images of the same girl – one appearing in black and white and one appearing in colour.
Up close, you can see that the image is actually black and white. It has coloured lines on top of it. From far away the colour of the black and white photo seems to shift towards that of the lines, tricking the mind into thinking it is a colour version of the same painting.
Why does this happen?
This is called ‘colour assimilation’. It’s not yet known exactly why this happens, but one explanation is ‘neural blurring’ in which brain cells average out the light signals that fall on them.
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As humans we can all interpret and perceive things differently, with Twist Museum – Twist being an acronym for The Way I See Things – encouraging its visitors to engage their senses, while exploring and putting to the test the power of the mind through immersive experiences.
Perception-based activities such as optical illusions, like The Pearl Earring shared above, can be a great way to activate the brain and how we interpret these activities can often highlight different aspects of our personality. Award-winning psychologist Dr Lalitaa Suglani shares more on this below as she explains:
“The way we interpret optical illusions often highlights how unique and subjective our perception is. This subjectivity is influenced by:
Cognitive filters – our past experiences, cultural background, and learned behaviours shape how we see and process information. For example, some people focus on details while others see the bigger picture first, reflecting analytical versus holistic thinking styles.
Personality traits – those with high openness to experience might find abstract illusions intriguing and are more likely to explore multiple interpretations. Conversely, individuals with a preference for structure might struggle with ambiguity, trying to “solve” the illusion.
Cognitive biases – optical illusions can also expose tendencies like confirmation bias (seeing what we expect to see based on previous experiences) or even optimism/pessimism depending on whether someone perceives an illusion positively or negatively.”
Dr Lalitaa also shares how our perceptions can reveal a lot about our own emotional or mental states. She adds:
“Optical illusions can act as a mirror for how we process the world under varying emotional or mental states:
Stress Levels – when stressed or anxious, our brains may default to quicker, less detailed interpretations of illusions, as the mind seeks efficiency over accuracy.
Focus and attention – someone who is easily distracted might find it challenging to spot alternative perspectives within an illusion, revealing levels of sustained focus.
Emotional states – our mood can influence perception, for example, individuals in a positive emotional state might perceive ambiguous images as less threatening or more pleasant, while someone feeling down may interpret them more negatively, as we project what is going on for us internally.”
