Japanese artist jagarikin has created a mind-bending illusion that makes it appear as though a pair of cubes are rotating and moving from side to side when, in reality, they aren’t moving at all.
The boxes look like they’re spinning as the background alternates from white to black while the arrows inside appear to be controlling the direction of the cubes’ movement.
If you still believe the boxes are moving, place a finger or your cursor over any of the lines that make up the cubes and you will notice that they are completely stationary. But be careful, if you stare too long the illusion could be disorienting.
The illusion is based on the visual concept known as Reverse Phi. To put it simply, when our brains notice things transitioning from light to dark they perceive it as motion. As the cubes’ edges alternate from white to gray to black, our brains believe that they are rotating.
The illusion is fun to look at but it’s also a reminder that our senses are limited and are easily fooled. What other parts of reality do we think are real, but are really just an illusion?
