The visual system activates optical illusions when our sense of reality diverges from the truth. Limitations of our visual senses or the way our brains absorb information are just two examples of many causes of these illusions. They constantly test our perceptions and interpretations of the world around us. The benefits of optical illusions for the brain are huge. They encourage the brain’s visual processing abilities and can enhance cognitive abilities including concentration, perception and problem solving. This is one of the optical illusions to challenge your brain. You can see the silhouette of a character in the photo posted above. What did you notice first? Is that a mouse face or a human face? Pay attention to that image and note which image comes to mind first. Have you decided yet? What if we assert that both are true? To find out why, read the explanation below. Richard Gregory, a British psychologist, proposed top-down processing as a solution. This theory holds that although our eyes take in a lot of information in the form of stimuli, much of it is lost when it reaches the brain. As a result, the perception created is slightly different from what our eyes actually witness. But as our brains develop over time, it weeds out things it can’t understand to quickly make decisions—in this case, to distinguish between a man’s face and a mouse. Our brains create hypotheses based on what we know about the world around us, which is not always accurate for making decisions. Our brains can recognize that a photo that appears to be of a man’s face could also be of a mouse and vice versa as we pay more attention to the image and gather more information about it.
