Reality is actually a story created by our brains. Scientists have studied how our minds process and understand our surroundings for years. The stories that our brains create don’t always coincide with the real world, and sometimes it can get tricky. Scroll down to find photos that will test your eyes to find out what’s real and what’s simply an illusion.
Imagine you’re showing Planet Earth around to a visitor from outer space. How about we show them some of Earth’s majestic phenomena? First things first: the dancing Northern Lights. They’d probably think it’s a work of magic if science hadn’t been able to explain how on Earth these things work. It’s crazy that such a beautiful phenomenon can emerge from such a violent encounter. So how about we take a closer look into the process?
Ready to discover some life hacks that are low-key useful but high-key strange and ridiculous? Let’s go!
Can you tell me what date it is today? Piece of cake. You just look at your smartphone, and voilà: you immediately know the day, month, and year. But, was it always this easy to tell the date? Did the ancient people even have the concept of a year that lasts 365 days? Yes and no. Mayan calendars had cycles. That’s close to what we call a year. But the Mayan cycle was much longer: 819 days. And this is where the mystery begins. 819 days compared to what? When does this calendar begin, and when does it end?
We see thousands of things a day, but they’re easy to forget if they’re not special. But it also happens that you witness something so confusing and unimaginable that it makes your whole brain reboot. You can’t help but pause for a sec, wondering, “Is this really happening?”. Ultimately, it turns out that it was just an illusion, and the universe was playing a joke on everyone, but thankfully, some people managed to capture those moments in a crazy pic.
Creating an illusion with photography doesn’t mean that you have to edit a photo in order for it to look like something else. The result can be achieved by simply taking advantage of the natural glare and positioning the camera at the right angle. This is how the people who took the pictures shown below created incredibly confusing visuals that will make you giggle.
Angle, lighting, and mood can make a captured picture worthwhile. But impeccable timing may also result in a memorable shot. And while skilled reflexes help you achieve that, it is often sheer luck that turns a photograph into a hilarious coincidence or a beautiful illusion. Here, we rounded up some of the most unique pics taken at the very right moment that will leave you perplexed and questioning your eyesight.
You’re dozing off in your window seat on a plane — it’s getting dark since it’s almost 11 PM. Suddenly, something wakes you up. You glance out of the window and see a really strange phenomenon. Something that creeps you out... There are bright red huge flashes illuminating the sky at a distance. They resemble some nightmarish jellyfish. Those are sprites — also called red sprites due to their color. They’re also known as cloud-to-space lightning. These varied visual shapes flickering in the night sky are large-scale electric discharges (which is a clever word for a lightning strike).
Some simple things can get complicated, and your brain can get stuck trying to crack the case. It can be a 3D painting that makes you feel like the floor has a hole. Just be careful with what you see because sometimes it’s just an illusion.
Eyebrows can help to modify the face shape. A flat eyebrow shape, for example, can shorten the face. And people with longer faces may try a flat eyebrow shape, so that it creates the illusion of a more balanced look. Let’s see how eyebrows can change celebs’ faces.
Why do you think right and left matter when it comes to headphones? The sound moves really slowly. The echo is a good example. Try shout at a distant building to hear your voice bouncing back at you with a slight delay. The sounds move slowly enough so the brain can detect the time difference between the sound that arrives at your right and left ear. Even if the difference is minimal, like 10 microseconds. This is something we know as the interaural time difference. If your friend speaks on your right, your brain knows the sound is coming from that side because it takes a little bit longer for the same sound to get to your left ear.
There is beauty in uniqueness. All bodies are beautiful and come in different sizes, shapes, and features. Studies have found that although each body is unique, it is possible to categorize based on the similarities we share. These lead to various categories that each female body fits into.Knowing your body shape is a useful tool when dressing and feeling confident in what you wear. So, let’s learn together all about your body shape.
There’s a phenomenon called “pareidolia,” where our mind tricks us into seeing faces in inanimate objects. But that’s not all, as one recent study claims that in those illusory faces we can recognize age, emotion, and gender. Fortunately, the Internet has plenty of fun examples for those who find this ability amusing or have yet to experience it.
Sometimes we might wish there was a pill that could automatically solve all our problems. Although it hasn’t been invented yet, we can do just fine with ingenious tips people somehow manage to come up with. Legend has it, it’s either because of a necessity or outright laziness. In any case, it wholly depends on how you look at it, and we don’t mind the benefits the life hacks bring us.
Time is not an unstoppable force bent on making your back hurt and giving you a few gray hairs. Scientifically speaking, time does not really exist how we perceive it. As our favorite physic superstar, Einstein showed us — space and time are fluid and relative. They are affected by gravity and your speed. The people below are not scientific geniuses (maybe some of them are, we are not sure) but they totally echo that sentiment: time is nothing but a very persistent illusion.Bright Side wants to share with you 15 pictures that truly remind us that some of the most heartwarming and wholesome things are unscratched by the passing of time.
Movie creators do all sorts of things to make their actors look the way the role requires. Some actors need to have their hair dyed, others change their accent, and some need to work out for months to get fit.
Some things in this world are absolute magic, and others are just an illusion. The key point here is not to fall for things we see too fast and to at least try to do a double-take. After all, our universe has many simple yet tricky ways to catch our attention and truly deceive our eyes.
We all share things that make us feel happy or that concern us on social media and the magic of it all is that, through those channels, we may be able to find people who’re actually interested in the same things. However, sometimes it may seem that we live in an alternate reality in which there are 2 versions of ourselves because we tend to “make up” situations without realizing it, as we express ourselves through this unique way that technology has offered us.
There are many hypotheses about existence itself. Among them is a theory called the “simulation hypothesis,” according to which nothing we see is actually real — or not in the way we understand the word “real.” The theory states that everything is an illusion. It probably sounds crazy to you, but sometimes certain things happen that make us doubt everything.
Imagine that you wake up at night in your bedroom. You’re still half asleep and begin looking for a glass of water you left there before going to bed. When you finally manage to open your eyes, you get scared because you mistake a sweater you left hanging from your chair for a human torso. You’re probably still in a place between waking and sleeping, so you’re not sure if you’re actually dreaming or not. Well, sometimes pictures actually manage to capture similar strange illusions that seem so real, they make us doubt whether we’re awake or sleeping.
Mexican artist, Carlos Alberto GH, paints walls and floors in a way that feels so incredibly real, you’ll have to touch it to make sure it’s not. He creates surreal imagery and illusion with his art, which is simply like no other.
The Twin Peaks series that was released in 1990 still excites the minds of its audience. The story created by David Lynch and Mark Frost lasted for 3 seasons as a series, one full-length movie, and several books. But even the most thorough studies of all these materials don’t provide answers to all the (still outstanding) questions. There are numerous versions of things happening and each of them can be a clue.
They may tell you that they see a future with you, be very attentive on significant dates, and ask what your parents’ names are. But then, suddenly, they say they’re not so sure about you and not ready for a serious relationship, and you start thinking about what you could’ve missed that would lead to this immense disappointment. Spoiler alert: there were no signs, and yes, you’ve been “dreamscaped.”
No matter how busy or in how much of a hurry you are, there is no way you won’t notice the work of street artist Grafodeco. The French artist creates 3D street paintings that are so real you’d want to stop and stare to make sure a dinosaur is not after you. His graffiti is so detailed that the animals in them, like snakes, crocodiles, and dinosaurs, really do seem like they’re jumping off the wall.
A contemporary embroidery artist, Cécile Davidovici, uses textiles in a way that helps her capture the moment and preserve her most precious memories. In her works, Cécile explores the connection between innocence and illusion, and creates her own unique world full of sweet nostalgia.
Trends are tempting and some of us may be seduced by them even if they don’t fit us. Leggings, kitten heels, and babydoll dresses can even spoil your figure and show your legs from a less attractive side. But most trends can still be followed if we just listen to these simple tips.
While the tips about reading a lot and working less in the office may sound pretty good, it’s not enough to follow them to become a person who is well-off financially. It’s important to have a certain mindset and this way of thinking that can be developed thanks to certain habits. Millionaires have a similar attitude toward many things and it’s not without reason. The same goes for people who can barely make ends meet.
Do you also have a favorite cup that makes tea tastier? And do you prefer taking things with your right hand (if you are a righty)? You have probably never thought that even the most ordinary actions are not just habits, but the tricks of our mind. If you want to know about the origin of these phenomena and also why you like to procrastinate before important events, read our article. All the answers are here.
Money certainly cannot buy family, love, or friendship. However, it can buy the appearance of these things. Ishii Yuichi, a man from Japan, came up with the idea for people to hire actors to play the roles of a husband, wife, or parent. Yuichi has also joined this “real-life” stage and now has more than 100 “wives” and many kids — and some of them are sure that he’s their real father.
This world is so hectic and restless that sometimes we just can’t cope with its energy. The heroes of today’s article show us what sleep deprivation looks like. Relax and get some rest!
Visiting a restaurant or a café is a pleasant way to spend your time. That’s why while being relaxed we don’t even think about the fact that the owner of the restaurant could be using special tricks to make us spend more money. There are people who keep checking their bills for the presence of dishes they didn’t order but this trick is not used that often by restaurants anymore. All because they try to think up new and more sly ways to cheat their clients and get more profit.
Even if you’re good at physics and know the nature of different phenomena, you just can’t help being surprised at how impressive they are. Let’s just take a look at the pictures that we’ve found for you. The photographers managed to capture ball lightning, an underwater ice sculpture, and even a smoke vortex.
One of the most famous magicians in the world, David Copperfield, once said, “The real secret of magic lies in the performance.” In one of his tricks, he makes a train carriage rise above the ground, levitate, and vanish. How does he do that? It turns out that the greater part of any magic trick is thorough preparation, practice, and the art of making the audience see what you want it to see.
What if the universe doesn’t work the way we think it does? What if reality is just an illusion? If it’s not, how can you explain the confusing pictures that we have collected in this article?
Pretty much everyone has experienced the phenomenon of seeing things that aren’t really there. This type of illusion is called pareidolia, and it tricks our brains into perceiving familiar shapes in the strangest of places. Bright Side decided to collect a few of the most hilarious objects we can easily confuse with something completely unrelated at first glance.
Sometimes the explanation of the most dazzling and mysterious magic trick is right there on the surface. The Bright Side team tried to learn some magicians’ secrets, and now we have a simple explanation of the most famous tricks.
