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Optical Illusions: Circles or squares - which do you see?

Norcia optical illusionImage source, Anthony Norcia, Smith-Kettlewell/@DrGBuckingham
Image caption,

This image was shared by psychologist Dr Gavin Buckingham.

There's a new picture going around social media that's left lots of people pretty confused!

This incredible image above was shared by a psychologist who asked people if they could see the circles hidden in the squares.

The images and the effect it has on us shows how our eyes and our brains try to work out - and make sense out of - what's in front of us.

Let us know what you see in the comments! And if you fancy checking out even more illusions then keep reading to see the ones below!

Image source, @DrGBuckingham/Twitter

The illusion, called the Coffer Ambiguous Figure, was created by Anthony Norcia, vision scientist at the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute in San Francisco.

On their website, it says we should 'switch' between seeing the image containing a pattern of squares versus a pattern of circles.

To spot the circles, instead of looking at the centre of the square, focus on the space between the squares. Good luck!

Which zebra?

Image source, Sarosh Lohdi

This incredible image was taken by wildlife photographer Sarosh Lohdi. It shows a pair of beautiful zebras on a wildlife reserve in Kenya, but the question is - which one is facing the camera?

Some people have tried to use the position of the zebras' ears and their hair colour to solve the mystery, while others have attempted to use shadows to work it out. However, there's still no agreement online.

Some have even suggested the photo has been edited, although the photographer has assured people that the image hasn't been touched.

Rabbit or Raven?

Image source, PAIGE DAVIS

Look closely and tell us - is this a rabbit or a raven? The clip of the mystery animal being stroked was shared on Twitter by Dan Quintana, a Norwegian podcaster, and left a lots of people scratching their heads.

Millions have watched the video which was originally posted by Paige Davis, a trainer at the World Bird Sanctuary. She confirmed that it's a raven!

A white-necked raven called Mischief to be precise. Both Paige and Dan were really shocked at how much attention the post received.

A diamond illusion

Media caption,

WATCH: What can you see in this optical illusion?

Is the diamond in the video moving when you watch it?

If your answer is yes, then think again. It might appear as if the diamond is following the instructions on screen, but it's actually completely still.

The image and video was made by researchers Oliver Flynn and Arthur Shapiro from the American University in Washington DC.

They used a series of flashing lights behind the diamond to trick the brain. When you watch the video, the flashes confuse the brain into thinking the shape is moving up, down, left and right.

Media caption,

WATCH: How do optical illusions work? Brain expert Paul Azzopardi explains

Is it a beach or is it a door?

Image source, Twitter/@rebeccareilly_

Do you remember the photo that was shared on social media by a woman, who wrote: "Is this a door or a beach???"

And the internet answered with almost 20,000 people leaving comments with their best guess.

Image source, @ rebeccareilly__

Is this photo moving or staying still?

Image source, Yurii Perepadia

This image was created by a designer called Yurii Perepadia from Ukraine. It was shared on social media by a neuroscientist Alice Proverbio whose job is to look at how the brain works.

What do think of the picture? The image is static but the way it is created tricks your mind into thinking it is moving.

That blue-black or white-gold dress

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Find out why this dress is causing such a stir...

This dress caused a sensation online in 2015.

When looking at a photo of it, some people see it as gold and white, while others see it as blue and black.

Colours can appear different depending on what kind of light they're in. Something that's blue, for example, can look totally different in sunlight than under streetlights at night time.

But even when it's the same photograph, some people see blue, while others see white.

Is this cat going up or down?

Media caption,

Watch Martin's report

This optical illusion picture of a cat had lots of people online asking if the cat was moving up or down the stairs.

Because of the way the light falls on the stairs, there aren't many other clues in the picture to help the brain decide whether it's going up or down.

But one clue could be in the moggy's tail...

How many girls do you see?

Image source, Tiziana Vergari
Image caption,

How many girls do you see?

This image which was posted to social media has left people baffled. It was posted with the caption "same but different".

People find it really hard to tell how many girls are actually featured in the picture.

When asked about the photo, the person who shared it would only say that they have two daughters.