The terrifying illusion makes the circles appear to be spinning, but there’s an explanation as to why.
The illusion, shared on a recent TikTok, confused many viewers.
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TikToker shared an impressive illusion Credits: YouTube/brusspup, TikTok/hecticnick
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You are challenged to figure out which direction the circles are moving as they are added Credits: YouTube/brusspup, TikTok/hecticnick
At first, the video shows a circle of eight white dots moving back and forth in a straight line inside a larger red circle.
Then, as more circles are added, the white circles appear to spin into their own little circles.
The video was posted by user HecticNick, who has up to 3.9 million followers.
It has been viewed more than 12 million times.
The video was also shared by brusspup on YouTube, where it garnered more than 6.8 million views.
A Slate writer explained the phenomenon in an article, saying that most illusions, if you look hard enough, can be broken by your brain.
“Not with this,” the author wrote.
“It’s maddening.”
Mathematically speaking, the shapes themselves are called cycloids, the article explains.
In essence, the inconsistent speeds of the individual circuits make them seem as if they are all lumped together.
“By mimicking this trigonometric motion, your eyes and brain are tricked into thinking that the points act together, showing the edge of a circle,” the article states.
“But they didn’t; their movements are related but independent of each other (called “parametric” in mathematics)”.
“I’ve seen this a million times so funny but I knew how it worked before this tik tok,” one person wrote in response to the TikTok video.
“Just focus on 1 point,” another person recommended.
“No, his (sic) deffo rotates when full circle,” said a third person.
One TikToker recommended sending a video to a friend to “drive them crazy.”
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: HIS Education