3 Simple Ways to
Share What You Make

With Instructables you can share what you make with the world — and tap into an ever-growing community of creative experts.

PhotosPhotos

Share one or more photos of a project, recipe, or whatever you've made, quickly and easily.

Step by StepStep-By-Step

Share your step-by-step photos with text instructions of what you made so others can do it too!

VideoVideo

Share your how-to video. You'll need your embed code from a video site such as YouTube.

Optical Illusions: Fading Dot?

Optical Illusions: Fading Dot?
Optical Illusions: Fading Dot? How Does This Optical Illusion Work?
 
Remove these adsRemove these ads by Signing Up
 

Step 1Do The Optical Illusion!

Do The Optical Illusion!
Stare at the dot for awhile without moving your eyes or your head. The dot will gradually fade into the field of green. Some people find that the dot fades more rapidly if they stare blankly at the edge of the square. As soon as you move your head or eyes, notice that the dot reappears!



« Previous StepDownload PDFView All StepsNext Step »
32 comments
Oct 4, 2011. 11:17 AMcleage001 says:
För më thë ëntïrë grëën fädëd äwäÿ. LOL UMLAUTS
Mar 21, 2011. 1:23 AMsuperMacaroni says:
Silly dot, y u no fade?
Oct 11, 2010. 9:19 AMDontShoot262 says:
AWESOME!!!!!
May 5, 2010. 3:19 AMskimmo says:
I'm dyslexic its just looks like any other piece of text
Aug 13, 2009. 9:36 AMMoBaniS says:
the little dot turns into a burning skull... he will kill me... no... no... OMG... help me... aaaaaahhhrgrggrekejk-;:,.-. .................................................. SORRY XD nice explanation!
Nov 9, 2007. 8:36 PMSFHandyman says:
I lose the whole thing. The green fades away completely and I'm just left with a faint blue dot. It only stays gone for a second but it's pure white for a moment.
Jun 26, 2009. 9:44 PMRock Soldier says:
same with me, but both dots disappear at the same time...We must keep are unique gift secretive until the right time arises...
Jun 26, 2009. 9:43 PMRock Soldier says:
Staring at the dot makes both dots disappear, I was blind in the one area. How dare you...
Jun 26, 2009. 9:39 PMRock Soldier says:
(removed by author or community request)
Jun 26, 2009. 9:40 PMRock Soldier says:
It was cool though. I was only blind for like, a second at most it seemed like.
Jul 7, 2007. 10:21 AMkwalian says:
It also seems as though the dark green circle gets bigger.
Jul 7, 2007. 12:53 PMac1D says:
i did not see the little dot fade, but i do see the big circle "grow"
Sep 29, 2007. 9:15 AMtechnopenguin says:
For me, the little dot gets smaller and bigger over and over, same with the big green dot.
May 21, 2009. 2:49 AMthedragonmaster says:
I agree
Aug 10, 2007. 2:44 PMFather Christmas says:
is there a problem is the large green mass shrunk by about 50% when i stared at the dot? o.O
Nov 16, 2008. 9:56 AMAngeleyes997 says:
The second time I looked at the dot, it disapeared.
Nov 16, 2008. 9:54 AMAngeleyes997 says:
Every time I look at the dot, it looks like it is turning purple. No! I dont have sezers!
Sep 1, 2008. 3:35 AMsick-al says:
you said "Some people find that the dot fades more rapidly if they stare blankly at the edge of the square" its a circle isnt it? or are my eyes dodgy?
Sep 11, 2008. 5:32 PMvailo says:
I think that they accidentally find their blind spot. But when I stare at the dot, my eyes just get really.. really.. tired...
Jul 8, 2007. 12:32 AMMitten says:
I found that its more of an optical illusen if you stare at the middle dot and move your head back and forth. the "haze" grows and shinks.
Jun 21, 2008. 10:01 AMkaiga says:
me too
Jun 11, 2008. 3:41 PMLaszlo says:
The optic nerves, as well as your visual cortex, function best when the incoming information changes. After a few seconds with no change, and even more so after a couple minutes, the image the brain is able to construct deteriorates somewhat because is expecting data about changes in light levels, not continuous light levels. This is the same basic issue that prevents a frog from noticing the water it's sitting in is heating up very slowly. However, homosapian vision systems are far more sensitive and complex, so it is often difficult for us to notice. This can be very difficult to experience for many reasons, not the least of which is that our eyes, and even our bodies, constantly make very minute movements we aren't aware of. It takes extremely little movement to stimulate changes in what the retina can detect, and add to that the fantastic mastery the visual cortex has of regenerating an image from very, very little information. The same process can be demonstrated in a completely different way by observing video shot outside on a sunny day. A camera without the proper red filter, or automatic color adjustment, will produce video that is drenched in blue light from the sky. The human vision system adapts to this excess blue so well that when we go outside, we see no 'excess' blue at all, which is inaccurate, and is an illusion. If you CAN...stare at something that is not moving for a long, long time, without moving your eyes or blinking, and you can actually 'see' a lot of the image fade away completely. Then even the slightest movement of your eyes will bring it all back. Meanwhile, if you get the the fading away stage, anything in your line of sight that does move will stand out tremendously. This is how many animals see the world, especially in very dim light.
May 26, 2008. 11:56 AMjacksteal4 says:
wait I looked again and it got smaller
May 26, 2008. 11:54 AMjacksteal4 says:
when I look at it it doesn't shrink...... it gets all deformed like it is being tortured
Mar 27, 2008. 8:05 AMitsmanofpopsicle says:
my eyes hurt!
Jul 6, 2007. 9:28 PM!Andrew_Modder! says:
This is not an 'instructable' this is just a little trick... >:-|
Jul 7, 2007. 1:16 PMac1D says:
a little trick could be a illusion, a instructable explain or show how to build something. this, at my opinion, is a instructables.
Jul 7, 2007. 1:15 PMVertigo666 says:
It pulsates. very calming.........................................................
Jul 7, 2007. 9:21 AMgyromild says:
Heh.. perhaps i was hoping a little bit more explanation on why it happens.. :)

Anyway..
This site is great in explaining / demonstrating optical illusions.. (credit to Michael Bach)

And i think this is somewhat similar to the Lilac Chaser? (correct me if I'm wrong)
Jul 7, 2007. 4:03 AMFrenchCrawler says:
Technically, this should be posted in the forums...
Jul 7, 2007. 3:09 AMkrazy says:
didn't work for me or my hubby.. i think its really like one of those things that works on semi color blind people because then the 2 colors would fade much easier then it would just any ol body. just like one of those test the eye doc gives you when you go in for a vision test.
Jul 6, 2007. 9:22 PMMagnelectrostatic says:
this doesn't work for me instead I look at a dim light in a very dark area and EVERYTHING goes dark

Pro

Get More Out of Instructables

Already have an Account?

close

All Steps Viewing
View all steps of an Instructable on the same page when you're a Pro Member.

Upgrade to Pro today!
0
Followers
1
Author:Egotistic-Hippie