By Paige Freshwater

Copyright walesonline

It’s important to keep your mind active throughout the day – and one method to accomplish this is by tackling a mind-bending puzzle. However, one optical illusion has driven social media users into a frenzy, with many confessing to scouring the internet for solutions after being unable to crack it independently. On Reddit, a user reposted a well-known optical illusion called either the Wall of Circles or the Coffer Illusion, commenting: “Oldie but goodie, one of the very best illusions, a wall of circles.” They included the illusion which displays 20 striped black and white squares positioned over a striped backdrop. Yet, there are supposedly 16 circles concealed somewhere within the picture – are you able to spot them? Responding to the post, one user remarked: “That was annoying. I’ve seen this one before and knew how it worked, but it still took me a solid minute of staring at it before I was able to see the circles, even though they’re incredibly obvious once you do.” Another user commented: “I cant think of many better illusions where you can only perceive one form at a time, but the flip is so easy to make once you know it.” A third user remarked: “Ok, I have stared at it for about 20 minutes now and I can’t see any circles at all… And I’m beginning to think that I’m probably the world’s biggest sucker?”. One additional user suggested: “If you’re using a phone, then hold it close to your eyes, staring at the image. Slowly pull the phone away from your eyes, trying not to focus. “You should then see the circles. This is the only way that I was ever able to see ‘Magic Eye’ images.” Another user said: “Okay, for anybody questioning this… it really does work. It took me a while and I was convinced it was just a troll or something. “But it finally clicked, and there is a 4×4 grid of round circles centred on the image… it’s like an old stereogram, if I unfocus my eyes and stare through the picture I can see them.” A final user said: “I think my eyes are broken…. I only see squares no matter what I do.” According to associate professor Alex Holcombe and PhD student Kim Ransley from the School of Psychology at the University of Sydney, our brain’s inclination to recognise objects in what we observe makes it challenging for us to perceive ‘hidden images’. They explained: “For most people, the grouping into rectangles initially dominates. This may be because rectangles (including the ones we see in door panels) are often more common than circles in our daily environment, and so the brain favours the grouping that delivers rectangular shapes.”