This Will Freak You Out

Time for an optical illusion. Which way is the train below going?


This picture offers some insights into how parochial our minds are.

Take a glance at the picture. Which way is the train going? Is it going into the tunnel? Or is it coming out of the tunnel? It can't be doing both, it is one or the other. The people on the platform may be waiting for the local, so you can't go by them.

Look at the picture for a little while. You don't have to intently focus on it, but just watch it. The train will probably keep going into the tunnel for a little while.

Yes, this takes just a touch of patience. It may take as long as 30 seconds.

Just let your eyes drift over the scene. Keep glancing over at the moving train. If you are having any difficulty figuring out what is going on, shift your focus from the white train panels to the red ones.

Do you see it? I won't tell you what happens, you can enjoy figuring that out yourself. If nothing happens, then that means something, too, though I have no idea what.

Our minds are hard-wired from eons of evolution to interpret images in a certain way. We do not necessarily see what is there - we see what is supposed to be there based on millions of years of minds processing information.

The free will of the body's senses - to coin a phrase - is a joke. We're all primitives seeing things the way we're supposed to, not necessarily what is actually happening in reality. It is inside pretty much everybody. Look at the train, and after a few more moments you should be able to figure out how to make the picture change at will.

Yes, it might make you a touch dizzy - so don't do this while driving!

2019