Latest brain-tricking optical illusion to baffle the internet is an arrow that will ONLY ever point east – even when it’s turned west
- Short clip of a rotating arrow that appears to always point east has gone viral
- Internet users say the brain-fuddling optical illusion is ‘messing with their heads’
- Arrow is the work of Japanese sculptor and mathematician Kokichi Sugihara
- Curves on 3D arrow’s surface trick the brain when viewed from a certain angle
A 3D arrow that can never point west is driving the internet to distraction after going viral on social media.
The simple-looking arrow points east no matter which way you turn it, thanks to a clever – and frustrating – optical illusion.
The deceptive arrow is the handiwork of Japanese sculptor and mathematician Kokichi Sugihara and relies on gentle curves on the arrow’s surface to mislead the brain.
The arrow, the work of Japanese sculptor and mathematician Kokichi Sugihara, was posted on to Twitter by @thmakhaimeng and a short clip showing the optical illusion arrow apparently unable to turn 180 degrees has left the internet wide-eyed at the trickery
So far, so good: The simple white arrow, perched on a wooden stand, points east
The trickery begins when a finger is seen turning the arrow 180 degrees…
However, when the arrow reaches the 180-degree mark, it appears to still be pointing right
Millions have now watched the video of the arrow being turned 180 degrees, and its point still facing east, with many saying the clip ‘messed with their head’.
A finger is seen gently moving the pointer, which sits on a wooden stand, around from right to left.
However, even after the swivel, the arrow appears to still be facing east.
Original poster @thmakhaimeng explained: ‘This arrow by mathematician and sculptor Kokichi Sugihara can’t point left. Here’s how it works: It’s 3D-printed with a bunch of curves our brains don’t register.’
The trick to the optical illusion is explained when you look directly down on the arrow, when the contours of the arrow are more clearly visible.
When looked at from a certain angle, the brain can’t compute those curves.
Good Morning Britain presenter Ben Shephard shared a clip of the daytime television’s own version of the arrow, saying: ‘This is really freaking us out – the arrow can’t turn left!’
Responding to the original video, plenty of others agreed that the arrow was hugely confusing, with many posting comedy gifs to reflect how the optical illusion had fuddled their thinking.
@dhirajkolge wrote: ‘What kind of witchcraft is this?’
@retrograde called it ‘trippy’ and @seamusdd said ‘Head blown!’
It’s the latest in a long stream of optical illusions to be posted on social media.
In June, a colourful sphere illusion set out to prove that perception is not always reality, with a viral image showing that what’s visibly green, red, or blue is actually pink.
Without the lines overlapping the spheres, they clearly appear a pinkish hue as opposed to red, green, or blue
David Novick is a professor at University of Texas who highlighted an optical illusion that shows our brains struggling to make sense of raw data. In the above image, there appears to be spheres of three different colors
In a tweet from David Novick, a Professor of Engineering Education and Leadership, at the University of Texas in El Paso, an image shows seemingly different-colored spheres floating amid streaks of red, blue, and green lines.
But, it reveals a truth much more interesting than our initial perception of the picture lets on.
The orbs, which initially appear to be various different colors, are actually all the same color, according to Novick.