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WELLNESS & FITNESS

'Duck Or Rabbit' Optical Illusion Interprets The Way People's Brain Works

Date July 25, 2019

Author By Mambee

This is one of the oldest optical illusions out there and it shows how fascinating the brain truly is.

Duck or Rabbit? How it began

In 1953, the BBC TV program, Right Hand, Left Hand, broadcasted this image of a duck / rabbit optical illussion to ask its viewers what they see. Thousands of people gave their interpretation of whether they saw a duck or a rabbit.

By Jastrow, J. (1899) [Public Domain] Via Wikimedia Commons

At the time, the presenter, Dr. Jacob Bronowski opined that people saw the images differently depending on whether they were left or right-handed. However, a later study showed that the age and sex of the viewer were more likely to affect their perception of the image.

Vchal / Shutterstock.com

What it says about your brain

In February 2018, a new study delved into how the brain sees this image and what it says about how our mind helps to interpret the things we see. The study, published in the SAGE Journals, showed that the information we have can determine how we see things, including this photo, for example.

Dean Drobot / Shutterstock.com

It was first discovered that no matter how hard a person looked, they could not see both the duck and the rabbit at the same time. However, when one researcher asked them to look at the image and imagine a duck eating a rabbit, they respondents were able to focus and see both images.

Neuroscientist and author of the study, Kyle Mathewson explained that when the researcher asked them to do this, the "brain sort of zooms out and can see the big picture when the images are put into context with one another."

ESB Professional / Shutterstock.com

In conclusion, Kyle explained that this experiment showed we can control how we interpret things by just using a few words to put it in context for our brain.

Other fascinating optical illusions

We never tire of these images and visuals that not only help us learn more about ourselves but teach us that we can each interpret the same situation in a unique way.

In this video below, you can find a few more optical illusions that have become popular over the years.

The brain is a mysterious thing indeed.