Subtitles section Play video Print subtitles Curious how good your eyesight is? Take a look at this image. Who do you see? If you're at a normal viewing distance from the screen and have decent eyesight, you should be seeing Albert Einstein. However, if you see Marilyn Monroe, you may want to consider wearing glasses or contacts. Wear your glasses right now. Try taking them off and the image may change. Or if you're near somebody else, ask them what they see. The effect can actually be seen by anyone if we change the distance or size of the picture. If it's far away, you're more likely to see Marilyn Monroe, as our eyes only pick up the broader strokes of an image from a distance. But as you come closer to the image, you see the finer details of Einstein. We promise we haven't changed anything digitally. In fact, pause this video now, and try walking away from your computer screen. Chances are the image will change and at a different distance than your friends because our eyes are all slightly different. The further away you can stand and still see Einstein, the better your eyes likely are. You can achieve the same effect by squinting your eyes to blur the photo. So what's going on? Well this image is an example of a hybrid image, whereby a low spatial frequency of one picture is combined with the high spatial frequency of another. But depending on how well you're able to focus or pick up contrast, your eye will only pick out certain details. Up close, we're generally able to see fine details like Einstein's mustache and wrinkles. But as the distance increases, or if your vision is poor and creates a more blurred image in the first place, Your ability to pick up details fades away. Instead, you only see the general features like the shape of the mouth, nose and hair, making it seem like Marilyn Monroe. Love tricking your brain with illusions? We put together a playlist of our favorite ones that you can watch by clicking the screen. Don't forget to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and subscribe for more weekly science videos.
B1 US image marilyn marilyn monroe einstein monroe distance How Good Is Your Eyesight? (TEST) 6075 385 Lily Chou posted on 2015/05/16 More Share Save Report Video vocabulary