The brain sees what it wants to see. Usually, that results in seeing your average, everyday stuff. Cars in traffic, a familiar face, and, of course, thousands of spam emails.
But, occasionally, the brain will tell us that the sheet on our bed is an intruder or that the tree outside our house has a human face. Why is that? And why is it so funny when it’s a photo of something normal that makes it look like a person has baby legs or a dog’s face instead of a human one?
The answer is that your brain tells your eyes what to see and not the other way around. I don’t mean to confuse you. I saw Tenet recently and couldn’t explain what was actually going on even after reading 20 articles on entropy. However, I do think I have a handle on this subject.
Pictures that seem confusing and funny at first glance when you are playing to the top of your intelligence. Your ancestors survived by being able to recognize danger out in the wild. Now you see what might be a leopard hiding in your closet, but it’s actually some leopard print leggings that were a mistake. I’ll explain more below, but for now, let’s see what your brain can do with some confusing photos.
Here are some funny and confusing photos that your brain will take a few seconds to figure out:
1. No, sir. I don’t like it.
2. A floating towel or what?
3. Standing tall.
4. Not always a great idea to match your clothes.
Your brain wants to find patterns. I’m not saying what your eyes observe isn’t there. But, your brain isn’t some dull machine that takes in random visual stimuli like I sometimes feel when watching sports in my post-Thanksgiving meal food coma.
No. Your brain is an active participant in what you see. Your brain bases everything you see on previous information it has absorbed during your lifetime.