First things first, what colour does this dress appear to you?
Blue & Black OR White & Gold?
This dress divided the internet a few years back, and the phenomenon continues to be utterly fascinating to vision experts like myself. The very existence of “the dress” challenged our entire understanding of colour vision. No one had any idea why people saw the dress differently, and we arguably still don’t fully understand it.
A few years on, however, we do have a better idea of why the perception may have varied; our perceived colour is determined by our perception of lighting. This image of the dress (taken on a mobile) contained uncertainty in lighting conditions:
Our brain subconsciously asks 'Was this image taken inside or outside?' This matters because the brain interprets artificial light and natural light differently.
And, 'Was the dress illuminated from the front or the back?' This matters because if it was back-lit, the dress would be in a shadow.
The animation below shows how the differing lighting conditions/exposure can alter the perceived colour.
The brain is a self-assured organ; in situations where it faces uncertainty it confidently fills in the gaps in knowledge by making assumptions. Usually, these assumptions are based on what it has most frequently encountered in the past. Assumptions allow our brain to save energy; we collate past experiences and look for patterns which inform us on how the world around us works. Colour and lighting are no exception.
The dress is actually blue and black (see photo from online shop below) though most people saw it as white and gold, at least at first. If your brain assumed the dress was in a shadow, you were much more likely to see it as white and gold.
Why? Because shadows over-represent blue light. Your brain will have mentally subtracted short-wavelength light from the image (to allow for the shadow) making the dress appear more yellow-ish.
Another contributing factor is, in the original photo, the dress appears by itself (taking up most of the image). As soon as there are arms, legs and a face visible, our visual system responds and makes a counter-adjustment to the colour we see (as we now know whether the dress is in shadow based on the model's skin).
The fascinating comparison below by 'The Brains Blog' shows the difference shadow and light have on colour perception.
Left: Model as shown on shop website (unadjusted in colour) with original dress photo above (also unadjusted). Most people will see the dress as black & blue
Right: Here the model (and background) have been darkened. The dress is still unadjusted in colour, but will now look white and gold to most.
The dress itself is the same colour in both images, as the strip connecting them shows!
The colour-perception argument isn't limited to dresses, this photo of a trainer was posted more recently and the internet were divided yet again!
What do you think:
Teal & Grey OR Pink & White?
Whilst we can now begin to understand how the brain interprets colour in different lighting conditions, it only adds to the longstanding question about colour perception: Is the colour you see the same colour I see? And the answer is, likely, no!
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