Optical illusions can be a great way to boost brain health and keep you entertained.
Experts suggest regular brainteasers and puzzles to help you understand how the brain and eyes work together. Not only can illusions be great for mental agility, they’re also great for helping you solve problems down the line.
Now if you want to really put your eyesight and mind to the test, see if you can work out what’s going on in this viral Reddit image. Over on the u/damnthatsinteresting forum, it shows a tattoo on someone’s arm.
The caption reads: “Static tattoo with ‘shaking’ effect,” as it reveals the inking with the word “Void”. But the more you stare at it, things start to get rather baffling. Since it was shared, the post garnered 182,000 likes and 5,000 comments.
One said: “I love and hate it at the same time.” Another added: “Yeah, I’m curious how it looks at angles. Right now it just hurts my brain. Well done.”
Someone else posted: “The fact I feel like I’m having a seizure looking at this. 10 out of 10.” A fourth commented: “The hate and respect I have for this tattoo is crazy right now.”
Then a fifth wrote: “It’s a brilliantly eye-catching design, it clashes in a way that I can’t even say it’s a bad tattoo, the artist really knows their stuff. That said, what a horrible thing to look at, focusing on it is like a headache waiting to happen.”
The mind-boggling tattoo gives off that “shaking” effect as a result of the artist’s crafty work. To create a similar effect, the tattooist would intentionally vary the line thickness and depth while inking the person’s skin to mimic a shaky or slightly uneven line.
It is often achieved by applying slightly more pressure in certain areas while maintaining a consistent movement, giving the crafty design a more organise appearance. And this is usually done with a skilled hand to control the level of “shake” for the effect.