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Every couple of years a new mind-bending optical illusion goes viral on the internet that leaves people puzzled.
The latest one consists of a white horse on a black background that appears to either be walking forward or backward to upbeat music.
The video was first posted to Twitter by TV personality Julia Bradbury. In the post, Bradbury simply wrote “Left brain or right brain?”
Left Brain vs. Right Brain
According to Bradbury, if the horse is walking forward you are left-brained and if you see it walking backward, you are right-brained.
Left and right-brained have been commonly used as terms to explain how people think and their personality traits.
The theory that the left and right hemispheres of your brain operate differently first emerged in the 1960s. Roger W. Sperry, a psychobiologist and Noble Peace Prize winner, believed that one side of the brain is more dominant than the other.
Right-brained people are supposedly more creative and intuitive. They are generally described as people who look at the “big picture” and experience things through intuition or emotion. Typically, right-brained people are more imaginative and better at the arts.
Left-brained people, on the other hand, are often more analytical and detail-oriented. They tend to rely on logic when making decisions and are generally better at thinking in sequences. Left-brained people tend to excel in mathematics and reading.
According to this logic, if you see the horse walking backwards you may be a more creative and emotional person.
If you see the horse walking forwards, you may be a more logical, detail-oriented person.
Left brain right brain? pic.twitter.com/ACzFUqRlIB
— Julia Bradbury💙 (@JuliaBradbury) August 27, 2021
The Mind-Boggling World of Optical Illusions
Though the walking horse is the most recent optical illusion to go viral, there have been plenty of others. The infamous dress of 2015 caused quite a stir as people debated whether it is black and blue or white and gold.
See the dress below.
Another optical illusion to divide the internet was a picture of a sneaker that people saw as turquoise and gray or pink and white.
In addition, there was the confusing perspective of the white and grey grid that includes twelve black dots positioned at different intersections. As you look at the picture, the dots appear to move, making it difficult to view them all at once.
This walking horse isn’t the only equine-related illusion. Depending on your perspective, this drawing below appears to be a frog or a horse head.
There is also this painting below of a snowy mountain range with Paint horses. The painting creates a confusing perspective as to what is the background and what is the horses.
How many horses can you see?
Like many others, this horse walking optical illusion has become quite the talking point.