• The optical illusion is about a square that appears to change colour as it moves across a sheet of paper.
• It was created by Akiyoshi Kitaoka, a psychology professor in Japan.
• The process that makes it appear as though the square’s colour is changing is known as simultaneous contrast illusion.

Optical illusions are undeniably fascinating. Nonetheless, they frequently leave folks perplexed. Similar to this square paper illusion that may leave you perplexed. Even more intriguing is the fact that paper is used to create the illusion. It is about a square that appears to change colour as it is moved from one section of a sheet of paper to another.

The illusion was created by Akiyoshi Kitaoka, a psychology professor at Ritsumeikan University in Japan. A few years ago, he also released a video demonstrating the trick to his own Twitter account. Since being tweeted, the video has also been re-shared multiple times.

He titled the film, “A demo of light perception,” and posted it online. The clip begins with a person dragging a square across a sheet of paper. As the square goes from one corner to the next, it appears that its colour is altering.

The process that makes it appear as though the square’s colour is changing is known as simultaneous contrast illusion, according to Insider. In truth, the square’s colour does not vary, but its luminosity seems different when viewed against different-coloured backdrops. The brain interprets the square as a lighter hue against a darker backdrop and as a darker hue against a lighter background.

Check out the video below:

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A demo of lightness perception pic.twitter.com/BSVpgcuIw1

— Akiyoshi Kitaoka (@AkiyoshiKitaoka) August 12, 2018

With over 1,300,000 views, the film has received several responses from viewers.  “I’m like…what tablet is that? Then I realised it’s just paper,” wrote a Twitter user. “Ooow….. Wait what,” shared another. “That brained my damage,” joked another. “You broke it,” expressed a third. “I love and hate this so much,” posted a fourth.

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