Visual mind teasers are a great way to get your brain active and working. These “optical illusions” are proof that not everything you see is always as it is!

According to Susana Martinez-Conde, who is director of the laboratory of visual neuroscience at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Ariz:

“They’re important tools in visual research to help us understand how visual processing works in the normal brain and also in the diseased brain.”

That means, not only are they a fun way to keep yourself busy, but they are great for your mind! This picture of a frog, for example, also happens to be a picture of something entirely different![1]

Look at this picture of a frog

Yes, it’s a picture of a frog. But, is there more to it than first meets the eye? Look closely! Don’t give up too easily; all it takes is a little time and patience to see that this picture of a frog is another animal entirely! Technically, this image is not actually an optical illusion.

That’s because it has more to do with how your brain works and perceives the image rather than the optics in your actual eye.  Mark Changizi, a neurobiologist and assistant professor of cognitive science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, explains that

“The brain is always constructing things, which is helping you survive. Some of these constructions can be fiction.”[1]

So, what do you see in the image below? Do you just see the frog sitting on the ground or perhaps at the edge of a pond?

Still can’t see the hidden animal in this picture of a frog?

Don’t worry; it’s not that simple at all! So you’d be completely forgiven if you did not manage to spot the other animal. Although the horse is hidden in plain sight, I struggled at first, too! Ready for the revelation

Here’s the horse!

Have a look at this picture of the frog one more time. This time he has been highlighted. If you still are not able to see the horse, the second image will make you say “OH! There it is!“

Facepalm!

Just flip the image around and hey presto! You’ll see the horses head.