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In the age of AI and reality-manipulating technology, computer and internet literacy is a must. Critical thinking and a healthy dash of skepticism also helps.

But not everything online is necessarily fake news or AI’s attempt at breaking free from its technological shackles to try to take over the world. Nope, sometimes it is much simpler than that. Think confusing perspective, perfect timing, and other lucky kinds of photo shots.

You see, on rare occasions, when the photo lens meets that one split second coupled up with that one particular angle, you have photo-ops like the ones featured below—pictures that bend the mind and require a double-take (or twelve) to actually make sense of things. And if you don’t know just how lit that is, read on!

#1

The Sky Over Minnesota Reminds Me Of That Scene Of Interstellar When They're On The Water Planet

The Sky Over Minnesota Reminds Me Of That Scene Of Interstellar When They're On The Water Planet

MyNameGifOreilly Report

#2

I Hung Up This Picture That Depicts The Four Seasons Based On The Angle You View It From. Hung It Up Next To A Mirror For Added Coolness

I Hung Up This Picture That Depicts The Four Seasons Based On The Angle You View It From. Hung It Up Next To A Mirror For Added Coolness

viewerdoer , viewerdoer Report

#3

A Still Image From The Phenomenon That I Was Lucky To Capture At Yosemite Falls

A Still Image From The Phenomenon That I Was Lucky To Capture At Yosemite Falls

gregharlowmedia Report

If you’ve been on the internet for long enough, you’ll very likely be aware of what confusing perspective is. As a phenomenon, it’s quite literally what it sounds like—pictures of things that are placed in ways that make it look like it’s other things. We know this description leaves much to be desired, but it’s what it’s.

#4

This Shadow From Two Different Trees In My Parking Lot

This Shadow From Two Different Trees In My Parking Lot

UnholyFire23 Report

#5

My Cat Looks Pixelated Because Of The Window

My Cat Looks Pixelated Because Of The Window

AkiteruSanpaii Report

#6

Insanely Well-Timed Picture

Insanely Well-Timed Picture

Stidgen Report

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A popular hub for sharing all things confusing and perspective is a subreddit of the same name. Created back in June of 2014, r/Confusing_Perspective is today home to 1.9 million members and is ranked in the top 1% by size on Reddit. So, there is definitely a following of sorts online.

#7

Thought The Sky Looked Interesting In This Photo From My Trip To Belgium

Thought The Sky Looked Interesting In This Photo From My Trip To Belgium

TheDoob Report

#8

This Photo I Took In Versailles That's Not Two Photos Spliced Together

This Photo I Took In Versailles That's Not Two Photos Spliced Together

ronneldavis Report

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#9

A Rare Optic Sight, The "Brocken Spectre" Occurs When A Person Stands At A Higher Altitude In The Mountains And Sees His Shadow Cast On A Cloud At A Lower Altitude

A Rare Optic Sight, The "Brocken Spectre" Occurs When A Person Stands At A Higher Altitude In The Mountains And Sees His Shadow Cast On A Cloud At A Lower Altitude

bisector_babu Report

Confusing perspective photos are more or less illusions of sorts, except the methods of the matter differ. And illusions are a whole bucket of chum that requires an understanding how the human brain works.

The tl;dr version is that the brain is a blind blob of neurons and has to rely on the eyes for guidance, but the brain has to use its own imagination anyway.

#10

A Kitten Is Napping In A Toy Truck

A Kitten Is Napping In A Toy Truck

liangjianyi7 Report

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#11

The Light Coming From The Bathroom Window Makes My Cat Look Like She Just Had A Great Idea

The Light Coming From The Bathroom Window Makes My Cat Look Like She Just Had A Great Idea

lucyvlt Report

#12

Apparently My Dogs Have Merged This Morning

Apparently My Dogs Have Merged This Morning

NegativePitch Report

But if we were to look into it in more detail, the brain is all about interpretation and nothing about perception. Since it doesn’t have eyes, ears or any of the other senses in and of itself, it relies on the appropriate sensory organs to tell it what’s what.

And this is where the fun begins because the brain doesn’t necessarily understand everything that these organs tell it. And so it has to resort to filling in the gaps.

#13

Dog Illuminated By A Glare Of Sunlight

Dog Illuminated By A Glare Of Sunlight

reddit.com Report

#14

Sioux Falls, SD Turned Green (No Filter) During A Huge Storm Tonight

Sioux Falls, SD Turned Green (No Filter) During A Huge Storm Tonight

SoDakZak Report

#15

Sometimes You'd Swear It Was The Mast Of A Ship Passing By

Sometimes You'd Swear It Was The Mast Of A Ship Passing By

opie2 Report

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The filling in of the gaps is in part due to the fact that the sensory faculties use simple language to describe things to the brain. We shouldn’t expect an eye to know Shakespearean, right? So, the brain makes due with what it gets, but pulls its weight around by adding more details to things to the best of its knowledge.

#16

Once In A Lifetime Shot. Sunny Reflection In A Stormy Sky

Once In A Lifetime Shot. Sunny Reflection In A Stormy Sky

riccarjo Report

#17

Poor Cat. Someone Closed A Portal

Poor Cat. Someone Closed A Portal

KrisNahkunst Report

#18

My Dog In The Clouds

My Dog In The Clouds

cryssbrock Report

A perfect example of this is peripheral vision. Peripheral vision is essentially side vision—everything that is to the extreme side, off the center of our visual focus. The way our eyes work don’t really allow as much peripheral vision as we can actually sense when we look at things. But the brain expands upon the field of view by assuming the things and projecting an image for us.

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#19

Sky Color Matches Up With The Local Supermarket

Sky Color Matches Up With The Local Supermarket

ivanza1 Report

#20

The Way The Sunlight Reflects Off My Vase Makes It Look Like Smoke

The Way The Sunlight Reflects Off My Vase Makes It Look Like Smoke

SimpleSpyder Report

#21

These Birds In Hyde Park

These Birds In Hyde Park

reddit.com Report

So, circling back at the issue of how illusions work—images with ambiguous representations confuse the brain, abusing its superpower of filling in the gaps, but the brain fails to do so correctly. Remember, it tries to guesstimate visuals and make sense of them, and it can be wrong about it. This is why some illusions get trippy in our eyes.

#22

Flying Cruise Ships Illusion Spotted On The South East Shores Of Cyprus

Flying Cruise Ships Illusion Spotted On The South East Shores Of Cyprus

LSD25hoffmans-potion Report

#23

“Gap”, Photographed By Kenichi Ohno. Yes, This Is Not Photoshopped

“Gap”, Photographed By Kenichi Ohno. Yes, This Is Not Photoshopped

Kenichi Ohno Report

#24

The Way The Snow Stuck To My Car, Making It Look Like It Was Shaded

The Way The Snow Stuck To My Car, Making It Look Like It Was Shaded

M_O_Beast Report

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Due to these deficiencies in how our brain works, we can also only see one side of a picture. My Wife and My Mother-in-Law is a great example of this. It’s the famous picture in which some folks only see a young woman facing away or an elderly woman facing to the side. Some folks can see both, some only see one of them. But it’s fun stuff, right?

#25

It Was So Orange This Morning

It Was So Orange This Morning

Microtonicwave Report

#26

Bubbly Cat

Bubbly Cat

FloppyPancakeWarrior Report

#27

I Took This Photo Of My Wife And Baby, And It's Just An Odd Wrist Angle

I Took This Photo Of My Wife And Baby, And It's Just An Odd Wrist Angle

clarkcw1 Report

Why does any of it matter? Besides proving to be quite a fun distraction in life, it has opened up a vast sea of opportunity for research. You see, some illusions are based on brightness and apparent motion.

This alone has led to a better understanding of how our brain works by putting together several separate processing streams across multiple processing stages to make sense of things. This alone is proof of what kind of a powerhouse the human brain is. And if that doesn’t sound absolutely amazing, we don’t know what is then.

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#28

I Genuinely Thought My Car Was Hovering

I Genuinely Thought My Car Was Hovering

theam107 Report

#29

This Angle Of My Cat Looks Like She's Only A Head On A Platter

This Angle Of My Cat Looks Like She's Only A Head On A Platter

ZoneFive Report

#30

When My Blind Is Open Just The Right Amount, My Bedroom Becomes A Giant Pinhole Camera

When My Blind Is Open Just The Right Amount, My Bedroom Becomes A Giant Pinhole Camera

bsiaste Report

If you’ve enjoyed this listicle, keep in mind that this is one of several in the series. You are more than welcome to enjoy more unphotoshopped goodness or you can scroll on.

In any case, do leave this listicle an upvote and comment on the submissions you enjoyed the most!

#31

I Really Thought This Was Photoshopped At First

I Really Thought This Was Photoshopped At First

woweewow Report

#32

This Brick Wall Making A Zig-Zagged Shadow

This Brick Wall Making A Zig-Zagged Shadow

GhostInThePrompt Report

#33

This Picture I Took The Other Day

This Picture I Took The Other Day

lancelotworks Report

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#34

I Managed Perfect Timing While Soap Bubbles Flown Between Camera And Kiddo

I Managed Perfect Timing While Soap Bubbles Flown Between Camera And Kiddo

_Abnormalia Report

#35

Cat With Only Head But No Body

Cat With Only Head But No Body

nskd_sr Report

#36

This Confirmed. Birds Are Drones

This Confirmed. Birds Are Drones

Representative_Still Report

#37

My Dog Just Chilling

My Dog Just Chilling

BoneCollector13 Report

#38

My Little Guy Is Growing Up Too Fast

My Little Guy Is Growing Up Too Fast

Roooogie Report

#39

The Reflection Of This Building Makes It Look As If It's In The Sky

The Reflection Of This Building Makes It Look As If It's In The Sky

pliotta Report

#40

This Cat Emerging From A TV

This Cat Emerging From A TV

farts_tickle_my_nuts Report

#41

I Thought My Brain Wasn't Loading Or Something

I Thought My Brain Wasn't Loading Or Something

Cahmomille Report

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#42

This Rock Is Just Reflecting In Water That You Can't See Because Of The Fog

This Rock Is Just Reflecting In Water That You Can't See Because Of The Fog

Legal-Adhesiveness33 Report

#43

It Looks Like A Mockup Or A Giant, But It's Just Me On The Second Floor Of The College

It Looks Like A Mockup Or A Giant, But It's Just Me On The Second Floor Of The College

joalllucas Report

#44

Estonian Javelin Thrower Magnus Kirt Impaling Himself

Estonian Javelin Thrower Magnus Kirt Impaling Himself

oldlilpeep Report

#45

The Car Rollercoaster. It Looks So Not Real

The Car Rollercoaster. It Looks So Not Real

_deepsky Report

#46

Square Cloud

Square Cloud

Trosenator Report

#47

Giant Dove

Giant Dove

Adan714 Report

#48

Here's My Photo From Cerocahui, Mexico. It Looks Like I Photoshopped It

Here's My Photo From Cerocahui, Mexico. It Looks Like I Photoshopped It

ChicoPacoPancho Report

#49

Rome

Rome

reddit.com Report

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#50

A Picture I Took Partially Through A Firework's Flash. It Looks Like It's Day And Night At The Same Time

A Picture I Took Partially Through A Firework's Flash. It Looks Like It's Day And Night At The Same Time

shhivers Report

Note: this post originally had 80 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.