Marilyn or Einstein? Take This Fun Eye Test Devised By MIT Researchers

The recent worldwide debate about the color of a dress has piqued the public's interest in illusions. While there are many that are making their rounds, the most fascinating is one created by researchers at Boston's Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2007. In addition to being fun, it apparently also serves as a vision test.
The team led by Dr. Aude Olivia began by creating a hybrid image dubbed “Marilyn Einstein." It features a blurry photo of Marilyn Monroe superimposed over a finely detailed picture of Albert Einstein. Since the Marilyn image possesses fewer pixels, it is what the eyes see when viewing the photo from a distance. However, up close the intricate details become more apparent, magically transforming the same image into a photo of Albert Einstein.
But according to the researchers, the transformation only happens for people that have good vision or the right eyeglass prescription. Those that do not will be unable to discern the finer details and hence only see it as a blurry photo of Marilyn Monroe.

In addition to serving as an impromptu eye test, the photo also enabled researchers to determine how the human brain processes images. The study entailed exposing participants to “Marilyn Einstein” for varying lengths of time. The people who viewed the image for about 30 milliseconds saw only Marilyn while those permitted to see it for least 150 milliseconds were able to process the finer details and see Albert Einstein.
This led the MIT team to conclude that the human brain digests images by first focusing on the bigger picture and then the details. Hence, when it is not given sufficient time, it makes its conclusions based on the initial cursory glance.

This is not the only fun hybrid picture created by the team that has spent over a decade studying how image illusions. Look closely at the photo above. From a reasonable distance, you will most likely see the man on the top left scowling while the woman on the top right has a neutral emotion. Move away from your computer, and you will notice a drastic change - the angry man turns calm, and the calm woman transforms into an angry male. It may also appear as though the woman on the bottom left is smiling!
Dr. Aude Olivia's team believes that their findings can greatly benefit businesses. For example, it can be used to advertise multiple products with logos that change in appearance as the viewer moves closer or farther away from the image. We think there is an even better use case - to make eye tests a little less scary!
Resources: zmescience.com, dailymail.co.uk,techtimes.com
Cite Article
Geography
578 Comments
- gold3nglareWednesday, November 18, 2020 at 7:14 amMy vision is horrible, but I easily see Einstein.
- renegade5Tuesday, August 18, 2020 at 2:24 pmI see Marilyn
- prodancerFriday, January 15, 2021 at 4:25 pmI see Marilyn but the first time I saw both
- leiker1414Monday, July 13, 2020 at 5:21 pmMy mom sees both......!!!!????
- leiker1414Monday, July 13, 2020 at 5:18 pmThat is so weird??? I see both.
- leiker1414Monday, July 13, 2020 at 5:16 pmI saw Einstein the whole time. Is that weird. Comment what you think.
- goodvibesonly09Monday, July 13, 2020 at 1:40 pmTHIS IS SO WEIRD AND I LOVE IT 😄😄😄😍😍😍
- zuzu0113Monday, April 13, 2020 at 9:20 amwow
- janan10Sunday, April 12, 2020 at 10:58 amWell I guess my eye eight is good
- coolvaeWednesday, August 19, 2020 at 9:41 amwow!
- texasrocks88Saturday, April 11, 2020 at 7:54 amI saw Einstien the whole time! Is that wierd?
- iloveaudreylucySaturday, April 11, 2020 at 2:52 pmI don’t know but try backing away and then getting closer. Also depending on how good vision you have who you see may change.
- kingjanesTuesday, April 7, 2020 at 8:18 ami got good eyesight