Is the cat going up or down the stairs? People on social media are debating which way the cat is walking. Depends on how you look at it, right? Here are some other optical illusions that can trick the eye.
Is the cat going up or down the stairs? People on social media are debating which way the cat is walking. Depends on how you look at it, right? Here are some other optical illusions that can trick the eye.
from 9gag.com
This dress <a >became a viral sensation</a> as people debated online about whether its colors were blue and black or white and gold.
This dress became a viral sensation as people debated online about whether its colors were blue and black or white and gold.
Tumblr
The squares marked A and B are actually the same shade, as shown in the illustration on the right.
The squares marked A and B are actually the same shade, as shown in the illustration on the right.
Edward H. Adelson/MIT
As you scan over this image, do you see gray or black dots? It's called a scintillating grid illusion, made by superimposing white discs on the intersections of gray bars against a black background. Dark dots seem to appear and disappear rapidly at the intersections, although if you stare directly at a single intersection, the dark dot does not appear.
As you scan over this image, do you see gray or black dots? It's called a scintillating grid illusion, made by superimposing white discs on the intersections of gray bars against a black background. Dark dots seem to appear and disappear rapidly at the intersections, although if you stare directly at a single intersection, the dark dot does not appear.
Shutterstock
The center of this image, made only with squares, appears to bulge out, even though all of the lines are actually straight.
The center of this image, made only with squares, appears to bulge out, even though all of the lines are actually straight.
Shutterstock
If you move your head while staring at these circles, they will appear to rotate or spin. But that movement is only an illusion.
If you move your head while staring at these circles, they will appear to rotate or spin. But that movement is only an illusion.
Shutterstock
Same with these circles. Move your head around while staring at them, then hold your head still. The circles will appear to rotate briefly.
Same with these circles. Move your head around while staring at them, then hold your head still. The circles will appear to rotate briefly.
Shutterstock
More optical illusions like #UporDown

Editor’s Note: Mel Robbins is a CNN commentator, legal analyst and the CEO of Mel Robbins Enterprises, a management consulting firm. In 2014, she was named outstanding news talk-radio host by the Gracie Awards. Follow her @melrobbins. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

Story highlights

Mel Robbins: Why did the dress debate, rampaging llamas take over news feeds?

She say studies show we prefer to share positive things

Robbins says that funny or awe-inspiring things go viral ahead of hard news

CNN  — 

There’s a simple reason why the dress debate and the rampaging llamas in Arizona have taken over our news feeds, our conversations and our lives this week – and it has more to do with cat videos than science. To put it simply, we’d rather debate something positive, like the dress, than ISIS and Department of Homeland Security funding.

Mel Robbins
Mel Robbins
Courtesy of Mel Robbins

This isn’t just speculation, it’s a fact: What the majority of us read, share and discuss is not “hard news”-oriented at all. A new study, led by applied mathematicians at the University of Vermont and Mitre Corp., analyzed the emotional content of the news we share online. And no matter the source of the news or the language, we use positive words more and overwhelmingly share positive stories over the negative news.

And, according to a study done by BuzzSumo, a content discovery and measurement software company, the emotions that make a story go “viral” are not fear and anger – they are awe, laughter and amusement.

Their analysis of 10,000 most viral articles proved this point overwhelmingly.

erin pkg moos loose llamas_00004512.jpg
erin pkg moos loose llamas_00004512.jpg
video

Related video Lasso that llama!

Another case: On Friday came news of Leonard Nimoy’s death after a long and prosperous life. Quickly, his most inspiring quotes, discussion of his influence on American culture – not to mention tributes of the Vulcan salute – began trending all over the Internet as we moved on from the dress and the llamas to bond over our shared awe and admiration of a great man.

All this doesn’t mean we’re uninterested in more intellectual topics – it simply points to a positivity bias in the stories we pay attention to most online. In addition to the internal positive boost we feel, positive stories typically help us feel connected to others. What’s more amusing than looking at a dress is debating the dress with your friends and family. And as we reflect on Nimoy’s life, we can’t help but reflect on a part of our own, growing up with the shared experience across American culture of watching “Star Trek.”

best moments of spock tss orig_00000204.jpg
best moments of spock tss orig_00000204.jpg
video

Related video The best moments of Spock

As for the dress, by the way, neuroscientists who study color have an explanation for why it appears to be blue and black to some of us, but white and gold to the rest of us. In fancy terms, it has to do with the way in which light enters your eye, the “chromatic axis” variation, thanks to daylight and the fact that different colors have different wave lengths.

There are a lot of technical terms to describe the phenomenon of the dress, but I explained it to my 9-year-old this way: When we look at the same object, our eyes and brains can make us see different things. It happens with kale – my husband and I see a delicious plate of greens; our kids see something you should feed to those llamas that ran amok this week in Sun City, Arizona. Voilà, the dress mystery has been solved.

Unfortunately, that means we can all go back to work now.

Read CNNOpinion’s new Flipboard magazine.

Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion.

Join us on Facebook.com/CNNOpinion.