Brain Tricks & Teasers

Even though our brains are capable of doing the most amazing things they can also completely fool us under the right circumstances. You can explore a variety of brain teasers and tricks below and then learn about what’s happening in the brain with each one!

 

 

Brain Teaser

Description

Scrambled Text

Try to read this scrambled paragraph. You can probably do it without too much trouble. Find out why!

 

Missing Letters

Count the “f”s in this passage of text. You might be surprised to find out you don’t count them correctly!

The Hermann Grid

Can you count the black dots in this image? It’s actually impossible! Find out what’s happening in your visual processing.

In Depth

Look at the two monsters. Though one looks larger, they’re actually the same size. Why does the brain interpret one as bigger than the other?

What Do you See?

In this picture, some people immediately see a vase, while others see two faces in profile. How does our brain switch back and forth?

Never-ending Scales

Put on your headphones and listen to this scale that goes down and down, while never getting any lower.

Adelson's Same Color Illusion

Which square is darker, A or B? Incredibly, they’re actually the same color. Find out why your brain doesn’t think so.

Hidden Animals

Changing your perspective can reveal surprising new information. Can you change yours to see more than one animal here?

Secret Words

Each of these words hides another one. Switch from foreground to background to spot them!

Motion Ambiguity

Take a look at this square. Why does it switch from just spinning to pulsating? Learn what your visual system is doing.

Long and Short

Can you tell which line is longer in these two illusions? Chances are what you see and what you would measure don’t match.

Twisted Squares

These three illusions illustrate how your visual system changes its interpretation of what you see depending on other available information!