Optical Illusion Sparks a Great Color Debate: What Color Are These Sneakers?

Right now, a pair of sneakers have become the subject of a heated debate on the internet. Netizens have become divided into teams while arguing about what color the shoes are!

How the internet works is terrific; everyone wants to have as little as just a few seconds of internet fame and thus the wide variety of content. Well right now, the internet is in twists debating what color these sports shoes are!

On May 3, CNY Central uploaded a photo of the pair of sneakers and accompanied it with the now-controversial question that keeps circulating social media platforms: “What do you see?”

Initially thinking it'd be an easy feat and that they'd be the smarter one, social media users have engaged in a seemingly endless argument. It is so hilarious to find that something seemingly so easy as deciding whether the shoe is pink or gray has caused a great rift among netizens.

A Dutch woman first shared the photo picture in 2017, and surprisingly, it still causes so much commotion even years after thanks to CNY Central!

“What color do you see? Apparently, If the right-half of your brain is dominant, you will see a combination of pink and white, and if your left half is dominant, you will see it in grey and green color. Tell us what you see!” - CNY Central

You'd think this simple explanation of why people perceive the colors, so differently would cause the arguments to die down but NO! We agree that it is amazing brain work trying to determine what color to choose.

A Twitter user, @WypipoWhisperer wrote:

"When I first looked at the photo I saw teal & grey & now I'm seeing pink & white, and it looks exactly like this photo. Idk how my brain did it. It's freaking me out.”

Another user, @LibertyJen, decided it all had to do with her lighting saying:

"If I turn the brightness on my phone all the way up, it’s pink & white. If I leave at normal (dimmed) setting, it’s grey & green.”

This vast subject of controversy gets us thinking back to the heated debate over #TheDress in 2015. Much like the sneakers, the dress stirred netizens after it became difficult to determine if it was blue and black or white and gold.

Now, debates on similar optical illusions continue with people trying to decipher the color of many more objects like them! In 2015, eye surgeon Paul Dougherty explained that these arguments stem from the difference in perception.

"Everyone's brain is different, so even though it's the same stimulus coming in, which it is, everyone processes the information differently." - Paul Dougherty.

So yeah, be rest assured that you don't need a visit to the doctor!