Optical illusion

WARNING: Don't look too long at this image!

We were at Gurney Walk last week. Lunch was okay; we had South Indian food, basically chapati. Thereafter, while the wife was occupied with visiting some shops in the building, I wandered around the floor and came across this striking black-and-white optical illusion mounted on a pillar. 

Was attracted to it; mesmerised me to no end. The swirling, wavy lines seemed to warp inwards toward a star-shaped centre, creating a sense of movement and depth that wasn’t actually there. The more I stared at it, the more disorientating I became, as my mind tried to make sense of the dynamic patterns.

The illusion tricks the brain into perceiving motion where there is none. It pulls your gaze deeper into its vortex-like shape. Over time, it may even feel like the lines are moving, expanding and contracting, giving a hypnotic or dizzying effect. The longer I looked, the more I experienced a subtle sensation of the image pulsing or distorting. After a while, I had to turn away as I felt slightly unsteady.

But like a drug, the image drew me back to it. It's one that engaged not just my sight, but my mind's perception too. What an immersive visual experience!