Pictures and posts going madly viral on the Internet is nothing new, but a recently shared photo seems to have surpassed its online barrier and intruded into the real world.

“It’s blue and black.”

“No, it’s not! Look at that, it’s obviously white.”

“You’re all blind, it’s black and gold.”

Somewhat heated conversations are igniting across the nation, all based around the color of a certain (rather ugly) dress. The photo, uploaded to Tumblr, began trending on Wednesday and since then has become the topic of an out of control debate. Is the dress blue and black, as some see it? Or is it white with gold trim? Perhaps it is somewhere in between? Nobody seems to be able to decide, partially based on the fact that after looking at the dress for a first time, many will come back later and see it in its other set of colors. Those who have witnessed this phenomenon usually will loudly and proudly declare whether they are “blue/black” people or “white/gold” people, and then proceed to yell about how they are superior to those weirdos who see the dress in the opposite way. That is before, of course, they go to do some homework and they come back and see that the dress has changed colors and not only feel completely foolish, but also freak out because reality has broken.

But no, reality is fine. It’s your brain that is actually the problem. Your visual cortex is based around how you interpret light, and something about the photo captures light in a way that causes your brain to kind of freak out. The strong daylight behind the dress in the picture can cause you to either “discount” and ignore the blue and black colors in the photograph and see white and gold, or vice versa. In addition, differently colored backgrounds or having looked at a different color previously can cause you to suddenly view the dress in its alternate color. So, rest assured, you aren’t losing your mind.  In reality, regardless of your perception, the dress is physically blue and black.

According to Buzzfeed, 74% of its readers see the dress as white/gold, while only 26% view it as blue/black. 100% can’t stop talking about it. The dress has seemingly become the topic of more debate than a political campaign. Maybe this is an example of how no matter what, humans can’t seem to accept that there are different ways to see things without tearing each other apart. Or bond together with those they agree with. Either way, our perception is what matters. And as to whether the dress is ugly or not, well, that’s a different argument.

Sources:

http://junkee.com/the-blue-dresswhite-dress-thing-has-maybe-been-explained/52066

http://www.wired.com/2015/02/science-one-agrees-color-dress/