This Fish/Mermaid Optical Illusion Is Dividing The Internet (Because The Caption Is Lying To You)

I see a seal first. Then I see a donkey. I can even understand that some people might see a fish. But a mermaid? No. <3

It feels like it's been a minute since we last fought about a viral optical illusion, and while this one is no Dress™, it is sparking a conversation over on Twitter.

Twitter: @Solo_Kalin / Via Twitter: @Solo_Kalin

The illusion looks like this, and if the caption is to be believed, right-brained people are likely to see a fish, while left-brained people are more likely to see a mermaid.

Twitter: @ananavarro / Via Twitter: @ananavarro

Not to get too in the weeds here, but... That people are either right- or left-brained is actually a "neuromyth," according to conservation biologist Nate Fedrizzi. Contrary to popular belief, research has never shown people to have more sophisticated neural networks in one of the brain's two hemispheres.

In popular culture, however, people who are artistic and free-spirited are frequently identified as being "right-brained," while those who are analytical and detail-oriented are called "left-brained."

The issue is: a lot of people, including me, see neither a fish nor a mermaid. They see either a donkey or a seal.

Ana Navarro-Cárdenas @ananavarro

Tell the truth. Does anyone actually see fish to a mermaid? Anyone?

03:01 AM - 21 Mar 2022

Twitter: @ananavarro

Nick Offerman, for example, sees a donkey.

Nick Offerman @Nick_Offerman

I see a donkey https://t.co/O8C3QdOxqN

02:45 AM - 20 Mar 2022

Twitter: @Nick_Offerman

This person, on the other hand, is adamant about it being a seal. (I agree, FWIW.)

Billy Wayne Davis @BillyWayneDavis

They’re called seals and it’s clear if you use your whole damn brain.

10:17 PM - 19 Mar 2022

Twitter: @BillyWayneDavis

It turns out that the image is actually of an "ambiguous horse–seal figure" that's been used in scientific studies of visual perception — so if you saw a fish or a mermaid, joke's on you, my friend.

Cyber Force One @realcyberforce1

@JasonIsbell I see the seal/horse, or fittingly "source".

09:42 AM - 20 Mar 2022

Twitter: @realcyberforce1

(And if you saw a horse, you're just wrong. It's a seal.)