What causes this optical illusion?

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Neuroscience

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I took this Snapchat, and before I sent it, I realized that when I shook my phone around slightly, it appeared that the time in the background shook around out of sync with the text in the foreground. Neither the recipient nor I have any idea what causes this illusion. Thanks for the help!

http://i.imgur.com/NZQjCep.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/3lmbiwX.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/S7O3erO.jpg

Edit: If on a computer and you are unable to shake the picture around, it might also work to simply zoom in and scroll up and down or just click and drag the browsing window around. Shaking your head violently also seems to work.

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gotrees

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Posted: 10 years ago
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