MIT scientists have apparently decoded the mystery of the blue/black and white/gold dress which split the Internet in two when it went viral on social networking sites this year. Even more surprising is the study’s claim that various groups of people perceived the garment in not two, but three different color combinations. Wellesley College and MIT researchers asked 1401 individuals what they saw as part of a free response survey.
By refraining from telling the participants of the test to categorize the dress as white and gold or blue and black, the scientists managed to reduce any biases in perception. The result manifested in a third view of the color combination (brown and blue). This meant that folks on social media may have seen the item of clothing as black and blue or white and gold because they were suggested these two choices only.
Some of the respondents had never seen the image of the dress prior to the survey. A bunch of individuals who were retested reported a change in hues, leading to the idea about the picture being subject to multiple interpretations by the same person. Women and older people were more likely to think the garment was white and gold. The MIT researchers also requested participants to pick the shades from a color gamut.
Based on this language-independent measure of perception, it was established that the brain forcefully classifies the colors on the dress into one of the three stable visual percepts. Those who favor a neutral illuminant see blue and brown. People who prefer a cool illuminant think of white and gold as the two shades on the clothing in question, while it looks blue and black to those who prioritize a warm illuminant.
The MIT scientists who worked on decoding the mystery of the dress claim that the colors can be flipped by bringing overt cues to the illumination.