Count This

Count the people. Then, when the image shifts, count them again.
Weird, no? I haven't figured out how it works yet.
(via Jonah Goldberg)

I don’t get it, I keep getting the same number.
What do you mean “when it shifts”?
Look at the person in the lower left hand corner when it shifts
ICallMasICM: Spot on.
The guy in the lower left hand corner doesn’t get the top of his head replaced when it shifts, effectively adding a person to the picture.
Good find Rob.
It’s some kind of demon magic, I tell you!
I look at it and....nothing happens.
I count the same number every time. What is this shift you all are talking about? What’s wrong with me?
Rob:
If you watch the person in the lower left hand corner, the only thing that moves is the very tip top of his head. When the top of the right side moves over to the top of the left, no part of the right side replaces the top of his head. Because the top of the right side does not touch him, he becomes the 13th person.
If you watch when it switches, there always are 7 people in the right half of the picture, but if you watch the left side, there are 5 before the switch and 6 after.
Still makes my brain hurt though.
Ooooh, here I was staring harder and harder at the screen thinking it would do something. I’m using IE, it’s probably my stupid firewall not letting it through.
A good way to think of it is this: the a new person isn’t really added, it is cobbled together by taking features from other people. Note the varying heights and vertical placements.
You can see that one person loses the top of his head, one person loses the bottom of his feed, and that other people’s legs and torsos are shortened. Still, I had to sit here and stare at individual people as it changed to notice it… if you just look at the big picture, it is a fabulous illusion.