Things aren’t always the way they appear. Although our mind is constantly trying to make sense of the world around us it can sometimes get a little out of control and make us start to see things…literally. While, some of the optical illusions on our list are relatively famous, others are a bit more obscure but all of them give us a glimpse into our amazingly complex minds. There is no magic involved, no strings attached, its all in your head. Here are 25 of the most incredible optical illusions you will find.
1.Rotating rings- If you stare at the dot in the center and move your head away from the screen the rings will start to rotate. Now gradually get closer again…they change direction!.
2.Hermann Grid This is a classic illusion named after Ludimar Hermann who discovered it in 1870. At every point where the white lines intersect our eyes perceive a gray, shadowy blob. If you look directly at one of the intersections though, the blob disappears.
3.Fading Image Stare at the image for about half a minute without moving your eyes and watch as it gradually disappears. This is a variation of Troxler’s effect which essentially says that if you fixate your eyes on a certain point, stimuli near that point will gradually fade.
4.Kanizsa Triangle- this was named after the psychologist Gaetano Kanizsa who first described its effect. When you look at the image your brain creates contours (outlines) of a triangle although none exist. In reality it is an illusion created by the the wedges and the angles.(making you see an upside down triangle)

5.Blivet-This is a rather famous illusion of an impossible object. It has two rectangular prongs at one end that morph into three cylindrical prongs at the other.
6.Scintillating Grid- This is a variation of the Hermann Grid where black dots appear and disappear at the intersections of the gray lines. Interestingly enough, if you cock your head at a 45 degree angle the effect is reduced (but not eliminated).
7.Endless Staircase-This is a variation of the endless staircase illusion constructed out of legos. Like the the blivet, this is also an impossible object and is sometimes called the “Penrose triangle”.
8.Static Motion-No, this is not an animated GIF. The image really is static. Notice that when you look at any individual point dead on, it will stop moving. This powerful illusion is derived from interacting color contrasts and shape positions within the image.

9.Floating Stairs- For centuries artists have been pushing our perceptual limits and if you ever get lucky enough, from the right angle, you may just catch a glimpse into the practical artistic applications of optical illusions and the way our mind interprets them.
10.Up and Down-Although it is obvious that the pillars are staying in the same horizontal position, our brain is convinced that they should be moving to the right.