An Inverted Mystery

Published5 Apr 2013
Reviewed5 Apr 2013
Author Sarah Bates, MS, MA
Source BrainFacts/SfN

When inverted, this image of a face isn't recognizable to most people.

Two-tone images give little information.

When flipped around, the image is instantly recognizable.

Suddenly, a face appears.

Our brains’ recognition of objects depends on their orientation. What do you see in this image?

Our brains have a spectacular ability to recognize faces. Minimal information is required to do so — for example, a nose, a mouth, and two eyes. In the first image above, there isn’t quite enough distinguishing information for most people to see a face. However, when the image is inverted (the second image above), a face appears. This results because our brain is tuned to seeing faces in this orientation.

About the Author

Sarah Bates, MS, MA

Sarah Bates is the former manager of BrainFacts.org. With master's degrees in online journalism and astronomy, she is particularly interested in articles focused on technology and the brain.