But, as
we learn from the latest episode of AsapSCIENCE, both teams are
right, because our eyes are all acting in the same way. If a colour is being
presented to us in a shadowy context, our brains will try to compensate for
that. So if we see a brownish colour in a shadowy context, our brains will
overcorrect, and we may end up perceiving it as much lighter, or even orange, as
a result. They've got a really great example of this in
the video above.
What's interesting
about the dress picture is that we can't see much of what's surrounding the
dress, so our brain automatically makes some assumptions. For those of us who
see the dress as white, our brains might be interpreting the dress as being in
a slightly blue-lit room, which could happen if it's being hung near a window
with bright blue sky shining through. But the brains of people who see it as
black and blue? Well, I hate to say it, but the explanation for what they see
actually sounds a little smarter. I'll let the guys at AsapSCIENCE explain in
the video above.