It was a debate that stormed the internet on Thursday night, the dress that divided opinion as to whether it was white and gold or blue and black.
Why people were seeing it as different colours – and adamantly so – seems to come down to how your brain interprets the light coming into your eyes.
Cedar Riener, associate professor of psychology at Randolph-Macon College told BuzzFeed, “We are always making decisions about the quantity of light that comes into our retina.
“In the case of the dress, some people are deciding that there is a fair amount of illumination on a blue and black (or less reflective) dress. Other people are deciding that it is less illumination on a white/gold dress (it is in shadow, but more reflective).”
John Borghi, a cognitive neuroscientist at Rockefeller University added: “It could also be that you’ve seen dresses (or fabric) with the same texture of shape before, which could also affect your perception.
“And in general, our eyes work very similarly, since we all live in an environment where the color of the light is generally the same shade of blue.”
Twitter came alight with the debate last night, and Taylor Swift even gave her tuppence stating that she believed the dress to be blue and black.
Tumblr user Caitlin McNeill who posted the picture originally, claims that the dress is blue and black having seen it at a wedding.
The picture that sparked the debate.
In a BuzzFeed poll, 73% of respondents saw the dress as white and gold.
The dress pictured during the wedding (Pic via swiked.tumblr.com)
Here’s what some celebrities thought.
What color is that dress? I see white & gold. Kanye sees black & blue, who is color blind?
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) February 27, 2015
Is it even a dress? #blessed #alexfromtarget — Zach Braff (@zachbraff) February 27, 2015
From this day on, the world will be divided into two people. Blue & black, or white & gold. http://t.co/xJeR7GldwP pic.twitter.com/i6BwVzPzSZ
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) February 27, 2015
I don’t understand this odd dress debate and I feel like it’s a trick somehow. I’m confused and scared. PS it’s OBVIOUSLY BLUE AND BLACK — Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) February 27, 2015
Hold on…. So people actually see white and gold….??!!
— Demi Lovato (@ddlovato) February 27, 2015
And for everyone asking I see blue and black — Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) February 27, 2015
@questlove white and gold
— Sara Bareilles (@SaraBareilles) February 27, 2015
. @questlove it’s clearly #goldandwhite #TheDress — jimmy fallon (@jimmyfallon) February 27, 2015
Cover pic: The middle picture is said to be the original.
