I didn't think I could but interestingly enough discovered a technique that works earlier today. Basically get really close whilst staring at a point then gradually move away. It actually is an amazing effect
this post was submitted on 12 Jul 2025
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Off to r/MagicEye now
Being legally blind in one eye precludes me from using those
I can
My tip is to try to look past the picture, like you're focusing on something 10ft behind the wall. Then squint your eyes.
Inconsistently. Haven't tried for yonks. Back when they were brand new I got maybe 50%.
How many yonks has in been?
Late 80s early 90s?? Whenever Good Weekend did a weekly.
Wow, I must be the only person on Lemmy that cannot
Someone said that they did some research on people who were able to use 3d TVs and 10% couldn't, or maybe you just haven't gotten a hang of it yet?
Now that you've figured it out, behold: Stereograms!
The above satellite images from NASA allow you to SEE the topography in 3D.
Off to find my house!
These are awesome thanks for sharing. Also, if you can do magic eye and stereograms, try crossing your eyes when playing those "find the differences between these two pictures" games. They are incredibly easy if you cross your eyes.
Weird question if anyone happens to know: when I look at these combined, it looks like the elevated parts go INTO the image rather than pop out, like it’s 3D but inverse. I have always been able to see Magic Eyes with no difficulty, but I’ve also had some form of exotropia that I can control to trigger the depth. Should I be doing something different with these stereograms?
Edit: realized this might be expected? Since the instructions on these say to cross your eyes, but the exotropia makes one eye go outward, but I guess I’m confused how I can see any combined depth image at all now lol
You're doing "wall eyed" viewing. These are for "cross-eyed" viewing. "Wall-eyed" means your eyes are focusing at a point behind the image. You need to cross your eyes for these. Try putting your finger in between your screen and your eyes, varying the distance until the dots merge. Then, remove your finger, focusing on the image itself. That should allow for cross-eyed viewing.
one of us
Nope. Never figured it out
I had a friend who couldn't see them and the following explanation is how I got her to be able to:
-
Stand two arm lengths from the picture, holding you arm out in front of you with one finger up, so that your finger is halfway between you and the picture and lined up with near the bottom of it (or you could use any distance and put your finger halfway there).
-
Both the picture and your finger should now be in your field of view. Focus on the tip of your finger. Maintain your eyes in that focus state and shift your attention from your finger to the picture, remembering not to let your eyes change their focus.
-
Once you have your eyes stuck into that focus length you should be able to move them around and view all parts of the picture seeing the 3D effect. But if you still have problems you can move your finger to keep it in front of your eyes and in focus while you move your eyes, but you'll quickly learn how to keep them in the correct state with a little practice.
This also works if you focus on twice the distance of the picture, but most people find the half-distance focus easier.
Yep.
If you can do it, you can sometimes use that skill to quickly compare whether two adjacent vertical images are identical. If they are, you will just see a single version of the image as normal. If they are different, you will easily see a ‘fuzzy’ part of the image that won’t resolve and stay still (hard to describe, it’s like when I try to read text in a dream).
A practical application I use now and then is when I want to compare two columns of data on a screen. Use the magic eye technique to overlap the columns and any differences will be immediately obvious, even with a lot of data.
Took a few minutes when it was introduced to me, but I can see them
I can see them.
Or at least I could. When LGR recently made a video about them, I was having a very bad time viewing them. I was either too drunk or not used to seeing them with this TV setup or I just need new glasses. Probably the last one.
How far away from the tv were you?
Tried various distances, that didn't help too much. I'm afraid I have to hold to the theory that I'm officially old now and need bifocals.
I first looked at a pic on my phone and it worked so i thought it would look even better if I put it on my tv. Did that and I wasn't able to get it to work, googled something like "can't see magic eye on large tv screen but can on phone" and apparently it's a lot more difficult on large screens. Or maybe you just are old lol
Yes, but only if I take off my glasses.
Thought this might do it for me, but still no.
I can see the 3D, but struggle to put together what they are sometimes because I don't have colors to put the image together.
Yes. They require stereoscopic vision. When I was doing research on 3D displays about 10% of subjects had to be rejected because they were stereo blind. They had no idea they were that way.
One woman said that explains why she had the nickname clunk in high school. She had a habit of rearending cars.
I'm one of the stereo blind. I was kind of glad when I found out from the eye doctor. It explained why I could rarely catch a baseball without getting hit.
So depending on why you might be able to train it. If you don't have a lazy eye and have good vision you may want to look into it.
If your brain is just not fusing two good images there is a good chance you can train it to do so. Having done experiments in this field I can tell you it makes a measurable difference in performance.
A good read on the subject is below. The part where she first sees a tree in 3D is a good example of what you are missing.
Fixing My Gaze: A Scientist's Journey Into Seeing in Three Dimensions by Susan R Barry
Lmao clunk is brutal
Yup.
This is a great random question. Me likey
I'm full of random questions
If you could only eat 1 dish forever without worrying about vitamin intake or macros, what would it be?
What would your plan be if you woke up tomorrow and everyone else on earth disappeared without a trace?
What's a skill you want to learn and what's stopping you from learning it?
What's the largest animal you think you could beat in a fight with just your hands?
You stumble upon all the dragonballs, what is your wish?
Oh this is easy!
Lasagne - its so versatile. I'd usually keep it realy light on mince and boost the vegetables, though. So many textures and ways to play with flavours, it'd be ages before it got old.
Alone? I dunno. Sleep or gooning, probably
Largest animal: a med-small dog? Like a whippet or something.
I don't understand the dragonballs stuff. Probably just too them down a hill (we've got some really steep streets for this in NZ)
Good choice garfield
No survival plans?
Reasonable choice
The dragonballs from the manga/anime dragonball summon shenron the dragon when you collect them all and you're allowed to make 1 wish, even including bringing people back from the dead
Oh, one wish?
That's hard.
I think I'd wish for humanity to not have insecurities. I figure then we'd just have to figure out how to neuter greed and we'd be sorted from our own annihilation... (and inordinately better off both individually and as a species)
I think that's a deep answer. Insecurities rarely create good situations.
Since you're from New Zealand, do you own sheep? Have you put a toothbrush on the fence? Do you like Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement?
Ha - We've got this new hybrid proto-sheep going on. I've got one 17 y/o and a 15 y/o and they're basically thick as two planks, bleat about irrelevant things and shit everywhere, so yeah, I've probably got sheep :)
- Nah, the kids are alright, I just like teasing them for being trolls (and I get it back, don't worry! Bald AF and regularly reminded)
I haven't seen Germaine in a while but Brett's doing well. He hasn't taken me up on the millionaire munchfest or billionaire BBQ though, so it seems like we're stuck with the 1%ers for a while yet...
Those barnyard animals are just jealous that you don't even need to use shampoo
I'm not sure where I'm going with this but it's so humid we don't even need to shower.
Practically snorkel weather lately
I'm pretty sure the scene from Mallrats was based on me. I stood and stared at those at the mall for days and could never see them. Finally one day - 20ish years later it finally clicked and now I can see them.
I can somewhat move my eyes independently. I credit this skill to us having had magic eyes books as a kid and I just learned to control eye muscles willingly.
Yes.
The instructions say don't cross your eyes but that's horseshit and probably why so many people fail to see them.
My method is to cross my eyes, then uncross them slowly until the 3d effect appears, then hold on that position.
But then you see them inverted.
3d cross eyed pictures and magic eye work in similar but different ways
Yup you want to focus farther than the picture. Crossing your eyes mature you focus closer.
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