shadows of 4 people
Mayukh Saha
Mayukh Saha
February 15, 2024 ·  3 min read

Your Brain Won’t Believe There Are Four People In This Pic, Can You See?

Your brain isn’t getting much rest these days, is it? Well, now you have another illusion to peruse. This time around, you have to look at four backpackers. Yes, we understand that you would love to go out too. But for now, let’s stick to examining pictures, shall we? You must be thinking, where’s the illusion? It’s just a bunch of guys stopping for a drink in the woods. But you’d be forgiven if you miscounted how many people are in this photo.

Here’s An Illusion To Tickle Your Brain

Take a close look at the image below. How many hikers do you see?

Image Credits: Twitter

The optical illusion in this picture is amazing. We can hazard a guess that you would be seeing three hands too. To find the fourth hand, really look into the picture. It might not be as difficult to find as you think. Let’s place the facts. Four bottles of Larceny bourbon whiskey bottles, three hands. Seems witch-y, doesn’t it? Where’s the fourth guy?

Where Is The Fourth Guy, Indeed?

As expected, Twitter has gone crazy after checking this picture. One user tweeted, “My brain refuses to believe there are four people in this photo”. In fact, even we were quite shocked in the beginning. But hey, we are smarter than that- we sure are! Several other users started commenting on how surprising this picture was until a modern-day Sherlock Holmes came up with the answer.

If you have been a fan of Ashton Kutcher’s “You Got Punk’d!”, you should definitely be a fan of this user. @Ortega082 tweeted, “You got camouflaged?” as a response to seeing so many people getting stumped:

What your brain isn’t receiving, in the beginning, is the optical illusion. The fourth guy, the wunderkind, that everyone is looking for, has been camouflaging himself unintentionally. Or maybe intentionally- we may never know. If you want to find him, look at the left edge of the picture. You will be able to see his hand. If you are still looking for it, look at the outline of his glove. You should see it matching perfectly with the kilt of the middle guy. But before that- WHO WEARS A KILT WHILE BACKPACKING???

Science 101: What Is An Optical Illusion?

While your brain tries to process the image, let’s get back to science. From that perspective, an optical illusion is simply a moment of disconnect. The disconnect takes place between our eyes and our brain. Our eyes are looking at what’s before us, while our brains are trying to figure it out. Think of a desert mirage- that is exactly what this is. 

So next time we share an optical illusion with you, don’t let your eyes trick you. Or rather, don’t let your brain fall into that!

If you enjoyed this one, share it with your friends and family.

Also, here are some more optical illusions that can be deceptively entertaining: