Drift-Induced Flicker
A high-contrast pattern that seems to shimmer or flicker due to your own eye movements.
🧐 What do you see?▼
Stare at the pattern. It should appear to shimmer, vibrate, or flicker, even though it is a perfectly static image (SVG pattern).
🧠 Why this works▼
Your eyes are never truly still; they make tiny, involuntary movements called microsaccades. When you view a high-frequency repeating pattern (like this chequerboard noise), these tiny movements shift the image on your retina.
Normally, the brain compensates for this shift. But with repetitive patterns, the "new" image looks identical to the "old" one but shifted slightly, confusing the motion detectors into firing signals that we interpret as flicker or drift.
🧪 Try variations▼
- Move closer/further: The effect depends on the visual angle (size of the dots on your retina).
❓ FAQ▼
Is my screen broken?
No! This effect happens entirely inside your visual cortex.