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There is a way to help yourself. Put the pair of images in front of your eyes. Bring your finger between your face and the image. Now look at your finger. M

There is a way to help yourself. Put the pair of images in front of your eyes. Bring your finger between your face and the image. Now look at your finger. Move your finger back and forth. While doing this, notice that at a particular distance, the images in background will perfectly overlap each other. That's your moment. Pull out your finger and look at that image. --- Should take lot less tries to learn doing it without finger. I have taught cross eye to my siblings and cousins using this method. But if you always need finger to focus it's fine.

thayne 2y ago
I tried, this, and I can get it to overlap in the background, but as soon as I take my finger away, I lose it.
- OJFord 2y ago
  You may have a very slightly 'lazy eye' (I do) - it can be a lot less extreme (not at all noticeable to others) than the pointing-completely-different-directions that people imagine, and iirc is highly correlated with astigmatism. Optician used to tell me to work the muscle by following my finger to my nose, trying to maintain a single image. At a certain point it will snap into two - the 'lazy' eye has given up and drifted slightly - the goal is to get the finger as close as possible. Obviously if you get very close or all the way, that's 'cross-eyed', but I just can't do it.
  - rashkov 2y ago
    Same, and I had no idea it was correlated with astigmatism! That does explain my prescription
    - cgriswald 2y ago
      I’m also unable to do this for whatever reason but using a stereoscope works.
- adriand 2y ago
  I was having this problem as well, but I kept trying, and then I got it. I found the finger trick was useful to initially sort of calibrate the focal distance but overall didn't really help me that much. Here is what worked for me. I used my laptop, zoomed in a bit on the images and brought the screen fairly close to my face. I ensured that the image was crisp using each eye (I also have astigmatism, and I probably also need reading glasses, but there is a sweet spot where both eyes have good focus, and I ensured I was there.) While crossing my eyes a bit, I start to see a third image in the center of the two images, but it's either out of focus (like two overlapping images), or it's very thin, like it's not the full image. I relax and keep my attention on this imperfect image and try to focus on it without trying too hard. Using this approach the image suddenly comes into focus and I no longer have to try to keep it there. I feel like the key might be to notice the very beginning of the desired image in the center and then to try and focus on it, but in a bit of a relaxed way. Incidentally when it works it is extremely weird! The other images essentially disappear and it's like you've travelled to another dimension.
  - raffraffraff 2y ago
    Ditto the focus distance. I just saw the eye doctor and found it I have thickening of my left lens (giving me great vision real close up) and the start of longsightedness in my right eye. The combination means that my sweet spot is far enough away that I need to use a monitor.
AzzieElbab 2y ago
When I was six, some older kid showed me this trick, but I could never really cross my eyes. These days, I wear glasses, so I guess no new superpowers for me.
- linsomniac 2y ago
  Does it not work with glasses?
  - robertlutece 2y ago
    it does work with glasses
scrozier 2y ago
The finger trick did it for me. As mentioned elsewhere, I used to do this academically (looking at protein structures), but I couldn't easily get back in the groove here without the finger.
MiddleEndian 2y ago
I knew about this cross-eyed trick, I've tried it with a finger too, I just cannot do it. I've only ever succeeded in one "magic eye" picture in my life as well. I have otherwise good vision, I can read small text from farther than most people (I didn't realize not everyone could read all the small letters on an eye test), I don't have a problem seeing things up close either, etc. but I lack the ability to properly cross my eyes for some reason. It's too bad because I've spent a decent amount of time at bars with those spot the difference machines lol
- raffraffraff 2y ago
  To me, it's no harder than "snapping" to the central image when wearing VR glasses like the Vitures. What works for me is telling myself that the central image is further back than the two slightly unfocused images either side. Just keep telling yourself "it's further away, and it's the real one. Those two are fake." As soon as it clears up just a little, I then allow my gaze to wander around the image. It's extremely important to try this on a real monitor because small movements to the phone in your hand might get in the way. Or in my case, I'm longsighted in one eye, so while my left gets a clear image my right doesn't. I have to use a large image on a real monitor at least 2 feet away.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
- smusamashah 2y ago
  Another method is parallel eye though it's bit more complicated than the finger. Zoom the images in front of your eyes so that they are little less than same width as your eyes. Try to look behind/beyond the image, as in let your eyes loose/relax. Don't stare at the images instead see in that direction as if you are day dreaming. Images will overlap at one point. If they don't completely perfectly overlap, reduce the zoom. Once they overlap, focus the overlapped image. --- Method 2: Use kitchen towel rolls After putting those images in front of you, make a binocular out of used kitchen rolls. Point each roll to each image. There you go.

thayne 2y ago

I tried, this, and I can get it to overlap in the background, but as soon as I take my finger away, I lose it.

OJFord 2y ago
You may have a very slightly 'lazy eye' (I do) - it can be a lot less extreme (not at all noticeable to others) than the pointing-completely-different-directions that people imagine, and iirc is highly correlated with astigmatism. Optician used to tell me to work the muscle by following my finger to my nose, trying to maintain a single image. At a certain point it will snap into two - the 'lazy' eye has given up and drifted slightly - the goal is to get the finger as close as possible. Obviously if you get very close or all the way, that's 'cross-eyed', but I just can't do it.
- rashkov 2y ago
  Same, and I had no idea it was correlated with astigmatism! That does explain my prescription
  - cgriswald 2y ago
    I’m also unable to do this for whatever reason but using a stereoscope works.
adriand 2y ago
I was having this problem as well, but I kept trying, and then I got it. I found the finger trick was useful to initially sort of calibrate the focal distance but overall didn't really help me that much. Here is what worked for me. I used my laptop, zoomed in a bit on the images and brought the screen fairly close to my face. I ensured that the image was crisp using each eye (I also have astigmatism, and I probably also need reading glasses, but there is a sweet spot where both eyes have good focus, and I ensured I was there.) While crossing my eyes a bit, I start to see a third image in the center of the two images, but it's either out of focus (like two overlapping images), or it's very thin, like it's not the full image. I relax and keep my attention on this imperfect image and try to focus on it without trying too hard. Using this approach the image suddenly comes into focus and I no longer have to try to keep it there. I feel like the key might be to notice the very beginning of the desired image in the center and then to try and focus on it, but in a bit of a relaxed way. Incidentally when it works it is extremely weird! The other images essentially disappear and it's like you've travelled to another dimension.
- raffraffraff 2y ago
  Ditto the focus distance. I just saw the eye doctor and found it I have thickening of my left lens (giving me great vision real close up) and the start of longsightedness in my right eye. The combination means that my sweet spot is far enough away that I need to use a monitor.

AzzieElbab 2y ago

When I was six, some older kid showed me this trick, but I could never really cross my eyes. These days, I wear glasses, so I guess no new superpowers for me.

linsomniac 2y ago
Does it not work with glasses?
- robertlutece 2y ago
  it does work with glasses

scrozier 2y ago

The finger trick did it for me. As mentioned elsewhere, I used to do this academically (looking at protein structures), but I couldn't easily get back in the groove here without the finger.

MiddleEndian 2y ago

I knew about this cross-eyed trick, I've tried it with a finger too, I just cannot do it. I've only ever succeeded in one "magic eye" picture in my life as well. I have otherwise good vision, I can read small text from farther than most people (I didn't realize not everyone could read all the small letters on an eye test), I don't have a problem seeing things up close either, etc. but I lack the ability to properly cross my eyes for some reason. It's too bad because I've spent a decent amount of time at bars with those spot the difference machines lol

raffraffraff 2y ago
To me, it's no harder than "snapping" to the central image when wearing VR glasses like the Vitures. What works for me is telling myself that the central image is further back than the two slightly unfocused images either side. Just keep telling yourself "it's further away, and it's the real one. Those two are fake." As soon as it clears up just a little, I then allow my gaze to wander around the image. It's extremely important to try this on a real monitor because small movements to the phone in your hand might get in the way. Or in my case, I'm longsighted in one eye, so while my left gets a clear image my right doesn't. I have to use a large image on a real monitor at least 2 feet away.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
smusamashah 2y ago
Another method is parallel eye though it's bit more complicated than the finger. Zoom the images in front of your eyes so that they are little less than same width as your eyes. Try to look behind/beyond the image, as in let your eyes loose/relax. Don't stare at the images instead see in that direction as if you are day dreaming. Images will overlap at one point. If they don't completely perfectly overlap, reduce the zoom. Once they overlap, focus the overlapped image. --- Method 2: Use kitchen towel rolls After putting those images in front of you, make a binocular out of used kitchen rolls. Point each roll to each image. There you go.