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At least for me, today's xkcd [0] does much better job at explaining the problem. I wasn't able to see gold/white before seeing it with dark background. [0] ht

• chao- 12y ago
  But the original doesn't have a dark background, so it still doesn't explain how people see it, in that picture's context, as white and gold.
  • lincolnq 12y ago
    I see it as white/gold. The background is lit so brightly that it seems backlit, and the dress is in shadow. The shadow has a bluish tinge, and my eye is also correcting for the shot which appears to be white balanced to the background.
    • seanalltogether 12y ago
      I've been trying to show people this image all day to explain why I see it as white and gold. Lighting and shadows can strongly affect tints in a scene. http://www.incense-man.co.uk/T-shirt_whiter_shade_of_pale350.jpg http://www.incense-man.co.uk/T-shirt_whiter_shade_of_pale350... The shirt in the sun is white, the shoulder in the shade is blue. There's enough info in this image that everyone should be able to mentally balance the whites. In the case of the dress, some are applying this white balance without a strong reference point, others are not.
      • mbel 12y ago
        http://imgur.com/MRAiWxB http://imgur.com/MRAiWxB here you go, a nice blue sleeve :)
• kyberias 12y ago
  I don't think this explains it at all.