healing grid illusion

Conceived by Ryota Kanai,

Cognitive Neuroscientist, Utrecht University

The Healing Grid illusion.

At the core, lies a grid of perfect symmetry. It’s the edges that fray into deliberate irregularity—crooked crosses, broken lines. So, when one fixes their gaze upon the circular focal point in the center, something transformative begins.

The brain, ever-craving harmony, aligns itself with the clarity presented at the center, invoking a process known as perceptual fading. It fills things in. The periphery becomes a canvas for the brain’s reconstructive artistry.

The central circle plays an essential role. It corrals visual attention. When you lock attention within a circumscribed space, the brain starts filling in the peripheral with what it “knows” ought to be there. Such “guesstimates” signal stability.