This Optical Illusion Might Reveal Where You Grew Up …Circles or Squares
At first glance, it looks like just a grid. But look again — do you see circles or squares?
This simple question has set the internet abuzz — not because it reveals your personality or secret power, but because it may actually hint at something far deeper: where you grew up.
Welcome to the world of optical illusions, where what you see might say more about your environment than your eyes.
The Illusion That Divides the World
The image at the center of this viral debate is known as the Coffer illusion — a grid of vertical and horizontal lines that can be interpreted as either intersecting rectangles (squares) or overlapping circles.
What you see first — circles or squares — might depend on your cultural and environmental background, according to groundbreaking research from the London School of Economics.
Circles vs. Squares: What the Research Found
In a surprising study led by researcher Ivan Kroupin, participants from Western countries (the U.S. and U.K.) overwhelmingly reported seeing squares first — about 97% of the time.
But in rural Namibian Himba communities, the results flipped dramatically: 96% of participants saw circles first.
This nearly perfect reversal in perception stunned researchers and added fresh fuel to a long-standing scientific debate: Does culture shape how we see the world?
The ‘Carpentered World’ Hypothesis
The findings give new support to a theory called the “carpentered world hypothesis.”
This idea suggests that people who grow up in Western, industrialized societies — full of straight lines, right angles, and boxy buildings — are more likely to perceive geometric shapes like squares and rectangles.
In contrast, Himba villages are built in rounded layouts — circular huts and enclosures — so it makes sense their visual systems might be tuned to curves and circles.
“People in western industrialized countries see things in a specific way because they are generally exposed to highly ‘carpentered’ environments,” says Professor Anil Seth, a leading neuroscientist at the University of Sussex.
Final Thought: What Do You See?
So now it’s your turn — take a look at the Coffer illusion.
Do you see circles or squares first?
Whichever it is, know this: what seems like a simple visual trick might be your brain telling the story of your environment, your culture, and the world you grew up in.
Because, as Professor Seth reminds us: “How things seem is not how they are.”
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