Unsure why #thedress is white and gold for some, and blue and black for others?
Ophthalmologist Neil Miller at the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute breaks down the science behind this confusion. His response:
“It has to do with the individual’s color perception. Presumably, their cones –the photoreceptors in the retina—that see the primary colors (red, blue and green) either are functioning differently in different individuals or the information that gets to the area of the brain that interprets that color (V4) is interpreted differently by different individuals."
“What is interesting in either regard is that apparently people see the dress as either black/blue or white/gold –nothing in between. Thus, there must be a very consistent difference between these two groups, whether at the retina level or at the level of the cerebral cortex.”
How do you perceive the dress? Take today’s poll on what color combination(s) you’ve seen, and then let’s put the dress to rest!

{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Comments
I saw the middle dress with the light blue and gold as well. Later I saw it as blue and black but the lighting was completely different.
I see white and gold initially. If I look at it for a long period of time, I am able to see blue and black. If I look at it again later, I consistently see white and gold. Very puzzling, as people who see black and blue look at me with disbelief when I state that I see white and gold!
I've seen this on several different computers and TV screens and always see the original photo as white and gold.
Is there a reason why there are 3 of the same dress pictured? I saw 2 as white/off white and gold and the one on the right as black and blue.
The original image is in the middle. At left, white-balanced as if the dress is white-gold. At right, white-balanced to blue-black
It seems to me that it depends on the light conditions and the angle you are viewing it on your computer, and possibly on the exposure of the image you are viewing. Notice, based on the background of the 3 images above, that the exposure is different in each photo. I'm sure that if any of us were looking at the dress actually in person, there would be no question as to what color it is.
I actually saw Blue (light blue) and Gold - and so did a friend of mine.