These Strawberries Aren’t Red. Here’s Why Your Brain Is Sure They Are

These strawberries look red ­(almost) like fresh fruit should. But this tasty image doesn’t have any rosy hues in it at all. Zoom way in, and you’ll find that the pixels that make up this snack are actually shades of blue and green.

You’re seeing scarlet because of a visual phenomenon called color constancy. We perceive color based on the wavelength of light an object reflects. But those wavelengths are always in flux. Color constancy helps us adjust to those changes, keeping an item’s tone the same even if its surroundings change dramatically. For example, if a sunset floods the light outside with a deep yellow, blue beach chairs will still look blue.

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