This is called 'vdiff' in the Jargon File: https://jargonfile.johnswitzerland.com/vdiff.html
I've acquired a new superpower
41–50 of 583 posts
Re: I've acquired a new superpower
#42I didn't know this had a name or was considered a skill. I've done this since the 90's when those magic eye books became popular.
I even managed "impossible mode" in 2 or 3 seconds.
Re: I've acquired a new superpower
#43At a local bar they had a game machine, and if you got a high score on any of the games, your tab for the evening was free.
One of the games was a "spot the differences" between two pictures with an ever decreasing timer for each round. Using this trick I was able to easily surpass the high score, and garner a crowd watching me perform this mind numbing feat.
Probably my peak fame right there.
Re: I've acquired a new superpower
#44If you've done Magic Eyes, this is straightforward. Was able to get all 3 of the test images quickly. This is with focusing beyond the screen. Focusing in front of the screen is something I am unable to do, and not for want of effort. Also, your eyes might accidentally do this if looking at tiled patterns, e.g. wallpaper. Relative image size (e.g. view distance) is important.
I have a slightly lazy right eye, so this has always come naturally to me, but I will say it's considerably easier to achieve the false focal lock on printed material— something about screens, even quality ones with high refresh rates, just isn't the same.
Re: I've acquired a new superpower
#45I'm not sure this works if you have astigmatism
I did until it was corrected with LASIK a year ago, and I could still do magic eyes, both with and and without my glasses on.
Re: I've acquired a new superpower
#46[deleted]
Re: I've acquired a new superpower
#47Wait, that's not crossing your eyes, it's uncrossing them. Ordinarily if you look at something nearby, your eyes aim at a common spot. But when viewing a stereogram, you need to convince your eyes to aim at a spot more distant than the subject. This is easy with practice, however IMHO it helps to be significantly nearsighted. Then you simply take off your glasses, and can look at something nearby with infinity focus,…
For spot-the-difference, crossing your eyes is more effective and easier to "dial in" than uncrossing them. You're essentially making each eye look at the opposite image. If you try uncrossing, then you need to make sure the images are at the exact correct distance to cause them to overlap with that technique, because you can only uncross your eyes enough to look straight ahead.
Looking uncrossed at the images in the article on my phone, I can easily achieve the effect uninterrupted between fully stretched arms and about half that.
Re: I've acquired a new superpower
#48Weird timing. I dunno why this works but I've been using it to see mice.
You see, I noticed that I have a mouse problem in my garage. I figure if I've seen one mouse, there are probably more. So, I stood on some stairs in my garage and crossed my eyes to sort of blur the scene. It allowed me to catch movement more quickly and I was quickly watching multiple mice run around the edges of the area.
Re: I've acquired a new superpower
#49A new way of doing git diff, leave both versions of the code side by side and cross your eyes.
New business idea: git diff, but it uses Mechanical Turk to hire an army of cross-eyed diff spotters.
Re: I've acquired a new superpower
#50I'm not sure this works if you have astigmatism
I have a small astigmatism (and wear glasses) and I was able to do it, but I feel like if I did any more today I'd have a headache.