Sparking insight in the lab

Researchers sometimes use two-tone images known as Mooney images to generate ‘aha!’ moments of sudden insight in study participants. The insight arrives when what’s shown in the image becomes clear. Can you solve these Mooney images created by the Nature art team?

Pattern concealing a hidden image. White shapes on a black background. The shape consists of a thick vertical white line on the left followed by a series of evenly spaced thinner white vertical lines at increasing angles of slant, creating a fanned pattern of alternating light and dark. To the right, there is a larger area of white containing mottled black shapes.

For an extra challenge, add a 10-second time limit for each image.

Credit: Getty. Images processed with code created by: Imamoglu, F., Kahnt, T., Koch, C. & Haynes, J. D. Neuroimage 63, 1909–1917 (2012).