SOLVE THE MAGIC EYE
Don't those things drive you nuts? You know, those 3D picture puzzles that you're supposed to stare at for days and eventually see a three dimensional image jump out at you? Right. The inventor must have been a masochistic optometrist who was having a slow month!
They are fascinating, don't you agree? At least, if you get the hang of it. Until recently, I had a hard time seeing what I was supposed to see. It does take some concentration and some good eye control, but your reward is a vivid, three-dimensional image buried in all that mess. Anyone with two functional eyes and decent eye muscle balance can appreciate the depth, but there will be a few people that will never see that hidden image. These are the same people that should not waste their time or money on a 3D movie. Without good binocularity, or muscle coordination, the eyes will not be able to position properly for the desired result.
An English physicist, Sir David Brewster, was the first to discover that "a recurring pattern conjures up an effect of depth when the integral parts of the pattern differ slightly from one another." This was in 1844 but the concept was used for stereo wallpaper in 1980. Dr. Christopher Tyler was credited for the first "single image" stereogram in 1979, from which the modern stereogram was born. For years optometrists have used a similar principle in testing for eye muscle imbalance. A vectograph test is a binocular efficiency test using polaroid filters (3D glasses). One eye will see a certain image through the glasses and the other eye will see the same image but offset slightly from the fellow eye. Neither eye can see both images but the fusion of the two separate images will create one 3D image. Depending on how well the images fuse will determine that patient's level of binocularity.
In any case, if you would like to become more proficient in stereogram viewing there are a few tricks to employ. And, by the way, this is a learned skill that may possibly enhance your overall visual performance. Visual skills training is used to improve reading ability, eye tracking, focusing and other visual function. The goal in stereogram viewing is to allow your eyes to "look through" the picture as if you were focused on something across the room. Relax your focus and your "convergence". One way to try this is to hold the stereogram very close to your eyes so it's nearly impossible to focus on it. Then slowly move the picture away from you while you continue to focus beyond it. Avoid the temptation to focus directly on the stereogram. If you can maintain this posture for several seconds you may begin to see the hidden 3D image.
You could also try holding the picture in front of you but just below your line of sight so you can fixate an object across the room. When your eyes are relaxed, raise the picture in front of your eyes, but try to maintain your focus across the room. Remember, this is a learned skill and the more you practice the quicker you are able to appreciate that 3D illusion.
I have created several "homemade" stereograms from a computer program (Magic EYE) and compiled them in a small book for use in my office. Next time you're in, try your hand at stereoviewing and enhance your visual skills while your at it.