If you haven’t already, check out Evan Dotas’ thoughts on this issue. You won’t regret it. I promise.

For those of you completely at a loss as to what issue I’m referring to, congratulations! You have successfully steered clear of some Internet-sprung madness. However, If you’re an HHS student and/or Internet user, you probably know what I’m talking about. Yes, that issue. The issue that has singlehandedly divided the Internet into two factions, each side at the other’s throats.

The dress. Well, a photo of a dress, to be specific. At first glance, there’s nothing polarizing about the image – nothing that would spark revolt. It’s a dress from the British retailer Roman Originals. The photo was posted by Caitlin McNeill on Tumblr last Wednesday, because, just like the rest of us, she couldn’t decide what color it was. McNeill was browsing wedding photos when she came across this unintentional optical illusion, as it seems.

I can’t make this stuff up, folks. This is the issue that rocked social networks everywhere to their cores.

Talk to a handful of people anywhere. Some say the dress is blue and black, like I do, and some say it’s white and gold. And, as I’ve learned from the bus ride home today, people are prepared to defend their view of this dress to the death. I’m not kidding. Death threats (although, I hope, empty ones) were thrown around. My bus driver wasn’t too pleased about the heated debate ensuing the back, either.

I suppose part of why everyone is so polarized about this issue is this: The world has a few universal truths, things we can really trust, scarce though they might be. I’d wager people find their vision to be of these truths. The dress illusion is scarier (for lack of a better word) than, say, that illusion with the rabbit and the duck.

Moreover, the whole dress issue is, I think, a testament to how unflinching our opinions can be, especially online. The Internet provides a certain degree of anonymity, even when you’re sending messages from behind your real name, like on Facebook. There are an army of people that will beat you across the head with some variation of, “You’re wrong. The dress is white and gold, moron.” As I saw exemplified on my bus ride, that defensive mentality (which the Internet fosters) carries over to real life too.

Dare I say it? Is the dress… a cultural shift? Is how we interact online finally influencing how we do so… offline? It’s no secret that most people nowadays are tech-obsessed, but arguments on social media tend to stay on social media. I don’t know. It’s entirely possible that I’m taking the dress much too seriously, like so many HHS students.

By the way: the dress is black and blue, according to science (and, admittedly, Tumblr). Your eyes have a pigment called rhodopsin, which reacts to bright light and low light, depending on your environment. If your eyes are accustomed to dim lighting, you’ll probably see black and blue; if your eyes are accustomed to bright light you’ll see white and gold. How do I know the controversial garment is black and blue? Our good friend Caitlin McNeill delivered another photo of the dress – this time, guaranteed not to screw with your eyes. See it and weep, gold believers. You filthy infidels.