A Japanese psychologist with a fondness for optical illusions has baffled the internet with his latest – a picture of a man’s smiling face, which just looks like a blank grid.

But there really is a face in there: you just have to work a bit harder to see it.

Akiyoshi Kitaoka, a psychology professor at Ritsumeikan University in Japan, produced the image with a grid layered over a low-contrast image.

There’s various tricks you can use to make the image clearer, Kitaoka says – including standing at a distance, viewing the image at an angle or simply scrolling up and down with a mouse.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/can-you-see-the-mans-smiling-face-psychologist-shows-off-incredible-illusion-140218903.html

DEAR ABBY: Schoolchildren, especially middle school or high school students who may not be socially adept, often eat lunch alone because they don't know what to do when it comes to joining other kids at the lunch table. My grandson, who is on the autism spectrum, is one of them.

(snip)

It's lonely to eat lunch by yourself. Please encourage your readers to consider this. -- SOMEONE WHO CARES IN SAN DIEGO

DEAR SOMEONE WHO CARES: I'm glad to do that. The pain of social isolation can last far beyond the elementary and middle school years and color a person's expectations of rejection into adulthood. Much of it could be avoided if parents took the time to explain to their children how important it is to treat others with kindness.

In recent years, attention is finally being paid to this. A national organization, Beyond Differences, started a program called "No One Eats Alone" that teaches students how to make friends at lunchtime -- which can be the most painful part of the school day. It's their most popular program, and schools in all 50 states participate.
http://www.uexpress.com/dearabby/2017/3/12/program-encourages-students-to-eat-together