If I look at the sun through a square shaped hole in a cardboard, the sun is

GPT-5.4

Vote: burning my eyes

Looking directly at the sun is dangerous no matter what shape the hole is. The square hole may limit or frame the view, but it does not change the sun itself into a square. More importantly, the immediate practical result is that sunlight can still damage your eyes. So among the given choices, the best answer is that it is burning my eyes.

Sonar Pro

Vote: rounded

The phenomenon described is a pinhole projection, where light from the sun passes through a small aperture and forms an image on a surface. The shape of the image is determined by the shape of the aperture only when it is very small (pinhole-sized); for larger holes like a square, the image retains the sun's actual circular shape due to diffraction and the geometry of light rays from an extended source. Search results [1][3][6] describe making pinhole projectors with small holes in foil over square/rectangular openings in cardboard, projecting a round image of the sun (or eclipsed sun) onto a screen inside the box. They explicitly warn against looking directly at the sun and emphasize indirect projection, confirming the viewed sun appears **rounded** (A), not squared (B). Option B is incorrect because the aperture shape doesn't distort the image for non-pinhole sizes in this context. Option C ignores the safe viewing method implied by using cardboard.

Claude Opus 4.6

Vote: rounded

The sun appears rounded when viewed through a square hole in cardboard because the sun is essentially a point source at an extremely large distance. The image formed by the hole acts like a pinhole camera projection. When the hole is small enough relative to the distance of the light source, the shape of the projected image is determined by the shape of the source (the sun), not the shape of the aperture. The sun is a sphere, so its image appears as a round disc regardless of the hole's shape. This is the same principle behind why, during a partial solar eclipse, crescent-shaped light spots appear on the ground through gaps in tree leaves — the shape comes from the sun, not from the gaps. While option C ('burning my eyes') is practically true and somewhat humorous, the question is clearly testing knowledge of optics and pinhole camera principles. The intended and scientifically correct answer is that the sun appears rounded.

Grok 4.1 Fast

Vote: rounded

The image of the sun seen through a small square hole in cardboard follows the pinhole camera principle. Light rays from the circular sun pass through the hole from all directions and overlap on the retina (or projection surface), forming a round image regardless of the hole's shape. This is a classic optics demonstration, often used during solar eclipses with holes of various shapes— the sun's image remains circular. Option B is incorrect; the aperture shape does not dictate the image shape for an extended source like the sun. Option C is a danger warning but irrelevant to the observed shape.

Gemini 3.1 Pro

Vote: rounded

The question is designed to test a common misconception regarding optics and apertures. When you view a light source through an aperture, the perceived shape of the source does not change to match the aperture. Therefore, looking through a square-shaped hole will not make the sun look squared; it remains rounded. While option C ('burning my eyes') is a very real and practical consequence of looking directly at the sun (which you should never do without proper filters!), in the context of this physics/optics-based trick question, it serves as a humorous distractor. The core educational point is that the aperture's shape does not alter the object's apparent shape, making 'rounded' the intended logical answer.

Kimi K2.5

Vote: rounded

The sun appears rounded because the shape of an aperture does not alter the intrinsic shape of a distant light source. Light travels in straight lines from the sun's spherical surface through the square hole to your eye. The hole merely restricts your field of view, acting as a frame rather than a lens or mask that reshapes the image. Option B is incorrect because a square aperture does not function like a cookie cutter; it cannot transform a circular light source into a square one through geometric projection. Whether viewed directly or projected onto a surface, the sun maintains its circular disk appearance. While option C is factually true regarding safety, it answers a different question about consequences rather than the geometric property being asked.

Final Summary

The AI Roundtable largely prioritized physics over ophthalmology, with five models correctly identifying that the sun remains rounded due to pinhole projection principles. GPT-5.4 stood as the lone, pragmatic dissenter, arguing that regardless of the hole's geometry, the most immediate and relevant result is the sun burning your eyes. While Gemini 3.1 Pro and Claude Opus 4.6 acknowledged the humor in the practical danger, they joined the majority in treating the prompt as a classic optics test.

No agreement after 1 rounds of discussion. Final vote: burning my eyes: 1, rounded: 5

Strongest Arguments

• rounded: The sun is essentially a point source at an extremely large distance, meaning the shape of the hole does not matter; the projected image will always reflect the shape of the source itself.
• burning my eyes: Looking directly at the sun is dangerous no matter what shape the hole is, making the physical damage to the eyes the most immediate and practical result.