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Are You Left-Brained or Right? She Can Tell… Or Not?

Do you see the  girl spinning clockwise?  Then you’re using your right brain.

Do you see her spin counter- clockwise?  You’re likely using your left brain.

Some people have the ability to see both.  (If you read this post in a feed reader, it probably won’t work, please click through for the test.)

.Spinning girl

Today I can only see her turn clockwise … but they way I recall, when I first saw this a few years ago, I ssaw her turn left.  Hm…changes in my brain function?

Of course it’s an optical illusion.

The image is not objectively “spinning” in one direction or the other. It is a two-dimensional image that is simply shifting back and forth. But our brains did not evolve to interpret two-dimensional representations of the world but the actual three-dimensional world. So our visual processing assumes we are looking at a 3-D image and is uses clues to interpret it as such. Or, without adequate clues it may just arbitrarily decide a best fit – spinning clockwise or counterclockwise. And once this fit is chosen, the illusion is complete – we see a 3-D spinning image.

By looking around the image, focusing on the shadow or some other part, you may force your visual system to reconstruct the image and it may choose the opposite direction, and suddenly the image will spin in the opposite direction.

The above explanation comes from Dr. Steven Novella,  academic clinical neurologist at Yale University School of Medicine.

So now we know.  But I still can’t make her turn left…

Comments

  1. When I first looked at it straight on, it was clockwise. Wouldnt switch on me.

    However, if I looked down and away to the right and used my peripheral vision (left eye toward the screen), then it would spin anti-clockwise. If if I looked down and way to the left (right eye toward the screen) then it would flip back.

    Awesome illusion!

  2. I saw this some time ago. I first see it counter-clockwise, than if i switch real fast from the text to the image i see it clockwise. What does that make me? 😀

  3. I’ve noticed it switch in three occasions all in one sitting… but what I find more interesting is the use of a naked(at least that’s how it appears) girl with a smoking hot body. Is it any indication that the person that wrote this program has taste, or is a pervert? That is the question.

    • Patrick. Actually u r pervert

      • Actually, you don’t have to be a pervert to notice her naked standing still when the page is loading slowly.

        I’m also thinking that the creator of it is a pervert, that and/or using it to gain people’s attention.

  4. Dave Armstrong says

    I can see both, with conscious effort to make the switch…

    But the real cool part is to see the body and the shadow going opposite directions at the same time.

  5. I am only able to make a small portion of the image rotate anticlockwise. If I scroll down until only the ankle of the main image and the shadow is visible, I can focus on the shadow and see an anticlockwise rotation.

    But the moment I scroll up and see the foot of the raised/extended leg, the illusion is broken and I’m back to seeing a clockwise rotation.

    So I return to seeing only the foot & shadow. Focus on that for 30 seconds or so, then scroll up. After about 2 minutes of practice, I can now see the figure rotate in both directions although my brain still tends to favour the clockwise rotation.

    Very interesting.

    • Clockwork Oranges says

      Same here. The shadow can trigger a different direction for me. I could watch this for hours.

  6. She’s pretty.

  7. I can have here turn anyway I want… just with a blink of the eye… It’s an illusion, if you can properly control your brain you can look thru…

  8. You’re kidding, no? When I landed on the page I saw her spinning clockwise. Then I read the blog text and looked back up and she was spinning counterclockwise. Then I scrolled down so she scrolled off the page and scrolled back up and she was spinning clockwise again… and I could swear I saw one of the Matrix deja vu glitches and saw her switch from counterclockwise to clockwise. Now I’m down here writing this. Hmm. Did April Fool’s come early this year?

  9. This is an awesome illusion. I found that the best way to switch directions was to tab away to another screen, then tab back. I was able to make it switch back and forth several times.

    Also, the woman is clearly naked; the animation includes visible nipples.

    • >Also, the woman is clearly naked; the animation includes visible nipples.

      That’s my point. Did we really need to see this? Would this topic gain much attention if were looking at something less sexual?

      And Arun, I’ll take criticism, even jokes, when you can actually form a coherent sentence- until then, there’s no reason for you to speak or be listened to.

  10. Brain test? Not at all! I’m glad you mentioned it’s just an illusion. (I’ve seen this before without that.) If you look at it frame-by-frame as well, a little white line on frame 13 (in my Gimp) clearly shows which leg is which, which in turn shows that the creator had her spinning counter-clockwise.

    @Patrick: I’d watch myself when insulting people’s English skills. Read what you typed over again: “Would this topic gain much attention if were looking at something less sexual?” Kinda hard to grok. =P But I’m all for good English; clarity is style.

    • No need for a warning Jach. But given that you did, I’m not sure you understand a clear mistake, versus what was Aron’s blatant intention on abbreviated styled wording. There is a *clear* difference.

  11. This is pretty choice.

    Weird thing though, when you see her spinning clockwise, you see her right leg extended. When you see her spinning the other way, its the left leg.

    Does using the flip side of your brain flip your visual interpretation? Pretty neat though…

  12. @Patrick: with all due respect Patrick, i think you’re exagerating. “Did we really need to see this?” Since when is a drawing of a naked body a problem?
    Do we really need to see all the crimes and horrors that they show on the news all day? Since when is that acceptable?

    • I’m just posing a question- so I don’t see where I’ve exaggerated or said it was a problem; I haven’t made any assumptions or statements pertaining to this ‘naked woman’, just curious over the amount of attention it would receive if it *was not* a naked body. There was obviously some intent from the designer of this illusion that influenced him/her to use a naked body, and that’s what I find interesting.

      In actuality, I can see exactly when it IS a problem: at work. Do you not agree? I like the female form as much as the next guy, but really- maybe a warning header would’ve been appropriate. I happened upon this page expecting to find something interesting about science, but I assumed incorrectly, obviously- and I think that’s a result of a misleading title. I’m just glad my boss wasn’t in the room when I decided to use my spare time to read up on something that I find interesting(left vs. right brained, science, etc).

  13. What’s the source of the left/right brain claim? Is it something you deduced yourself or has there been a real study?

  14. I go with Tony Buzan on this: the myth that there are right-brained and left-brained people is debunked by Dali, Picasso, Einsteins, da Vinci and basically any person who created anything creative.

    :))

  15. Zoltan, timing is appropriate. I just went to the lightspeed learning workshop in LA about a month ago, and this was one of the main topics. Most academics are left brained by our deficient education system. The techniques learned taught how to access the subconscious brain layer to exponentially improve retention and absorption of knowledge. I am now seeing her spin both ways. It took a while to get there though. My absorption and retention improved dramatically.

  16. I closed my dominant eye, and it changed direction for me, even after opening it again.

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Trackbacks

  1. Are You Left-Brained or Right? She Can Tell……

    Do you see the girl spinning clockwise? Then you’re using your right brain. Do you see her spin counter- clockwise? You’re likely using your left brain….

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