Poor Atwat....

[kenmtl]

On the subject of perception, here's a fun left/right brain thing that's kind of amusing.

 Dancer

One day at uni I had 5 or 6 people all standing around my comp staring at it. At first everyone saw the same thing, then they started to see it change at different times. It was interesting that no two people saw the change happen at the same time. It was quite funny seeing their reactions when it happened. I got a little OCD for awhile about trying to control it.

[glasscigarette]

No matter how long I stare, it keeps going clockwise. Maybe I'm just too impatient. Is there a certain point I should focus on to "make" it appear to turn the opposite direction, or did I just not give it enough time?

[kenmtl]

Actually I also see it totally clockwise, but I find that if I stare at the foot on the ground and focus really hard on making it change, I can sometimes get it to happen.
You have to be patient though it can take awhile

 Like more than 8:58:15 till 9:03:24.

*Sorry GC  but I had to tease you on that one 

[Paleoanth]

I originally saw it going clockwise, but I can change it at will.  What I do is let my eyes unfocus and look at the shadow on the bottom. 

[Anouk]

Ahhhh creepy.... I looked away for one second and then it went the other way

[glasscigarette]

You have to be patient though it can take awhile

 Like more than 8:58:15 till 9:03:24.

*Sorry GC  but I had to tease you on that one 

Pfffff...longer than five minutes? Not interested. 

Hey, a shiny thing! *wanders away*

[fhat cat]

Ok, I first saw it clockwise and now it's appearing counter-clockwise.

[celligirl]

I've never been able to see that dancer spinning anything but clockwise, no matter how long I've stared and tried to make my brain see differently. But then all of these right/left tests I take -- even ones with psychologists way back when -- seem to indicate that I'm so right brained that one wonders if I even have a left hemisphere. No wonder I do math differently than everyone else I know. And why I always sucked at math in school because I could never show my work. 'Cuz I don't do it in steps, you see. That never made sense to me and I always got so frustrated (sometimes to the point of tears) in math class. When the right/left stuff became popular, people started having an indication as to why I got the right answer, but not the "right" way.

[Paleoanth]

Here is a blog article that disagrees with the spinning dancer's predictions:

http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/23/right-versus-left-brain-what-does-the-spinning-dancer-teach-us/

[CaptainChris]

Hrmm, I was able to get to to switch directions at will.

[calalily]

I can make it switch by focusing on different points.  Like kenmtl it fascinated me - like I was trying to beat some stupid game. 

[Hecubus]

I spent too much time trying to figure out how the programming might have worked (the thing kept switching directions the whole time as I was trying to figure it out). I haven't yet...I know there is some optical trick there, but I can't seem to grok it. Meanwhile, she turns to the left, then turns to the right, then turns to the left, then turns to the right....

[Piratey]

Somehow, I can just "make" it switch directions at will. Just this mean I'm middle brained or something? Interesting though.

[falln_angel]

That dancing girl thing is freaking me out. At first she was stubbornly refusing to turn counter-clockwise, but I eventually realised that I can make her change direction by staring just past the left-hand edge of my monitor and visualizing myself grabbing her leg and spinning her the other way. (She has yet to change direction 'live'.) The weirdest part is that once I've turned her, if I go away and come back she'll be spinning in the same direction I left her in (as opposed to reverting to clockwise, which is what I would have guessed).


Celligirl, I was kind of the same way with math in school, especially with geometry. I used to frustrate my teachers because I'd usually get the right answer but never be able to show my work. How was I supposed to do that, though, when my method consisted of drawing random shapes and moving them around in my head for a while until I suddenly knew the answer was 42 degrees?

[Zillah]

At first she was cc'wise for me and wouldn't change, but by watching her outstretched arm instead of her body, I was able to start switching her direction. As far as the blog goes:

Here is a blog article that disagrees with the spinning dancer's predictions:
http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/23/right-versus-left-brain-what-does-the-spinning-dancer-teach-us/

has anyone but me ever read Freakonomics? It's a totally fascinating book.
z