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Clockwise or counterclockwise?

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Right-Brain or Left-Brain?OK, it's Eid holiday, so this is not politics-related, but it is a cool way to find out if you are a right-brain or left-brain dominant. Look at the dancer and decide which way she's spinning.

Focus!

If you think she's going clockwise, you're apparently right-brain dominant (imaginative, philosophical, touchy-feely, impetuous); if you see her going counter-clockwise, you're left-brain dominant (logical, practical, detail-oriented, safe).

The publisher claimed that "most of us would see the dancer turning anti-clockwise though you can try to focus and change the direction; see if you can do it," but I see it only clockwise!

What about you?

[Source: Australia Herald Sun]

{ 32 } Comments

  1. Sami | October 14, 2007 at 1:22 am | Permalink

    I see her spinning CW, but if I focus more or if I stop looking and then look again, I can see her spinning CCW… So, I can see both directions! what is the explanation for that? am I left and right brain dominant? or may be I have no brain at all :)

    Eid Mubarak Haitham.

  2. yazan ashqar | October 14, 2007 at 2:23 am | Permalink

    yeah i saw that one about a week ago. This is a hoax. The figure change it's spinning direction.

  3. kimmy | October 14, 2007 at 2:57 am | Permalink

    Clockwise.
    I wish there was colour.
    That would have changed my corrupt mind.

  4. Robin | October 14, 2007 at 3:11 am | Permalink

    Counter clockwise.

  5. kimmy | October 14, 2007 at 3:53 am | Permalink

    Am I screwed up?
    She could spin anyway she wanted.
    Still clockwise.

  6. kimmy | October 14, 2007 at 3:54 am | Permalink

    BTW, I am left handed.

  7. Roger | October 14, 2007 at 7:38 am | Permalink

    Only clockwise, couldn't see counterclockwise!

  8. Name | October 14, 2007 at 7:54 am | Permalink

    All I can see is a naked women spinning, nice figure by the way.

  9. Haitham | October 14, 2007 at 10:52 am | Permalink

    Eid Mubarak, Sami.

    I see that some had fun tonight ;-)

    Name,

    She is not naked, she is wearing 'Body Stretch' :-p

  10. bernarda | October 14, 2007 at 11:30 am | Permalink

    For me, it changes. Sometimes when I first look at it, it is going clockwise, other times counter-clockwise. If I look at it for a while, it changes direction. Probably yazan is right.

  11. brownfemipower | October 14, 2007 at 3:29 pm | Permalink

    all I can see is clockwise. i sat and stared at it for a while, and clockwise is the only way she went.

  12. brownfemipower | October 14, 2007 at 8:15 pm | Permalink

    and I now I just came back to your page, and she's going counter clockwise!!!!!

    ::confused::

  13. Robin | October 14, 2007 at 10:07 pm | Permalink

    Watch it VERY closely long enough, in the split second where her legs overshadow each other, the figure periodically will change feet-it looks like it's a trick of your eye, but she IS actually changing she is standing on as you can see when her back is facing you. Yazan IS right. If you lead with your right foot to the right-you are going clockwise, if you lead with your left foot to the left, you are going COUNTER clockwise. (think of the hands of a clock)At least that's what I came up with.

  14. Robin | October 14, 2007 at 10:08 pm | Permalink

    Sorry, she is changing the foot she is standing on as she twirls

  15. Khalidah | October 14, 2007 at 10:32 pm | Permalink

    Hey Haitham …

    Happy Eid to you …

    This is a nice way to deceive the brain :)
    She is actually spinning in both directions but switching between both .. hence; the focus trick :)

    But that's how I see it .. or saw it …

    Any way … nice one :)

  16. Haitham | October 14, 2007 at 10:36 pm | Permalink

    Hehehe… some people are scratching their head badly ;-)

  17. Haitham | October 14, 2007 at 10:56 pm | Permalink

    Khalidah,

    Nice to see you here and glad that many people liked it for a change :-)

    Happy Eid to you and your family too.

  18. kimmy | October 15, 2007 at 1:58 am | Permalink

    I watched for many minutes (I have no better things to do), she spins clockwise!
    I refreshed the page. She still spins clockwise.
    I work with motors an rotation is important to me.
    She spins clockwise!

  19. brownfemipower | October 15, 2007 at 2:35 am | Permalink

    i had both my partner and my kids look at it and all of us saw her rotating in different directions!!!!
    I don't think the kids really know what they're talking about, but W* definitly saw her going in a different direction than i did…

    ::still confused::

  20. kimmy | October 15, 2007 at 3:34 am | Permalink

    Still clockwise.

  21. kimmy | October 15, 2007 at 3:37 am | Permalink

    My wife just watched "the lovely girl" and she said clockwise.

  22. bernarda | October 15, 2007 at 3:00 pm | Permalink

    I discovered that you can make the rotation change, at least for me, by putting your hand to cover her up above the waist and just look at the legs.

  23. kimmy | October 16, 2007 at 2:25 am | Permalink

    bernarda,
    I will not cover any part of her body!
    It is still clockwise.
    My 6' wife agrees with me.
    If she agrees, SHE IS RIGHT!
    I am only 5' 10" and I am lying.
    What she says is right!

  24. bernarda | October 16, 2007 at 1:26 pm | Permalink

    kimmy, another method to get it to change rotation is to look at it closely and then blink your eyes three or four times quickly.

  25. bARABie | October 17, 2007 at 2:53 am | Permalink

    She is spinning both ways, at different times of course.

  26. kimmy | October 17, 2007 at 4:31 am | Permalink

    Still clockwise!

  27. Haitham | October 18, 2007 at 9:20 pm | Permalink

    Looks it was confusing for some… a friend from http://www.progressiveindependent.com shared the following, which might solve the mystery:

    The spinning girl is a form of the more general spinning silhouette 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.

    Sounds logical to me :-)

    Reply - http://www.progressiveindependent.com shared the following, which might solve the mystery:\r\n\r\n<blockquote>The spinning girl is a form of the more general spinning silhouette 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.<\/blockquote>\r\n\r\nSounds logical to me :-)'); return false;">Quote
  28. Robin | October 18, 2007 at 10:44 pm | Permalink

    Haitham,
    Watch her for a LONG time-I know-patience is a virtue LOL-but look at her as her back faces you in that moment, notice which foot she is standing on as she is "spinning" the way you see her. If it's her left foot, clench your left hand (I know it sounds silly, but try it) KEEP watching. NOW, eventually she's going to appear to spin in the other direction, NOW, look at her BACK again as she spins. Which foot is she standing on as she "spins" now (look at her back to determine) Do you see it? She DID change feet in the fleeting moment when you can't see it because the silohette overlaps. NOW, LOL, I know this sounds silly, but stand on your right foot and LEAD to the left with your left foot up in the air. Now try it the other way, stand on your LEFT foot and lead to the right and spin. See? You're going in a different direction-and as "I" see it, that's the trick of this "spinning" image.
    (Now I'm DIZZY spinning in my kitchen and I might be ALL washed up!)

  29. Robin | October 18, 2007 at 10:53 pm | Permalink

    OK, I think the above quote from Progressive Independent stating the figure is "shifting back and forth" is referring exactly to her change in feet-and the "illusion" of her changing "spinning" positions is precisely because she DOES change feet. Hope that makes sense.

  30. bARABie | October 18, 2007 at 11:36 pm | Permalink

    Yazan, i agree with you and will elaborate further. Any with any knowledge of computer programming will know it's impossible to create a program that "spins" in different directions according to how much one concentrates. It's just not possible.

  31. RandallJones | October 21, 2007 at 1:15 pm | Permalink

    Here is a similar optical illusion but its a spinning mask (Not a cartoon)
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJIQTf5UpRU

  32. Kokoi T. | May 21, 2008 at 5:59 am | Permalink

    Hello!

    Both cw and ccw, or swing left to right!

{ 2 } Trackbacks

  1. And Far Away » Clockwise or anticlockwise? | October 14, 2007 at 8:04 pm | Permalink

    [...] [source via sabbah] [...]

  2. Za3tar | October 15, 2007 at 9:38 am | Permalink

    Clockwise or Counterclockwise ?…

    From Sabbah's Blog:

    OK, it’s Eid holiday, so this is not politics-related, but it is a cool way to find out if you are a right-brain or left-brain dominant. Look at the dancer and decide which way she’s spinning.
    Focus!
    If you think she’s …

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