Right Brain or Left Brain or do you care?

dancer I found this dancer somewhere. Look at her. Do you think she is going clockwise or anti-clockwise? Can you make it go either way? Can you do it at will? Or do you think the animation actually reverses (maybe even randomly with a bunch of tricky backend wizardry?) What it is supposed to mean: If your impression is that she is going clockwise, you are allegedly RIGHT BRAIN dominant. RIGHT BRAIN dominant folks are supposed to be emotional, creative, wholistic, and other stuff you probably know if you came here. If you see her going anti-clockwise, allegedly you are LEFT BRAIN dominant. LEFT BRAIN folks are supposed to be logical, linear, problem-solvers etc.

How does it work? For starters I can assure you that there is no random reversal going on. This is a regular ani gif — no computer tricks. It tricks your mind because it is a silhouette. She clearly has a back and a front when she is sideways to you. However you get to make your own decision about back and front when she’s straight front or back–the silhouette is cleverly drawn so it leaves that ambiguous. So if you believe she is bouncing on her left leg you will see her go clockwise. However if you believe that she is bouncing on her right leg you will see her go anti-clockwise. As for me, I ALWAYS see clockwise first but I can make her go the other way if I just force myself to believe she’s bouncing on her RIGHT leg. What do you see?

14 comments to Right Brain or Left Brain or do you care?

  • Yes its a nice image randomly with a bunch of tricky backend wizardry. I am sure that its not moving one sided its moving both the side with sum computer tricks.

  • I have been hearing quite a lot about the left and the right brain conflict or what ever you can say… I really have a feeling that the image has been set to rotate randomly cw or acw. Because, i observed it very carefully and discovered different things in a span of 3-5 minutes…

  • Clockwise… I can’t even force my eyes to make her go the opposite way. I have seen something like this before and I ended up staring at it for an hour, made my brain hurt…

  • admin

    There is NO RANDOM reversal. I took apart the frames. When you think she is full front, that could also be full back and vice versa, and of course that alters your visual theory of which leg she is standing on. Any reversal you see is in your brain.

  • At first she went counter and I looke up again and shewent counter. I tnink I fall from being areasoned rational person to being anemotional blob. If you look at the feet you can make her go either way.

    She is built like a brick house, but then again, I am a joker.

  • On the first note, i thought you’re right, that you can make it turn whichever way just by choosing whether the bouncing foot is left or right. I saw clockwise first too, then decided to sort of imagine what if she’s bouncing on her right foot, then suddenly it turned counter. But you can unveil the trick if you can actually see it in slow motion that you can behold how it actually reverses randomly on clockwise or counter motion. You won’t notice it if you just broke it into frames cause there it’s not in motion. Though you’re right on the silhouette effect, makes it appear both ways.

    fayes last blog post..Red Mobile: Smart Takes a Pawn and Seeks a Fork

  • No, if you look at her butt you can keep it going one way for a long time. If you look at the feet you can make it change. It is all in whether you think the leg is going in front or behind the leg standing. I believe it is an optical illusion. The joke is on those who think that it changes.

  • admin

    Gary Anderson: Exactly.

  • …the way i see it with my browser, it turns clockwise and counter even when i look at her head or shoulder or on her foot… even tried looking from a peripheral view, still the same random motion. I didn’t even think about it… I’m laughing at myself too. logically, it is an optical illusion, saves us from thinking. i just wonder if i’m a disturbed person after all… lol

  • 100% anticlock wise and bouncing from right leg.

  • I love images like this, and especially the debate after!! Haha, grr your site just stopped me from doing work for another 15mins. Bookmarked! 😉

    Matts last blog post..Does Your Website Deliver Results?

  • I can make her spin both ways at will. One thing you might try if you can’t get her too is to watch her the pivot foot and think about which way it should spin.

    Just a Bloggers last blog post..The best Christmas gift ever

  • Cool blog Colleen. I have seen the twirling dancer on websites for a long time now, but she was always clockwise. After the read through, I can make her go counter clockwise if I scan the picture starting at her feet, but she keeps snapping back to clockwise. Cheers!

  • Colleen

    Yep, it’s always clockwise to me too but I can force it to be the other way if I really want to. This whole thing begs the question: Why do left brain people see it one way and right brain the other? I’d think it would be random.

A sample text widget

Etiam pulvinar consectetur dolor sed malesuada. Ut convallis euismod dolor nec pretium. Nunc ut tristique massa.

Nam sodales mi vitae dolor ullamcorper et vulputate enim accumsan. Morbi orci magna, tincidunt vitae molestie nec, molestie at mi. Nulla nulla lorem, suscipit in posuere in, interdum non magna.