The Spinning Silhouette - Optical Illusion

@Alnitak (423)
Italy
May 3, 2008 6:43am CST
This is a test and an optical illusion: which way is the dancer spinning? I can see both ways: clockwise and anti-clockwise. Can you? http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22556281-661,00.html According with the test results, if you see it clockwise you are a "right-brain thinker" and vice-versa.
1 person likes this
2 responses
@phoenix25 (1541)
• United States
7 May 08
I saw clockwise. I have to add, though, that the notion that people primarily use either the left or right side of their brain is false. I have learned in a neuropsychology class that people use both sides of the brain equally. Brain function depends on how well both sides of the brain interact with each other through the corpus callosum, the structure that connects the two sides of the brain together. There are sections of the brain for each function on both sides of the brain. This is an idea that a lot of people tend to hold onto and I was even surprised to learn that it was based on false assumptions.
@Alnitak (423)
• Italy
7 May 08
That's interesting. But isn't true that right part of the body is easier to control? Why left-handed people are just a few compared to right-handed if brain has sections for each function in both sides?
@phoenix25 (1541)
• United States
7 May 08
Handedness acually has nothing to do with a "prominent" side of the brain. Both sides of the brain must work together to perform functions such as math problems or interpreting a poem. There is some evidence to suggest that handedness is genetic, with left handedness being a somewhat recessive gene because it is so rare. There is only a small percentage of the population that is left-handed. By examining the commonly-held belief that a person's handedness suggests a side of the brain that is more prominently used, this would suggest that only a small portion of the population uses primarily the right side of the brain (the common theory is that whatever hand a person uses, it is connected to the opposite side of their brain). This is just a ridiculous notion because that would mean that the larger percentage of the population uses the left side of their brain primarily. It just isn't so. Both sides of the brain are required to play music, draw, cook a meal, or read a book. Success in activities such as these relies on how well and how quickly both sides of the brain communicate together to perform functions like these.
@Alnitak (423)
• Italy
7 May 08
Ok, thanks for you explanation. It was really interesting ;) So, this is the second false assumption about brain I'm hearing about... the first one was that we could all be geniuses because a "normal person" uses only the 10% of his brain... hehe :D
• Lubbock, Texas
3 May 08
LOL. That's cool. when the page first opened, I couldn't see the whole body and she was spinning clockwise. I strolled down and as soon as I saw her feet the direction changed. I can change the direction by looking away and just seeing her in my peripheral vision. When I look back she doesn't change directions. Look away again and it changes. I like the description of right brain, left brain functions.