Mind Games

[OHMorning-glory!]

Haha! Truthfully, I can see it turn both ways, from right to left.

Interesting stuff.

[Harvey]

I can cause her to switch directions at will, even while holding my breath

[OHMorning-glory!]

Throw in a pink tutu, a blonde wig, runny eye shadow & you have a ballet dancer or Courtney Love? Haha!

[rickoff]

The surest method to visualize rotational direction change is to focus on the outstretched foot, rather than the whole body, while viewing at a range that requires the eyes to move from side to side somewhat in order to do this. Give it a try.

[rickoff]

The twenty dollar illusion

Here's a unique and astonishing illusion created by folding a US twenty dollar Federal Reserve note (otherwise known as a twenty dollar bill) as shown below.

First, take a twenty dollar note and fold it as shown:

Next, fold like this:


Continue by folding the right wing under to form a V at the bottom, and you end up with this:

Notice how the area within the red circle appears eerily similar to the photograph at right of the 911 Pentagon fire.

Now turn the folded note around to the opposite side, and what you see is even more astonishing:

Really strange, isn't it?

[rickoff]

The left brain/rightbrain color test

Try this: http://www.humorsphere.com/fun/8787/colortest.swf

[Harvey]

Try this: http://www.humorsphere.com/fun/8787/colortest.swf

Unfortunately that test is badly skewed and easily beat by simply choosing the opposite button than the 'word' listed.

100% less than 2 seconds each screen.

[rickoff]

Unfortunately that test is badly skewed and easily beat by simply choosing the opposite button than the 'word' listed.

100% less than 2 seconds each screen.

Yes, most people will mess up on it the first time they try, but can usually get to 100% the second time around, even without using the cheat that you mention. It's funny how the color green is perceived by one side of the brain, while the word green is related to the other side.

[rickoff]

Watch out for potholes!

It's been a while since I added something new to this thread,
so decided to share something just sent to me today.

This photo was taken somewhere in Canada, and shows what
looks to be the after effects of a harsh winter causing large potholes
in the surface of a road. I know that I would surely slow down upon
seeing these lying ahead, and would also try to straddle them when
passing by. Who wouldn't?




That's quite a crater there! That could likely cause a lot of damage to tires,
suspension, muffler, and any other undercarriage elements.


In actuality, Canadian authorities have purposely left these potholes
in the road surface as deterrents to speeders, and it appears to be a very
effective method. It is easier, and far less expensive, than adding signs,
warning lights, or hiring and training police officers to use state of the art
speed detection equipment.



The photo below shows just how easy this method is to implement.

[DrStiffler]

The surest method to visualize rotational direction change is to focus on the outstretched foot, rather than the whole body, while viewing at a range that requires the eyes to move from side to side somewhat in order to do this. Give it a try.

I may stand corrected, yet I think the change in direction has more to do with the dominate eye, rather than IQ. Although being fully ambidextrous and able to switch visual dominance and low IQ of 10, I can not only shift direction at will but spin in both simultaneously, cute example this was.

[IndianaBoys]

More info to help better understand the spinning girl effect

More info to help better understand the spinning girl effect.

IndianaBoys

NeuroLogica Blog » Left Brain – Right brain and the Spinning Girl

Take a look at the spinning girl below. Do you see it spinning clockwise or counter-clockwise? I see it spinning counter-clockwise, and I had a hard time getting it to switch direction. Give it a try.

These kinds of optical illusions are always fun. What they reveal is how our brain processes visual information in order to create a visual model of the world. The visual system evolved to make certain assumptions that are almost always right (like, if something is smaller is it likely farther away). But these assumptions can be exploited to created a false visual construction, or an optical illusion.

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.

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.



This news article, like many others, ignores the true source of this optical illusion and instead claims it is a quick test to see if you use more of your right brain or left brain. This is utter nonsense, but the “right-brain/left brain” thing is in the public consciousness and won’t be going away anytime soon. Sure, we have two hemispheres that operate fine independently and have different abilities, but they are massively interconnected and work together as a seamless whole (providing you have never had surgery to cut your corpus callosum).

We also do have hemispheric dominance, but that determines mostly your handedness and the probability of language being on the right or the left. There is also often asymmetry for memory, with some being right or left hemisphere dominant. But none of this means that your personality or abilities are more right brain or left brain. That much is nonsense.

Further, how your visual cortex constructs this optical illusion says nothing about your hemispheric dominance, and is absolutely not a quick personality profile.

[minoly]

Optical Illusions | Brain Teasers - Yahoo! Games

Patrick

[Jacobeco]

In actuality, Canadian authorities have purposely left these potholes
in the road surface as deterrents to speeders, and it appears to be a very
effective method. It is easier, and far less expensive, than adding signs,
warning lights, or hiring and training police officers to use state of the art
speed detection equipment.



The photo below shows just how easy this method is to implement.

I love these illusion things but they play hell with my work as an internet copywriter. I am going to save them till I have a coffe break. This one above is really interesting - you should try reading "The economic Naturalist" by Robert H. Frank. All about why products are designed in a certain way just to save money. For an economics book its really funny!

[thepatrickblack]

Most people see the figure spinning in just one direction.

In my world, this woman swings both ways.

[rickoff]

In my world, this woman swings both ways.

Yes, and with some practice you can change the direction at will.