Thanks, Gina!

I just stole this from your blog. Too cool not to share...


Clockwise Or Counterclockwise? - video powered by Metacafe
Which way does the dancing girl spin for you? Only clockwise for me.

If you see this lady turning clockwise you are using your right brain. If you see it her turning the other way, you are using left brain. Some people do see both ways, but most people see it only one way.

See if you can make her go one way and then the other by shifting the brain's current.

BOTH DIRECTIONS CAN BE SEEN.

Experimentation has shown that the two different sides or hemispheres of the brain are responsible for different manners of thinking. The following table illustrates the differences between left-brain and right-brain thinking:

Left Brain
Logical
Sequential
Rational
Analytical
Objective
Looks at parts

Right Brain
Random
Intuitive
Holistic
Synthesizing
Subjective
Looks at wholes

Most individuals have a distinct preference for one of these styles of thinking. Some, however, are more whole-brained and equally adept at both modes. In general, schools tend to favor left-brain modes of thinking, while downplaying the right-brain activities. Left-brain scholastic subjects focus on logical thinking, analysis, and accuracy. Right-brained subjects, on the other hand, focus on aesthetics, feeling, and creativity.

If you look away, she may switch from one direction to the other.
~~~~~~~
Now see this from New Scientist.

Bring on the dancing girl
OK, hands up if you can make her change direction. No? Only clockwise? How about making her stop?

This strangely compelling, animated silhouette of a woman spinning gracefully has been doing the rounds via email lately and the New Scientist office was one of many that spent a guiltily non-productive afternoon staring at her.

Why? Because some people see her spinning clockwise, some see her moving counterclockwise, and most, if they stare long enough, see her switch direction. Some can make her change at will. But no-one, it seems, can make her move in two directions at once.

All pretty spooky since she is an unchanging animation of only 34 frames in a constant loop. What seems to be happening is that the two-dimensional image does not contain enough three-dimensional information to tell the brain which way she is spinning. So your brain helpfully fills this in, as brains do in many optical illusions. Only, in this case the brain can do it one of two ways.

How about the stopping? Well, perception of time is pretty subjective, and our experience of inertia is that when things make a 180-degree change in direction, they have to slow and stop first.

What this animation does not involve is different sides of the brain, as the initial post claims. What you see is purely due to your perceptual and cognitive flexibility.

What is a little scary is how threatened by this some people clearly feel. The blogosphere is rife with arguments and ingenious explanations of the lady, with some people simply refusing to believe it isn’t an animation tick that really changes direction every few minutes.

Even more common are the people who are sure they know how to make her change direction. According to them, the trick is to hold your head or hands in certain ways, tilt the screen or look at her out of the corner of one eye. It was what they were doing when they saw her change – so it must work. Right?

Debora Mackenzie, New Scientist contributor