Toadfish Monastery

Open Water => Serious Discussion => Science => Topic started by: Swatopluk on October 16, 2007, 10:11:58 AM

Title: The spinning lady
Post by: Swatopluk on October 16, 2007, 10:11:58 AM
http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,22492511-5005375,00.html?from=mostpop

Although I think the test is not saying what it claims it does, it's an interesting experiment.

How does she spin for you and can you change that at will?
Title: Re: The spinning lady
Post by: Darlica on October 16, 2007, 11:23:25 AM
Confusing... I want to know how it's done!

She started out turning clockwise for me, then she changed direction, then changed again, then I found out what makes her change direction for me.

Going by this test my right brain functions dominate my left brain functions, at the initial phase, then if the right doesn't make it make sense the left side will take over trying to solve the problem (that what the left side does best after all).

I'm nor sure if this is a :daz: situation or a :goldfish: one...

;D
Title: Re: The spinning lady
Post by: beagle on October 16, 2007, 12:51:03 PM
Quote from: Swatopluk on October 16, 2007, 10:11:58 AM
How does she spin for you and can you change that at will?

Clockwise always. No.

This could explain why my program won't compile; I should be painting the ceiling of a chapel somewhere instead.
Title: Re: The spinning lady
Post by: Sibling Zono (anon1mat0) on October 16, 2007, 12:53:36 PM
It changes direction if I glance somewhere else and then look back. Are both sides of my brain equally willing to tackle the problem?  ???
Title: Re: The spinning lady
Post by: ivor on October 16, 2007, 01:37:50 PM
First she was turning counter-clockwise, then when I looked at her feet she started turning clockwise.  A few seconds later I wanted to see her in color.  I must have three brains.  :mrgreen:
Title: Re: The spinning lady
Post by: Aggie on October 16, 2007, 05:11:34 PM
Just two, but the lobes are rather well separated in the second one. ;D

I could change at will with effort, by looking at the shadow of the feet.  Otherwise I got distracted by the curvy bits* and couldn't change directions. Short-term memory seems to be a factor, too.... simply looking away won't change directions for me; a longer pause give a fairly random direction of spin.


*I can see how the legs and hips achieve the illusion, but the bobbly bits give the illusion of only working in whatever the current spin direction is.
Title: Re: The spinning lady
Post by: The Meromorph on October 16, 2007, 05:50:45 PM
Wow.
CLockwise, but I can make her change by deciding that she pauses faceing me or facing away (foot is lower when she pauses...) But it wants very strongly to be pausing facing me...
Title: Re: The spinning lady
Post by: Darlica on October 16, 2007, 06:13:20 PM
Quote from: Agujjim on October 16, 2007, 05:11:34 PM
Just two, but the lobes are rather well separated in the second one. ;D

I could change at will with effort, by looking at the shadow of the feet.  Otherwise I got distracted by the curvy bits* and couldn't change directions. Short-term memory seems to be a factor, too.... simply looking away won't change directions for me; a longer pause give a fairly random direction of spin.


*I can see how the legs and hips achieve the illusion, but the bobbly bits give the illusion of only working in whatever the current spin direction is.

We seem to achieve the same results with very different methods. When I wants her to spin counter-clockwise I spell a moderately complicated word (in English Swedish does not affect the rotation) out loud or try to remember phone numbers... addition and subtraction works too.
As soon as I "relax" she will go back to spin clockwise.
Title: Re: The spinning lady
Post by: Sibling Lambicus the Toluous on October 16, 2007, 06:26:14 PM
Quote from: Swatopluk on October 16, 2007, 10:11:58 AM
How does she spin for you and can you change that at will?

Once I figured out it was an optical illusion and not some sort of weird "is the computer reading your mind?" experiment, I figured out that I could get her to spin either way.  I've found I can change the direction at will by closing my eyes, deciding on a direction, and then imagining her spinning that way.  I find it helps if I look for her outstretched foot as soon as I open my eyes, too.
Title: Re: The spinning lady
Post by: Griffin NoName on October 16, 2007, 07:00:59 PM
I can get her to spin opposite directions by moving my eyes. The simplest and most consistent method is fixing my focus on bottom left or bottom right (tho other eye movements work too) - by swapping focus with a continual look down left, roll to look down right, roll to look down left, repeatedly, I can really confuse the poor lady.
Title: Re: The spinning lady
Post by: anthrobabe on October 16, 2007, 08:40:11 PM
clock-wise-- couldn't get anything else

going back later
Title: Re: The spinning lady
Post by: Sibling Chatty on October 16, 2007, 08:42:56 PM
Counterclockwise. Cannot change it.

Remember, severe dyslexic , has some visual and spatial "issues" talkin' here...
Title: Re: The spinning lady
Post by: Opsa on October 16, 2007, 09:02:09 PM
Clockwise only. I even tried doing a math problem in my head and still she went clockwise. She does pause a bit every so often, but that may just be the loading.
Title: Re: The spinning lady
Post by: Darlica on October 17, 2007, 01:10:46 AM
No. That is your brain "loading". Hang on to those pauses try figure out what you do to cause them, then do it again. :)

It is an optical illusion, the direction and speed is due to the watchers brain, and the wiring there in.  ;)
Title: Re: The spinning lady
Post by: Bluenose on October 17, 2007, 01:25:33 AM
Clockwise.

Can change direction, initially with some effort, but then more or less at will, by deciding whether her raised leg was passing infornt or behind her other leg.  the new direction would be stable until I changed it.  if I revisiit the page after a while it goes back to clockwise, so I guess that's my default direction.
Title: Re: The spinning lady
Post by: Swatopluk on October 17, 2007, 10:54:59 AM
I only got it counterclockwise on the other PC with the low performance that caused the lady to stop every few moments.
On this one where it goes virtually uninterrupted, I can't do the switch.
But reading the list of characteristics, I am almost 100% left not right.
Title: Re: The spinning lady
Post by: Griffin NoName on October 17, 2007, 09:25:34 PM
Since I can control it merely by moving my eyes left and right, I assume if I can use both sides of my brain at will, although doing so may cause people to regard me as slightly peculiar if I continually change sides as my eyes would look like I was totally mad.
Title: Re: The spinning lady
Post by: Scriblerus the Philosophe on October 18, 2007, 05:31:26 AM
I can't change her direction. At all. She spins only counter-clock wise.