Right brain vs. Left brain
This is freaky: Do you see the dancer spinning clockwise or counter-clockwise? (It's a simple animated GIF so there are no parlor tricks involved!)
According to the Herald Sun, if you see her spinning clockwise, you use more of your right-brain than your left-brain, and vice-versa.
Left brain: uses logic, detail oriented, facts rule, etc. Right brain: uses feeling, "big picture" oriented, imagination rules, etc.
Try as I might, I only see her spinning clockwise. How about you?
Via @KuraFire on Twitter.
The Right brain vs. Left brain article by Aral Balkan, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 2.0 UK: England License.
Subscribe to my blog
Ken Simpson
Gabriela Portilla
Clark Wilkins
Bob
Erik Hansen
Gerald Yeo
Only clockwise for me too, try as I might, I can’t get it to do the opposite.
Try this for those of you with dual monitors: Open a browser on each monitor with the spinning dancer. Look at the center area of the two screens. A friend of mine saw an anti-clockwise dancer in his left view and a clockwise one on his right.
October 12th, 2007 at 9:01 amproll
At my first look she’s spinning clockwise.
but if look for a long time you can spin in both way by your own wish
October 12th, 2007 at 9:05 amLarixk
I do see both with some practice. Highly doubt this has anything to do with right brain/left brain. And of course the whole right brain/left brain distinction has been long proved a (somewhat phrenologic) myth by the neurologic world.
October 12th, 2007 at 9:11 amAndrew
If I look directly I see her spinning clockwise. If I look out of the corner of my eye while reading the post below she spins anti-clockwise.
Interesting….
October 12th, 2007 at 9:13 amRob
For me it keeps changing. I can’t choose but every now and again she will be spinning the other way. Strange (I think I have a civil war in my head!)
October 12th, 2007 at 9:24 ammattjpoole
I tried the trick with the same page in two browser across dual monitors - on the right hand side I could see clockwise and on the left anticlockwise
October 12th, 2007 at 9:26 amJanek
I see same as Andrew
October 12th, 2007 at 9:34 ampete
what if she isn’t spinning at all ? or have I just had too many beers ?
October 12th, 2007 at 9:49 ammicha
If you watch her carefully she has the head turned right down a bit, same with her rihgt arm and at the same time she’s spinning at her right foot.
i’m not a rocket sience physic but if i’m not totally wrong she must fall down very soon. let’s watch her a bit more … maybe …
October 12th, 2007 at 9:57 amMichael Long
I’ve found that if I look off-axis slightly and watch her with my right eye she eventually spins CW. Reverse gaze and use the left and she’ll take off CCW.
October 12th, 2007 at 10:03 amMartin
Just watch her bottom foot and she’ll switch direction. thats the area with the least amount of visual cue for rotation direction.
October 12th, 2007 at 10:09 amstombi
I see her spinning clockwise or counter-clockwise at will but when I first look at this I saw her spinning counter-clockwise.
October 12th, 2007 at 10:14 amGareth
Anti-Clockwise all the way with me. I cant see it any other way. Very cool
October 12th, 2007 at 11:17 amStefan
what do you mean she’s spinning?
October 12th, 2007 at 11:24 amRichard Lord
There’s so many ways to interpret the question. I see the dancer spinning clockwise, but then I used to be a dancer myself and call this a clockwise turn, regardless of how you present it on a 2d screen. I place myself in the dancers position and know that to her this is a clockwise turn. (Stand up, look down at your feet, and turn the same direction as the dancer. You’re turning clockwise.)
On the other hand, if you look at the pixels on the screen as just a random shape it’s very different. Most parts of the image move back and forth across the screen without a strong up/down movement to give a sense of clockwise/counter-clockwise. The strongest arc is in the toes of the supporting foot, which form a clear counter-clockwise circle. The pointed foot curiously forms a clockwise circle that feels counter-clockwise because we interpret the perspective on it.
I could go on but I’m even boring myself now. I suspect the idea is that if imagine yourself in the dancer’s shoes you say clockwise and if you do a literal interpretation from the motion of pixels in the 2d image then you say counter-clockwise.
October 12th, 2007 at 11:26 amEric
if you look at her arm, you can switch easily. just imagine it passing either in front or back of her body.
October 12th, 2007 at 11:52 am[a/]
-clock-wise-
October 12th, 2007 at 12:17 pmOlly
She’s clockwise on the first glance, then changes direction every time I look away and the come back.
October 12th, 2007 at 1:40 pmsaumya
clockwise for me too. I am happy with it also, if left-right logic says so
October 12th, 2007 at 1:42 pmJohn Benson
Counter Clock Wise for me
October 12th, 2007 at 1:45 pmMichiel van der Ros
This is cool stuff!
First interpretation: clockwise.
Looking at the shadow I can switch, but it’s easier with just my left than with just my right eye.
What andrew mentioned about looking from the corner of your eye also works that way for me. And now I’m almost able to switch it both ways, looking with both eyes. Thanks, it feels good to have my brainhalves calibrated again
October 12th, 2007 at 2:05 pmNo Name
At neutral point in the animation it reverses. Watch the pony tail and you’ll see it.
October 12th, 2007 at 2:48 pmJason The Saj
I found that angle makes a major difference. Looking upward she spins clockwise, when I looked down on her she spun counter-clockwise.
So if I conclude the validity of the left vs right brain premise, I’d have to conclude that those who are left-brained are looking down on people.
*lol*
October 12th, 2007 at 2:48 pmNikita
WTF! It’s spins only clockwise nomatter how hard I try to spin it CCW by my own will. =)
October 12th, 2007 at 3:05 pmKevin
If you blink and imagine her spinning the opposite direction while your eyes are closed, you can see her change directions once you open your eyes. Disclaimer: This may only happen for people who are running both halves of their brain.
October 12th, 2007 at 3:37 pmMike
If I look at the bottom foot, I can see it both ways. If I look at the entire image, there is no illusion, the reflection proves that she is spinning clockwise.
October 12th, 2007 at 4:16 pmVibol
Interesting illusion. She’s spinning both directions for me depending on how I ‘look’ at it. The standing foot is always clockwise, however.
October 12th, 2007 at 6:01 pmReagan
People, people, people - If you’ve got all the time in the world, as I do, to sit here and stare at this gif image… you’ll notice that it is tainted.. she swiches directions. I has nothing to do with if you are right or left brained. This is someones funny joke. The illusion is the seemless switch in directions.
October 12th, 2007 at 6:02 pmrae
ahhhh… I can only see counter… Mike says “proves she is spinning clockwise” ???? No matter what I do I can’t see it. Let me try the one eye thing!
I suppose the dancer can only see a one way spin as well since there are people her who can see the “object” move both ways (and are not switching between viewing the “dancer” and being in the dancer’s shoes”)
October 12th, 2007 at 6:03 pmHarish Mallipeddi
Clock-wise for me all the time! (All the tips above didn’t help me to see it anti-clockwise at all).
October 12th, 2007 at 6:24 pmNeil B.
@ Reagan:
I know you’re highly doubting of the genuineness of the picture, but it really is a left brain/right brain thing! The picture does NOT change at all. Keep in mind that some people (take Harish, for example) seem to be unable to see it one direction at all!
October 12th, 2007 at 8:07 pmAaron
All I see is a hot chick (spinning counter-clockwise).
October 12th, 2007 at 9:19 pmerikbianchi
Looking straight at her I only see her spinning counter clockwise going off her left leg.
However, if I mentally rotate her feet towards me so she is perpendicular then she is rotating clockwise.
-erik
October 13th, 2007 at 12:40 amerikbianchi
WOW NO FREAKING WAY!!!
I really didn’t believe you could “see” her spin any other way.
I tricked myself into seeing her spin clockwise.
I scrolled down to the bottom of the screen so I could only see her feet.
Then I thought about her feet spinning the other direction, scrolled up and BOOM!! She was spinning clockwise.
Crazy. For like 10 mins all i saw was counter clockwise.
October 13th, 2007 at 12:47 amLauren
It’s a trick image. But it’s also a real illusion to some extent. It *does* switch directions as part of the .gif image itself. If you stare at the whole image long enough, or at the hips, not just legs, feet, or head, you can clearly observe this. It happens every minute or so, seamlessly. It turns to go one way, then it’s as if it changes its mind and suddenly spins the other way. But you CAN alter the direction depending on how you look at it. Especially if you watch just the feet. Close your eyes for a few seconds and it’s going counter-clockwise then it switches when you open or eyes, or even just staring at it out of the corner of your eyes, or whether you’re looking at it from top or bottom. It has pretty much NOTHING to do with right/left brain. It’s HOW you’re looking at it.
October 13th, 2007 at 3:21 amrain man
This is weird, how do you guys see this as clockwise is beyond me…. maybe i just stupid !!!
she is using her right leg as a pivot to rotate backwards i.e axis is vertical ….
tried all the clockwise tricks mentioned i have not been able make it go clockwise
October 13th, 2007 at 7:20 amLukas
I see nipples.
October 13th, 2007 at 12:56 pmTiago
Counter clockwise
Pretty cool thingy
October 13th, 2007 at 5:06 pmcynic
Widdershins if I look right at her; however if I look off to the left and glance sidelong she switches to Turnwise; and back to Widdershins when I face forward: this only works for me facing left though, if I face off to the right she spins merrily along just as if I were looking full on.
October 13th, 2007 at 9:08 pmAlso: the poor dear seems to be rather chilly ; )
matthias
Actually, she switches all the time…:)
http://www.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,,5693171,00.gif
Open it with total video player. It clearly starts moving clockwise, but in the first quarters, it keeps her body moving clockwise, but her leg starts moving counterclockwise faster….
October 13th, 2007 at 10:33 pmSo while she turns her body clockwise, her leg moves in a physical impossible movement behind her right leg, counterclockwise
matthias
Otherwise, open it in flash, and slowly go frame by frame using the timeline, or export it on fps 1. It will be moving clockwise, and on the switch of frame 12 to 13, suddenly the sweeping leg will be drawn behind her body.
Something is physically not right, and you’re brain will correct it, thus making the woman either turning clockwise, or counterclockwise.
October 13th, 2007 at 10:41 pmRonny
CCW for me… no matther how hard i try… Will see what the girlfriend says. She’s not good at logics
October 14th, 2007 at 8:37 amHomer Simpson
OMG i use 100% of my brain
October 14th, 2007 at 11:37 amAnna
I see her spinning both clockwise and anti-clockwise - it keeps changing all the time - and I also see her not spinning at all (just moving her leg from the left to the right and back). Interesting…!
October 15th, 2007 at 10:24 amLee McColl Sylvester
I tried half the suggestions here, but can’t see her doing anything but turn clockwise… I tried damnit!
Well, I’m an inventor at heart, so I guess my imagination is getting the better of me, hence why I stared at it for sooooo long
Put some clothes on her, dagnabbit!
Lee
October 15th, 2007 at 8:34 pmLee McColl Sylvester
Okay, I worked it out… This is how my brain see’s it… The woman is rotating with a reflection below her. This means, my brain is expecting to be looking down slightly, else if I’m looking up, why the reflection? As the pass from left to right positions her body bits at a higher location than right to left, my brain therefore concludes that she must be spinning clockwise.
I deduced all this by covering the reflection. Only then was I able to imagine looking slightly up, and thus seeing her rotate anti-clockwise.
Lee
October 15th, 2007 at 8:38 pmMarc
All I see is nipple… :/
October 16th, 2007 at 1:55 amLiz Myers
Now this is really weird. At FIRST I saw her spinning CLOCKWISE. Then when I trained myself to see her spinning counter-clockwise — my brain got stuck on this and now that’s all I see. Bizarre, considering I am left-handed — so theoretically more right-brained.
October 16th, 2007 at 9:15 amria
i can only see clockwise.
October 16th, 2007 at 9:36 amMike van Kuik
I see clock and couter-clockwise… (with little training
)
I can see the big picture and the details according to the left/right theory thingy… 
lol
October 17th, 2007 at 2:50 pmCool
Shadrik
If you literally turn your head upside down (youll look strange of course) then you can see her turning the other way, then slowly tip your head back round the right way and you’ll still see her turning anti clockwise..
Im sure you can get her to turn the other way normally, but this worked for me in a few seconds.
Shad
October 17th, 2007 at 7:00 pmLEE
I don’t understand how anyone can see her spinning clockwise.
It’s just not reality.
October 18th, 2007 at 1:52 amLEE
Wait……she WAS spinning clockwise, but now she’s spinning counter-clockwise…
It’s not an illusion, it’s just a semi-random function.
October 18th, 2007 at 1:54 amChuck
Speaking from a neurological stand point, if you see her spinning clockwise…you’re normal…if you see her spinning counter clockwise you’re still normal…If you can see her spinning both ways, seek medical attention you may have a brain tumor.
Enjoy your day.
October 18th, 2007 at 2:12 amaiko
damn…i can only see her turning clockwise…i let my cousin watch the dancer in the monitor and she sees her turning anti-clockwise….i also let other people watch…they can make directions with regards to her turning…i think its not about ur monitor…
October 18th, 2007 at 6:10 amJonathan Heaven
@Chuck,
Uhoh… I better go get an MRI or something!
I can let myself interpret it in whichever direction I choose, on the fly! I must admit upon first glance (for instance, after closing my eyes for a while) the initial direction I instinctively see is clockwise, but if I think about seeing it counter clockwise, she starts to spin that way!
October 18th, 2007 at 7:08 amGreat optical illusion
vava
when im drunken i see her turning anticlockwise, but normally, i see her turning clockwise :P:D
October 19th, 2007 at 12:45 amYPLim
Spins both ways for me.
October 19th, 2007 at 8:32 amStare longer and it reverse. =)
Morgan
Actually, I can change the direction at will by looking directly at it. To me, it looks like she is swaying back and forth. O.O odd. Maybe my brain’s halves work equally?
October 20th, 2007 at 9:42 amKamen
Of course, it is designed in such a way that the direction is not apparent in the picture itself, but only in your mind - it chooses it, probably according to the hemisphere dominance at the moment when you are looking at the picture. I see it one time clockwise, one time counter-clockwise. If such a test could accurately predict your brain hemisphere dominance at all, then it could be expected that the frequency of seeing it in one direction or another would give approximate percentage of your hemisphere usage. However, those who can quickly change the direction while looking non-stop at the picture and think about the direction probably measure their autosuggestion abilities. Also, any preconceived notions about the direction and the fact that your mind is not completely clear and unbiased before looking at the girl have influence on your perception.
October 20th, 2007 at 9:59 pmKim
I was doing research for a recently discovered left brain tumor they have found in my head…..I can see this going both ways…..and did anyone else notice that she is naked?….lol
October 21st, 2007 at 2:07 ammylene
at first. its counter clockwise. and then when i saw it again, its already clockwise! amazing! =)
October 24th, 2007 at 1:27 pmGarry Schafer
Originally I see her counterclockwise; but if you stare (or _I_ stare) just below her legs it can flip either way.
October 25th, 2007 at 8:34 pmAnnie
Counter clockwise spin when I look straight on; clockwise if I look slightly away from center.
October 25th, 2007 at 9:47 pmRachel
I think it’s kind of like looking at those black and white silhoute pictures that can be seen either as an old woman or a young girl (or other such shape-shifting type pictures). When I first saw the girl it looked like she was moving clockwise. And then I watched her hip area closely. The form of that area of her body is such that it can either appear to be a backside or a front side, and your brain can switch the placement of her leg at that point. The way you see the direction of her spin probably does have something to do with which side of your brain is dominant—or whether you can switch it back and forth, like you can when you look at the old-woman/young-girl picture.
October 26th, 2007 at 5:01 amRachel
Rachel
Oct 26th, 2007 at 5:01 am
I think it’s kind of like looking at those black and white silhouette pictures that can be seen either as an old woman or a young girl (or other such shape-shifting type pictures). When I first saw the girl it looked like she was moving clockwise. And then I watched her hip area closely. The form of that area of her body is such that it can either appear to be a backside or a front side, and your brain can switch the placement of her leg at that point. The way you see the direction of her spin probably does have something to do with which side of your brain is dominant—or whether you can switch it back and forth, like you can when you look at the old-woman/young-girl picture.
October 26th, 2007 at 5:16 amIZ
First visit to your blog - good stuff! Loved this post. I clearly see this rotating CCW. (We already knew I’m a big left-brain thinker.) My wife saw it spinning CW. (She’s most definitely right brain.) After she flashed her hands in front of my screen - I could see it spinning CW. Then CCW. Then CW - now it gives me a headache every time I look at it. SOOOOO very cool! Thanks for sharing!
October 26th, 2007 at 8:00 amShil
If, like me, u see her turning clockwise and she WILL NOT go opposite for all your staring, just do some simple maths in your head. u know, addition, subtraction..nothing major. in that time, either dont look at her or dont focus on her. after maybe a few seconds or a few minutes of calculaitons, she will turn anticlockwise because now your left brain is engaged! works for me everytime.
i guess for those who cant get her to turn clockwise, u could think of music or fragrances or some such to engage the right brain, and try…!
October 26th, 2007 at 9:53 amGraham
When I stare, all I can see are naked ladies, its great, who cares which way they are spinning.
October 26th, 2007 at 4:08 pmAndrea
Yesterday I could see her turn CCW most of the time before she switched to CW today shes turning CW most of the time and CCW if I focus really hard.
By the way
October 27th, 2007 at 7:04 pmThe actual animation is CW with 34 frames (I checked)there is no illusion about it, that is the way she was drawn. The way you see her turn is actually determined by your brain.
(Our eyes by themselves see upside down it’s our brain that flips the image)
Michelle
I’ve tried… I can only see her spinning counter clockwise. When I was reading that people saw her spinning clockwise, honestly, I thought- how on earth is that possible!!?
October 27th, 2007 at 7:54 pmJamie
I can see her going both directions…what does that mean? I know that I don’t use all of my brain
October 28th, 2007 at 4:24 pmPatrick
This is an optical illusion. Focus on the lower part of the body, hide the rest with your hand. This makes it easier to see both directions. The trick is that you can’t see the pose of the body clearly (black filled) if you asked me.
So this has practically nothing to do with left/right part of the brain.
November 4th, 2007 at 3:12 pmDee
We watched this with a group of 10 people. We all saw her spinnining different directions watching at the same time. On the same monitor. Explain that. When one of us saw her switch, others did not. And we didn’t see her switch at the same time. There is more to it than just an illusion.
November 7th, 2007 at 9:07 amsatya
i can see both
November 7th, 2007 at 6:59 pmlittlecengiz
This picture is a FAKE. In this picture, there are some frames for rotating clockwise and counter-clockwise.
Assume that first frames are rotating clockwise. After 4-5 frames, model rotates reverse direction. In this point, you can not notice see model rotating in reverse direction. It is a FAKE…
Somebody catch this point and they suppose that they see model in reverse direction.
November 9th, 2007 at 1:02 pmAral
Hey littlecengiz,
You caught us out, man, congratulations! It is a “FAKE”! (The original is currently safely locked away in the Louvre.)
Now, if you can just deposit $1,000 in my bank account (to cover the transfer fees), I can send you your $1,000,000 prize for being so damn smart!
November 9th, 2007 at 2:05 pmMartin Heidegger
Actually I ran over this problem some weeks ago when designing a logo for some climbing facility. The problem lies in the fact that on black there is no proper determination which is the front side. Do you expect the person to lean forwards the moment you see her first or does she lean away from you. When you see her to lean backwards she is looking to you (and your brain starts doing all the rest with the rotation). I initially saw her clockwise and after imagine her to lean backwards and watch the picture once more its done for the other direction. Maybe its just a statistical fact that those who saw her first cw are rightys the other lefties and those might be brocken after some intensive records. Anyway … this was a sign for me that we need color (in the knees and at the feet) to identify properly what direction the person looks.
November 9th, 2007 at 4:17 pmkirsten
will some1 plz explain 2 me how u can possible c her spinning clockwise!?!?!?
November 12th, 2007 at 1:32 ammolly
at first she was spinning counter clockwise…but now I can’t possibly see it any way but clockwise, no matter what i try…i dont like this trick, or whatever it is.
November 14th, 2007 at 12:08 ammolly
OMG!!!! Now it is going counter…weird. And back to clockwise.
November 14th, 2007 at 12:11 amgrendel
It is NOT a fake - don’t be stupid and post that it is just because you have a hunch. Of COURSE it looks like it changes - it’s an optical illusion. But if you’ll notice, different people will see it change at different times. That’s not possible to “fake.” The only thing worse than ignorant people who just accept every little thing is ignorant people who think they’re being skeptics by denying everything and assuming they’re right without proof.
November 14th, 2007 at 8:13 amMina Tweak
I first saw her moving clockwise but since you said some people see it the other way I stared at it for a little bit trying to figure out how to see her moving in the other direction. Well I found it helped to look her foot’s reflection and then look up and she appeared to be moving counter clockwise.
That’s really neat though.
November 14th, 2007 at 8:20 pmJacob
it is much easier to switch if you spin your finger around in the direction you want to see it.
November 14th, 2007 at 9:43 pmShirley
Either way its easy to swtich her direction, just look at the feet. Hips and up its more difficult. In fact when I first saw this I thought she was just waving her foot to and fro.
November 14th, 2007 at 10:52 pmBut what dancer lands on her heel.
Kree
Aha! I have cracked the secrets of this animation!
The figure of the girl rotates clockwise, but her SHADOW is rotating anti-clockwise! Try it yourself by covering up the girl then covering up the shadow, or open it up in an animated gif editor like I did.
Mixed in with the way the figure is in a weird position and bobbing up and down, people who pay attention to the shadow (people with an eye for detail, or active left brains I suppose) can get confused into thinking that the figure is spinning anti-clockwise!
I was itching to figure out what made this animation tick after I saw it spinning both clockwise then anti-clockwise. I guess I’m equal in both left and right brains to notice this trick
November 15th, 2007 at 1:55 amFesworks
She spins clockwise. If you extract the image to a GIF animation program, there is only ONE rotation rendered, and its clockwise.
The only way this is fake is is the website coding changes the visible image to a completely separate image with her rotating the other way.
November 15th, 2007 at 4:23 amSherri
Looks to me like she switches.
When she’s spinning clockwise, no matter how you look at it, she has to be spinning on her left leg. When she’s spinning counter-clockwise, she has to be spinning on her right leg. No way to change that without switching it. She switches no matter where I’m looking.
November 15th, 2007 at 7:42 amShane
That’s faked.
It’s an animation that changes the rotation shortly into the gif sequence.
Save the dancer image to your drive then view both side by side, you may see what I mean as one image will spin clockwise and the other counter clockwise. Open the second when the web dancer spins counter clockwise.
November 15th, 2007 at 9:49 amSGF1
Mmmmmmmmmm………………………
Nipples.
November 15th, 2007 at 11:01 amZoot
Uhm. Guys… her foot dips lower on one side of the spin, if you include foreshortening and the fact that people tend to look at someone from a point which is at least above knee level, it’s understandable that she SHOULD look like she’s spinning clockwise… the reason you can see her going the other way from the corner of your eye is that you don’t subconsciously notice this detail. Some of us don’t at all…
November 15th, 2007 at 11:44 amKree
I’d like to ‘retcon’ what I said earlier. The shadow isn’t the main thing, it’s the silhouette that causes the confusion. Whoever made this positioned the model and the frames just enough to make the direction she’s facing hard to determine.
I’ve looked over the frames one by one again. She is actually spinning COUNTER-CLOCKWISE, but in a very weird position. Her left leg is in the air and she’s tilted back in a “falling backwards” position. The model is posed in such a way that without anything but a silhouette it looks like she’s standing up normally with her right leg in the air. The animator also moved her down slightly at frame 24, most likely to “maintain the illusion”, which makes for that annoying “bobbing” effect.
If it looks like she’s spinning clockwise, it’s because you’re staring at her back when you think you’re staring at her front, or visa-versa.
November 15th, 2007 at 11:54 amVictor
This is weird. If I shake my head I can see the dancer kind of.. well…dancing and she keeps changing directions!
November 15th, 2007 at 5:38 pmWedge
I see a nekkid chick!
November 15th, 2007 at 6:44 pmJane
So… what side of the brain are we if we don’t see her go all the way around? She keeps doing a half turn and goes the other direction.
November 15th, 2007 at 8:08 pmAral
@Jane: Damn, if you can see that, you must have some higher form of perception — or no persistence of vision
— that _is_ what it’s doing if you look at the animation frame by frame.
November 15th, 2007 at 8:15 pmMenzoic
It’s cool how you can change the way you see it. I first saw it counterclockwise then after reading Larixk’s comment i saw it clockwise.
November 16th, 2007 at 12:05 ammorgan
it changes. look at her legs. the right leg will be out, then randomly the left leg will be out. or vice versa
November 16th, 2007 at 12:25 amAmesNerd
I see her spinning clockwise at first but if I look away or blink while changing my distance from the screen she changes direction. Also, I define myself as left brain dominant, when I read that the right brain sees clockwise she immediately switched directions on me. It seems to switch also based on how attentive I am being to it. The pictures affect may have something to do with the refresh rate of whatever screen you are using.
November 19th, 2007 at 1:10 amemre
Okay, as I see, after some practice , people can change the direction of the spin.
Now the question is, how frequently can you change the direction continously?? The continous frequency I can change the direction of the spin is 1/2 turns (every half turn) .To say it in words: The girl looks at you (or into your screen), makes a half turn, changes her point foot and turns the opp. direction a half turn.. changes her point foot… this goes on and on… But frequencies smaller than f=1/2 (perhaps f= 1/4) is slightly more difficult as you will be facing the fact that you have to imagine the moves in the opposite quarters of the circular area which the dancer girl is scanning… Hard doing it continously !!!
I guess KAMEN & JANE would agree…
November 19th, 2007 at 2:07 pmseenojunkmail
I can see her spinning both directions.
But I can also see her only making 1/2 of a rotation.
Both with her feet and hands in front of her going side to side facing me
and with her feet and hands going behind her going side to side looking away from me.
The fun part is switching up in full and half rotations going both ways and facing both directions and seeing how long you can keep the 4 patterns going before you see it the “wrong way”
It’s like a tongue twister for your brain. I can’t get past three sets.
Give it a try
November 24th, 2007 at 8:50 pmChristopher H
Very interesting brain teaser! Here’s a little secret. When you focus intently (i.e. are focusing your energy on the frontal portion) you will likely see the girl spinning counter-clockwise. When you relax and roll your brain energy to the rear portion of your brain (tip your head just lightly and let your focus slip to the rear) you will actually see her shift and start moving clockwise.
November 25th, 2007 at 2:38 amCat
This was figured out by Gonzo, not me.
The girl is rotating in a counter-clockwise fashion. At least that is the way she is supposed to be rotating. If you concentrate on her foot correctly, you can reverse the image easily.
The key is her shadow. The light is cast from behind her body and her shadow lies towards us. When her leg swings around, the shadow of her lifted leg passes over the shadow of her extended leg. Because the shadow passes over the leg, instead of extending below it, combined with the fact that the foot shadow ALWAYS moves from right to left, gives your mind the impression that the girl must be rotating clockwise because her lifted leg appears to pass between you and her, instead of passing behind her where we cant see it, confirmed with the shadow moving from right to left the mind automatically accepts clockwise.
However. It is possible because of the angle of the light, and the fact that her leg is lifted, and because she appears to jump slightly into the air, for her to rotate counter-clockwise and still not only pass the shadow over her lowered foot, but to have it move into the light in a right to left fashion as well. This is the reason it can be seen both ways by some, and one direction or the other by others.
So far the evidence says that either way could be right. But the final clue is the angle of the light. With the light being both above and behind her, that it is more logical that as her leg swings from left to right, the shadow drops from our view below the picture line, and returns as her leg comes around and begins moving from the right to the left, as the shadow does.
Logical people will see it turning counter-clockwise while the right brained individual goes with their feeling and sees it turning clockwise.
The trick to making it change directions for you is to concentrate on where her lower foot meets the shadow foot and get the direction you want her to turn from the foot moving opposite the current direction she’s turning. Once you figure it out you’ll be able to make her change direction at will. I cant help but think that must be a good brain excercise as well
November 29th, 2007 at 3:57 pmLAUREN
waow! it doesn both for me!
November 29th, 2007 at 9:58 pmViki
I first see it CW, but also CCW and just left to right. Just look at the foot and envision someone tapping left to right. Out of the “upper” (ha ha instead of corner) of your eye you’ll see it switching, then look at the whole thing. Don’t know if it makes a difference, but I write with my left hand and do everything else right-handed.
November 30th, 2007 at 12:45 amCarly
She switches so often (every couple seconds or 180 degree turn) that I mostly just see her swaying side to side. Sometimes I get to see a few full turns, and when this happens she usually appears to be moving clockwise.
December 3rd, 2007 at 11:24 amCarly
Also I’d like to add that trying to work out math problems while glancing at the screen DOES change the direction of movement. Funny actually because this is when she seemed to sway - I couldn’t see her make a complete turn for a min or two no matter how hard a tried. However she did go back to clockwise turns after I was finished working out the problem. This was very interesting to me as I am a right dominant thinker - often rely on intuition instead of logic, prefer to paint than solve problems. It seemed that my right brain was fighting the left when I tried the experiment… and thus the reason for the “sway”. very interesting.
December 3rd, 2007 at 11:40 amPaul
Initially I saw clockwise. As I read the information at the bottom I noticed the change to counter clockwise. After a while I noticed if I put the image as far up on my browser as I could and still have it completely visible while I looked at the bottom of the page and let my focus relax, the picture stops doing full rotations. Instead rotates from all the way left to all the way right and switches diection to rotate all the way left again, always facing predominately forward.
December 14th, 2007 at 4:12 pmGina
I can make her go in either direction
December 16th, 2007 at 9:06 amrichard
If I fix my initial gaze, with either or both eyes, on the figure it spins anticlockwise, about 20 degrees to the right of the figure and it spins clockwise, 20 degrees to the left and it spins anticlockwise. Alternating gaze causes the figure to swing back and forth. Does this suggest that the perceived direction is strongly influenced by which side of the visual cortex initially processes the image? Whatever the direction of spin the figure always spins backwards, so in making the switch the brain must also ’see’ a left arm and leg become a right arm and leg, and back again - unsettling when you think about it.
December 19th, 2007 at 12:29 amChaday
waste of time get more animated pictures but…
December 26th, 2007 at 9:35 pmalso…good
Chaday
thre is nothing hard about the animation
December 26th, 2007 at 9:39 pmzaitz
i hate it. when i saw it first, it turned clockwise. so, i tryed to read the text below and scroled the image so that only her feet were in sight. and fast, i decided to take a second look but this time… well she does that every time i open the page: how i lose a sec the sight, she change direction, but only once. i’m shure she does that on purpose.
January 2nd, 2008 at 7:01 pmjacobo
ARGGH IT WAS COUNTER CLOCKWISE FOREVER AND NOW ITS STUCK AT CLOCKWISE! I DON’T WANNA A PAINTER! TURN IT BACK!
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:04 amjacobo
WOOT I SWITCHED IT BACK! does anybody else get light headed when they make the switch? ugh that felt soo weird in my brain.
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:06 amjacobo
heh, i got it down now.. sweeet
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:08 amRichS
She spins both directions! One direction her right leg is raised, the other way the left leg is raised.
January 4th, 2008 at 9:41 pmDan Janssens
Spins in all directions for me.
January 5th, 2008 at 10:40 pmWhere can i see more of this?
amanda
OMGOSH…where do i find more of these? this thing only spun clockwise for me…maybe im just too blonde to see the other way.
January 6th, 2008 at 3:49 amAntoinette
I saw it spinning clock wise and counter-clock wise
January 7th, 2008 at 7:32 amwayne
I personally can’t get her to do a full rotation…she keeps switching directions about half way.
January 22nd, 2008 at 4:32 amBrian
I acn see her spinning both ways…at first she is spinning clockwise but after a while i can keep making her spin differnt directions if i try hard enough
February 22nd, 2008 at 8:41 pmvarun
She was turning clockwise for me [clock wise = If I'm looking at her feet from her point of view I'm making a clockwise move]
Blur your focus on her, there is a probability that you will see her spinning in the opposite direction.
-varun
March 15th, 2008 at 5:14 pmBoner
If I look at her pert nipples and taunt butt long enough, all I get is my Nick Name…
April 7th, 2008 at 1:15 amGoth
personally I think the gif is set to spin one way and then switch I dont think it your mind at all the gif is actually changing directions back and forth!
April 24th, 2008 at 7:12 pmCyndy
I first saw her spinning clockwise, looked away and back, then she was spinning counter-clockwise.
April 30th, 2008 at 6:15 pmRita
A first she spins only CW, then I suggested she spin CCW I would look away for a second and I saw it go CCW I kept this up changing at will, also half way through CW then CCW awesome !
May 26th, 2008 at 1:26 amandrew
she spins right for me until i start to read then she will spin left
May 27th, 2008 at 4:57 amsome lady in Chicago
So…. I see her spinning counter-clockwise, and BACKWARDS. I haven’t seen anyone else mention her spinning backwards (I mean, towards the back of her head, not seeing where she’s going). OH, I trust me, I am an EXTREMELY traditionally right-brained woman. A writer, painter, composer… theatre freak.
July 2nd, 2008 at 6:45 pmSassyNana
I’m the same as Kevin, all I have to do is blink and I can change her direction. When I first pull her up though, she’s going clockwise, every time. So the my creative part of my brain must be the dominant side and then the more I study it, she’s starts spinning counter clockwise, so it’s like I’m forcing myself to use the logical side. Then I can do the blink thing and change her at will. As Arti Johnson from Laugh In would say, Verrry Interesting! hmmm, am I dating myself. lol
July 9th, 2008 at 5:20 pmNoCo
Try as I might, I can’t see anything but a counter-clockwise turn in that animation. I’m an artist and graphic designer and every test I’ve taken says I favor the right side of my brain. Go figure.
July 19th, 2008 at 9:20 pmNoCo
OK, so I looked at this with the other designer I work with. She saw clockwise. She was able to change it to counter clockwise sometimes and I finally got it to change to clockwise.
I know it’s not a trick because at the very time I was stuck with counter clockwise, my coworker saw it change from clockwise to counter clockwise. And while she was seeing consistent clockwise, I saw it change TO clockwise and back to counter clockwise.
Pretty interesting!
July 23rd, 2008 at 4:27 amAvriel C.
This is totaly cool!
I got it! It doesn’t spin it goes one direction then then when it gets to the other side it switches back you just can’t see it because the silhouette does not show foreground or back ground and once your mind sees the image moving in one direction it makes the assumption but if you see for instance the foot going left then you mind makes the calculation or assumption that she is spinning that direction until you look away and then when you look back you minds eye sees another direction based on the hints that you notice when you initially look at the image that is why you should be able to look away and back as she is fully left then again when she is fully right and she should change direction.that is why she rises and falls because her leg that is swinging out never makes a complete rotation.Her head and torso the same.
March 2nd, 2009 at 9:36 pm