Posted on 01/06/2006 3:07:02 PM PST by blam
Humans Do Not Understand Mirror Reflections, Say Researchers
General Science : December 21, 2005 Newsletter
Psychologists at the University of Liverpool have found that people still find it difficult to understand how mirrors work.
Dr Marco Bertamini, from the University’s School of Psychology, conducted a number of experiments by covering a mirror on a wall and inviting participants to walk along a line parallel to the mirror.
He asked them to guess the point at which they would be able to see their reflection. Results showed that people believe they can see themselves even before they are level with the near edge of the mirror.
Dr Bertamini said: “People tend not to understand that the location of the viewer matters in terms of what is visible in a mirror. A good example of this is what we call the Venus Effect, which relates to the many famous paintings of the goddess Venus, looking in a small mirror.
“If you were to look at these paintings, you would assume that Venus is admiring her own face, because you see her face in the mirror. Your viewpoint, however, is rather different from hers; if you can see her in the mirror then she would see you in the mirror.”
Participants were also asked to estimate the image size of their head as it appears on the surface of the mirror. They estimated that it would be a similar size to their physical head. However, participants based their answer on the image they saw inside the mirror rather than on the image on the surface of it. They failed to recognise that the image on the surface of the mirror is half the size of the observer because a mirror is always halfway between the observer and the image that appears inside the mirror.
Dr Bertamini added: “Mirrors make us see virtual objects that exist in a virtual world; they are windows onto this world. On the one hand we trust what we see, but on the other hand this is a world that we know has no physical existence. This is one of the reasons why throughout history people have been fascinated by mirrors.”
Source: the University of Liverpool
With the exception of various raptors, birds can't see straight ahead. They wouldn't even be aware of the "other bird" until far too late.
LOL Mine is still trying to find out how that ugly fat cat she sees got in the house.
If you are lying on your side it is.
Oh, jeez. What I don't understand is wasting all that time and money. Brits don't understand mirrors or toothbrushes.
Mr. M's dog can't figure out mirrors, but then the dog also tries to climb trees.
Because they're aggressively warding off other birds from their territory. Essentially they're playing chicken with that other upstart bird in the mirror that won't back down. And they both lose.
LOL!!
This is actually true. Left is left in the mirror and right is right. Try this little test. Look in the mirror and raise your left hand. This is the same hand that raises in the mirror. Remember the mirror world is a "reflection" not a "refraction". If the image was being refracted back to you than up would be down and left would be right.
People can see their reflections in those things?!
Kinda goes hand in hand with that ole gravity thing. Where does it come from, and why don't we fall off the earth?
"The black paper between a mirror
Breaks my heart that I can't go"
- Captain Beefheart
If the mirror is far enough away from you that you can see all of yourself at once, that is basically correct. There are some parallax issues at very short distances, but if you are 6' tall and two marks are placed on a vertical mirror, one 3' above the other, then if you stand so that your feet appear on the lower line (using some combination of elevation and distance), the top of your heat will appear very near the upper line, whether you are 10' away from the mirror or 30'.
I suppose nobody considered the possibility that the test subjects were fine with the mirrors, but can't speak Liverpoolian?
And as soon as this anomoly is corrected, ALL WILL BE WELL WITH THE WORLD!
It needed to be said.
Because the mirror reverses front to back, not left to right.
Mirror scene:
http://mp.danwho.net/index.php?id=ducksoup_mirror
Weird!
I look in the mirror and see some old guy!
BTW our eyes see the world in the "up and down" manner because our brains reverse the image which when focused on retina is upside down like the original camera obscura!!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.