Ballerina Epistemology

Comments

[Anon]

Wallace Stevens.

[Tim Zinnecker]

I watched the video several times, each time focusing on a different part of the body (e.g., feet, legs, torso, head). Each time I concluded that the dancer was twirling in a clockwise position.

After several viewings I started to see four dancers, not two. But I blame that on my astigmatism.

To see the ballerina twirl in a counter-clockwise rotation? That would surprise me indeed. But I'll take your word for it, Kevin.

[Kevin Maillard]

Helpful hint: If you stop it when she is facing forward or backward, and try to imagine that the foot that is "up" is the leading foot, that may help. Also, she will be facing the opposite direction of what you were looking at before.

[Kathy Bergin]

Love this!! Thanks Kevin. Saw her flip in mid-air, which means I use right and left brain power at the same time, right?

Funny. I always thought that should make someone a genius, but most of the time I'm just paralyzed by indecision.

[GJELblogger]

I also can only see her going clockwise. Interesting (and I'm making assumptions here) that on a legal blog at least a couple of us seem to see the ballerina going clockwise--suggesting that we are impulsive/creative, rather than logical. I expected the opposite. I desperately wish I could see it both ways....instead I feel like there's something wrong with my brain. frustrating!

[Jacqui L.]

For those of us (like me) who saw her flip in the air, is there any consistency to which way she was twirling first? I saw her spinning counter-clockwise for most of the time, and right before the end I saw her flip and spin clockwise. Have others had the opposite experience? This is great - thanks for posting it.

[Kathy Bergin]

Jacqui -

Opposite for me. She twirled clockwise first - and flipped about three fourths through the video.

Tried it again with the same outcome.

[David S. Cohen]

I've watched it a couple of times and saw her clockwise at first both times. But, averting my eyes downward just a bit so that she was more in the upper periphery of my vision made her switch to counter-clockwise. And, once I focused completely on her again, I couldn't get her to go back to clockwise. It was very odd.

Especially since most people think of me as in the logical camp, but I saw her a clockwise, thus imaginative and impetuous.