The Right Brain/Left Brain Test

[Ryukyu]

Just curious.
I thought it was interesting.

[IDDrummer]

Here is the link for those wanting to take the test:

http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,22492511-5005375,00.html?from=mostpop

[Class A Drummer]

I can make it go back and forth. Its pretty cool.

[bodinski]

Focus on the shadow to change directions.

[Class A Drummer]

Focus on the shadow to change directions.

heh that works too. So is this thing legit? Or just some bs optical illusion type thing.

[drovja]

I don't get it. The test says that you can concentrate and make the dancer spin the other way...... concentrate how? I guess I'm too far right brained to see the anti-clockwise spinning.

Edit: the posts above me weren't there when I started typing.

[Drummer Karl]

Yeah, so I`ve just noticed that primarily I have to be right-brained. But it`s simple to change it conciously.
Although my mother said that she can just see it clockwise.

Interesting test! Thanks for reposting it.

Karl

[Wavelength]

I always see it first counter-clockwise, but then it turns around, and I can't change it back no matter how I try. Strange.

EDIT: Allright, now I got it. I can change its direction by focusing on the bottom-left (or right) portion of the animation. By trying to imagine the out-stretched leg go either from back to front or front to back I can perceive it in both directions.

[NUTHA JASON]

my apologies everyone. it was pointed out to me that the animation was directly linked into my personal email account (sent to mefrom my dad) and i was worried that people with hacking savvy might beable to somehow get in there. so i shut her down while i looked for an alternative, more public link ... here...

http://www.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,,5675247,00.gif

LEFT BRAIN FUNCTIONS
uses logic
detail oriented
facts rule
words and language
present and past
math and science
can comprehend
knowing
acknowledges
order/pattern perception
knows object name
reality based
forms strategies
practical
safe

RIGHT BRAIN FUNCTIONS
uses feeling
"big picture" oriented
imagination rules
symbols and images
present and future
philosophy & religion
can "get it" (i.e. meaning)
believes
appreciates
spatial perception
knows object function
fantasy based
presents possibilities
impetuous
risk taking

[SLEEPY BRiGHT EYEZ]

Clockwise is natural for me. I can make it counter-clockwise if I focus, but it's easier to see it clockwise.

[hawk9290]

What does it mean if when you look at it, it defies all logical physical possibilities unless you go into other dimensions???
I see it 3 ways, clockwise, counterclockwise- and then third is kinda trippy. Its 1/4 of a turn clockwise, then it goes to the exact opposite quarter (so its like it skips the 2nd sequential 1/4 and goes to the third) and is going clockwise, then it goes back to the 2nd quarter counterclockwise, then the the fourth quarter clockwise, and then when it gets back to where it started (???) it is counterclockwise......
What brain does that put me in???

*edit*
great, now i've got it so it goes back and forth between each side without completing a whole revolution and somehow without switching legs...

[Wavelength]

great, now i've got it so it goes back and forth between each side without completing a whole revolution and somehow without switching legs...

I got that too by looking at just the legs.

[the skin man]

So is this thing legit?

I think it's legit as some optical illusion, but the left brain/right brain thing is probably BS. They know that the left side of the brain is more involved in language, the right side of the brain is more involved in mathematical and spatial stuff, women use more of the right side of their brain in language tasks, the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body and vice versa, visual information from the right side is processed on the left side and vice versa, left handers are more likely to use the right side of their brain for language and the trend is reversed for gays: gay right handers are more likely to have language in the right side of their brain and gay left handers are less likely to have language in the right side of their brain. I don't think they know a lot more than that. The whole thing about one side of the brain being creative is probably bogus. As far as the image goes, I can't get the image to change by my own efforts. For me, it changes on its own.

[the skin man]

Actually that last thing about gays and left brain/right brain stuff I posted might not be right. The only thing I could find was on what looks to be an unreliable website:

About 10-12% of the population are left handed meaning that the brain has been reorganised with reversed or mixed dominance (the right brain instead of left is more involved with language functions).

Extensive studies over the years in the area of neuropsychology have demonstrated that females as a group are very much "left brain" with strengths in the area of language functions. The average female brain seems overall to be less specialized so that some control of language function also rests in the right hemisphere and there is a greater number of connections between the right and left side...........The average male brain, although proportionately larger, is highly specialized with less interconnecting pathways, and the average male is very 'right brained' with strengths in the area of visual-spatial activity, but less efficient overall...................Neuropsychological studies assessing the biological aspects of brain function have shown that homosexual males have a shift in neuropsychological attributes that places them somewhere between heterosexual males and females. ............Differences between homosexual and heterosexual males is reinforced by neuroanatomical studies of the brain. For example, an area of the brain called the corpus callosum, the main connecting area between the two great hemispheres of the brain appears to be larger in homosexual males than heterosexual males...........
Of interest, left-handedness is much more common in male homosexuals than in the general male population, suggesting that in some homosexuals at least, there is either mixed or shifted dominance. This means the left hemisphere is more involved with language functions, although the right hemisphere also plays a role, and overall this is more like the left brain organization seen in females.

http://www.times10.org/lorne_2.htm

[Dibalo Jonze]

At any point when she is rotating, whether you see it going counter-clockwise or clockwise, you should be able to tell when her back is facing you and when her front is facing you. Even easier is to tell when she is facing directly to the left or directly to the right. Therefore you should be able to piece together four directions in sequential order (back-facing, right-facing, front-facing, left-facing = clockwise ; and vice versa) and logically deduce which way she is spinning. This is no optical illusion or "brain test" I'm afraid. But indeed if we all look at it long enough; sometimes for 4 seconds sometimes after 4 minutes, she will change directions and anyone who is watching her with you will agree.

Left-brain right-brain divisions are very interesting but don't let this spinning lady fool you into thinking sometimes you're right dominant, sometimes you're left dominant.
Many of us probably do lie near the middle of the right/left brain spectrum, but the ballerina is not the clue.

[IDDrummer]

But indeed if we all look at it long enough; sometimes for 4 seconds sometimes after 4 minutes, she will change directions and anyone who is watching her with you will agree.

That's not true. The pattern of the ballerina does not change, only your perception changes. I've sat and looked at it along with two other people, and we can see it going in the opposite directions at the same time. I can make it "change direction" at will, while my wife can't seem to control it as well.

Whether all this has anything to do with right/left brain activity or dominance, I don't know. But it clearly has to do with the different perceptive tendencies people have.

[Dibalo Jonze]

Well maybe not everyone will agree with you, but like you say the very perception of an object in motion: clearly has to do with the different perceptive tendencies people have.


Nonetheless, the fact remains that using her outline (curves of her back, her ponytail, breats,...) you can figure out which direction she is pointing at any given time in a cycle, and piecing these directions together you can figure out the rotations.

I too first thought that I was changing it at will until I found out that it was coincidently changing right when I thought I was at my AHA focal point.

[TheGroceryman]

Wow thats really cool. I figured out how to change the direction by will. I can change her direction every 1/4 turn, making her move back and forth as many times as i want :). Wow, the way the brain processes what the eye is seeing is really cool. I have no idea how these things happen.

[DogBreath]

Nonetheless, the fact remains that using her outline (curves of her back, her ponytail, breats,...) you can figure out which direction she is pointing at any given time in a cycle, and piecing these directions together you can figure out the rotations.
Nope. It's just a silhouette, an outline. There is no figure spinning in any direction at all. Your brain has been fooled, my friend, but your serious take on it is funny.

[the skin man]

Now it doesn't change for me at all. It just keeps on going clockwise.

[NUTHA JASON]

only with the gretest concentration, and then only for short spurts, can i force myself to see her turning anticlockwise. i am firmly a right brainer.

my question is: what is better for drumming?

j

[the skin man]

At any point when she is rotating, whether you see it going counter-clockwise or clockwise, you should be able to tell when her back is facing you and when her front is facing you. Even easier is to tell when she is facing directly to the left or directly to the right. Therefore you should be able to piece together four directions in sequential order (back-facing, right-facing, front-facing, left-facing = clockwise ; and vice versa) and logically deduce which way she is spinning. This is no optical illusion or "brain test" I'm afraid.

Yeah, I guess I don't really get how it works because for the illusion to fool us, it seems that for every still image in the sequence there should be at least two interpretations of what position the figure is in, but given that the leg and the arm are in different positions, it seems like there is only one correct position for every still frame in the sequence. So it's a little confusing. To me, her right leg seems like the one that's not touching the floor, so if it was rotating the other way, the left leg would not be touching the floor? Very confusing. At the moment when she's facing to the side and not directly from the front or to the back, then those figures might be ambiguous: either the left leg or the right leg is extended, but nothing in the outline forces our mind to see it one way or another. But the other positions seem to only allow one interpretation.

[the skin man]

my question is: what is better for drumming?

Maybe the thicker your corpus callosum is, the more connections you have and the better (or worse) your four way independence is.

[Wavelength]

Yeah, I guess I don't really get how it works because for the illusion to fool us, it seems that for every still image in the sequence there should be at least two interpretations of what position the figure is in, but given that the leg and the arm are in different positions, it seems like there is only one correct position for every still frame in the sequence. So it's a little confusing. To me, her right leg seems like the one that's not touching the floor, so if it was rotating the other way, the left leg would not be touching the floor? Very confusing. At the moment when she's facing to the side and not directly from the front or to the back, then those figures might be ambiguous: either the left leg or the right leg is extended, but nothing in the outline forces our mind to see it one way or another. But the other positions seem to only allow one interpretation.

I took a screenshot of one of the frames, made a duplicate and added just a single grey line to each. See the difference in the ladies' postures?

14685

The first one is facing towards you with her left foot on the ground, and the second one is facing away with her right foot on the ground.

[the skin man]

I took a screenshot of one of the frames

How do you do that?


See the difference in the ladies' postures?

I think you're right. So every figure in the sequence seems to have two different interpretations. Looks like that pretty much explains it.

[Wavelength]

How do you (take a screenshot)?

Push PrintScreen (the key on the right side of the F12) and push Ctrl-V (paste) in your favorite image editing software.

[SLEEPY BRiGHT EYEZ]

Nope. It's just a silhouette, an outline. There is no figure spinning in any direction at all. Your brain has been fooled, my friend, but your serious take on it is funny.

Yep! It's a great optical illusion.

[DestinationDrumming]

only with the gretest concentration, and then only for short spurts, can i force myself to see her turning anticlockwise. i am firmly a right brainer.

my question is: what is better for drumming?

j

I would think both. You need LH for groove pattens (logical and mathamatical) and RH for the more creative side of drumming plus some of the more spacial elements (like hitting the right part of the drum or rim).

The interesting thing comes when you look at gender differences and brain dominance. Women are more likely to have a dominant right side and men a more dominant left side. This means in the mechanics of drumming men have an advantage as they are pre-disposed to logical patterns whereas women have more advantage in the creative aspects of drumming. Remember though that the differences between women and men are much smaller than the differences within groups of women and men.

Lots of stuff here http://www.web-us.com/brain/LRBrain.html plus a chance to see if you are more left or right hand brained.

[ChDrums92]

This is a good test of controlling your perception. Not so sure about how it relates to left or right brained.

[maddrummr]

Ha I start out going clockwise then i somehow switch it but cant switch back.

[Velimor]

What does it mean if when you look at it, it defies all logical physical possibilities unless you go into other dimensions???


That means you're on some good acid maaaan.

I find that it's easiest for me to change her direction by looking at the foot she's jumping on.

[onemat]

She goes counter clckwise for me but I can get her to go the other way, I don't quite know that happens. I just want her phone number! Matt

[the skin man]

You need LH for groove pattens (logical and mathamatical) and RH for the more creative side of drumming plus some of the more spacial elements (like hitting the right part of the drum or rim).

I don't think there's anything to the idea that the right hemisphere is more creative. It's just a rumor.

[DestinationDrumming]

I don't think there's anything to the idea that the right hemisphere is more creative. It's just a rumor.

Possibly, but a rumour that has been validated by scores of psychological and biological tests :-)

[the skin man]

but a rumour that has been validated by scores of psychological and biological tests :-)

I don't think so. I've never heard of any of that.

[Mediocrefunkybeat]

It appears I'm really VERY right-brained. I cannot get her to go anti-clockwise for the life of me, I just can't. I've spent a thorough five minutes trying to get it happen and it's just not working for me.

Interesting.

[radiofriendlyunitshifter]

clockwise for me. and after a bit of practice i can get her to spin counter-clockwise after a few seconds.

[jamndrummer]

The 'Power of Suggestion' can be powerful. Interesting stuff.

[fourstringdrums]

I was able to make it go counter-clockwise but then I tried to get it to go back to clockwise and I got a nosebleed.

I guess I'm very right brained.

[Big_Philly]

I'm both I guess, I can change directions relatively easy.

[DestinationDrumming]

I don't think so. I've never heard of any of that.

Hi Skin Man,

As my mum would say "Have you looked!"....Here's a link to a document that will explain a little more and if you want to read more research PM me and I'll dig out some of the stuff from my two degrees in psychology. It's a really interesting area and gives us so much information about drums and drumming...indirectly of course!

http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/army/rotc_right-left_brain.pdf

Best wishes
Kevin

[junglelord]

I have a balanced brain. I have equal hemisphere input and do not have lateralization.
I see it both ways, I just look to the bottom of the image and it changes. I can change it back and forth all day.
I use Hemisync to work on Hemisphere Syncornization.

[Cephalic]

clock-wise for me

took a minute, but i was able to see it counter-clockwise too

[timebandit]

Ancient Jedi mind trick! I can get it to go both ways.

At first glance it's going Clockwise.

If I focuse on her leg swinging in front,it's counter-clockwise.

Focuse on it swinging in back, clockwise. simple!