And the Truth Comes Out
Suddenly it seems that the turning girl has received much attention, so much so, I decided to address her again (not dress her…anyway). I posted her originally on the Unwinding Path and then on this blog. Here I just mused about using her for an hypnotic induction, but on the other, I mentioned that she could be used as a right brain/left brain test.
Seems I caught the attention of Nick, who has a Harvard email address (that does not seem to work) and is rather passionate about the mind studies. I thought I would share his comment here.
Please keep in mind, Left/Right brain theory is NOT considered fact and is in the realm of pop psychology. Currently, no MRI scanning nor any established study has reinforced this theory. The disparity between direction perception occurs because of depth interpolation, and is not a phenomenon associated with any Left/Right brain neurology.
I don’t like to do this, but misconceptions about neurology has lead to widespread ignorance of the elegant mechanisms at work. In fact, Left/Right brain psychology is a GROSS oversimplification of a truly astonishing process, a bit like saying Monet just painted lilies. There is so much more to it than simple pop psychology. Please, respect your brain and don’t shorthand it.
I can appreciate his sentiment, but I also have much to say about this. First off, perhaps this she (the turning girl) is a bit of an over simplification of concepts, but what it does do, is generate interest. It is a tool for getting people thinking and you cannot beat that. Not everyone is highly motivated to read the academic versions of brain theory, so this sort of thing, be it pop or not, shows a truly amazing thing that may spark someone to go into mind studies or any number of positive things.
In discussing this with my partner, he made an interesting point about Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. Since Betty Edwards wrote the first edition, she has changed her pre-talk about on brain shifts, and I suspect it was because of the world of academia crashing down on her. However, with that said, her methods work. I challenge any intellect to go through her process along with me on the Unwinding Path.
Also, when it comes to the brain, there is so much we do not know. Theories come into vogue, shift, change, and evolve. As I said, I appreciate Nick’s comments. And currently, there is no REAL proof about left and right brain modes (with exception of testing as mentioned in “Drawing” but I think that was done before brain scans were used).
Thanks to Jack’s comments sending us to Gabbro B-Sides, who explains the spinning girl phenomena a whole lot more. The effect is what is known as bistable perception. It is an optical illusion. A little bit of a let down, eh? Me, too. But it is a valid optical illusion and it did get us thinking. And you never know, we may see her again in a more psychological setting.
March 12th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
Fascinating! What does it mean if I can make it go both ways?
March 13th, 2008 at 7:21 am
I think it means you have really good perception - according to the optical illusion part. But as for pseudo-science, I would say there is more to it.
March 15th, 2008 at 11:06 am
I’m sorry, but I have to respond to this:
“First off, perhaps this she (the turning girl) is a bit of an over simplification of concepts, but what it does do, is generate interest. It is a tool for getting people thinking and you cannot beat that. Not everyone is highly motivated to read the academic versions of brain theory, so this sort of thing, be it pop or not, shows a truly amazing thing that may spark someone to go into mind studies or any number of positive things.”
If something is part of the unproven and in some cases (like Nick appears to be suggesting in this case) discredited section of psychological theory, surely it cannot be a useful thing to teach someone? It can never (in my personal opinion) be a good idea to spread ignorance, and that is precisely what Nick seems to be suggesting this is, merely ignorance. Although I don’t know whether he is correct (outside my specialization I’m afraid), he does seem to be in the position to know what he is talking about.
Teaching something as truth just because it hasn’t been fully disproved (as you seem to be suggesting with: “Also, when it comes to the brain, there is so much we do not know. Theories come into vogue, shift, change, and evolve”, forgive me if I misinterpreted this) seems like a strange approach to the science of psychology/neurology.
March 23rd, 2008 at 5:29 pm
Turniing Girl starts out turning one direction, then turns in the othe directon. Looks to me like it’s designed to do that. Course, if you had a computer as slow as mine, you’d see the jerky movement, and that’s the give-a-way. I’m sure if she were more fluid it would be more difficult to tell which way she rotates.
P.S. Just found your site and I love it to pieces.