C
Calgon1
Guest
A mirror inverts everything left to right. Why doesn't it invert top to
bottom as well?
bottom as well?
R
reggae
Guest
:dizzy
You're just not going to let up on us, are you Calgon?
You're just not going to let up on us, are you Calgon?
D
duskbat
Guest
i dont know maybe its cause mirror is vertile and reflects front and back. maybe its cause of where our eyes are. if ya stand on a mirror it will be top to bottom. i dont know
B
BostonsJ
Guest
Who told you that?
When I look in the mirror it distorts my girly figure top to bottom, everything appears as though gravity is working. :lol :lol
When I look in the mirror it distorts my girly figure top to bottom, everything appears as though gravity is working. :lol :lol
C
conniecat
Guest
When you look into a mirror it does not invert. Your right arm is still your right arm. You just are face to face as if with another person.
G
GloBug
Guest
You tell him Connie!
M
MARIPOSA
Guest
Reflections on The Mirror Question
When looking in your rear-view mirror, objects in front of the mirror
(as seen in the image in the mirror) are reversed left and right, but
not up and down. Why are left and right reversed, but up and down
are not? To answer this commonly-asked question, we need to first
answer the question: "Reversed relative to what?" From the context
of the original question we can infer that it refers to the image in
the rear-view mirror being reversed relative to the image we would
see if we turned around and looked directly out the back window. If
so, then the answer depends on HOW we would turn around. Most likely
we would rotate our field of view about a vertical axis, so the image
we see will be reversed laterally (left-to-right). Of course, if we
turn about a horizontal axis (difficult to do in a car, but not
impossible), the image we see would be reversed top-to-bottom.
Another answer that is often given to this question is that mirrors
reverse neither left-to-right nor top-to-bottom, they reverse front-
to-back. This is actually the answer to a slightly different question
than the one asked above, but it's such a cute answer that many people
can't resist giving it whenever anyone asks anything about mirror
images.
The reason there are consistently conflicting answers to "the mirror
question" is partly due to the fact that the question is often poorly
expressed, so that it can be construed in several different ways.
The ambiguity is two-fold, because, first, the question often doesn't
explicitly identify the two things that are posited to be "reversals"
of each other, and second, the question often doesn't define the
intended sense of "left" and "right", i.e., as relative directions
or as designations of "handedness".
Thus, if someone asks "Why do mirrors reverse left-right?" we could
imagine that he's asking
(0) Why, as I look at a mirror, do objects that are actually on
my left appear to be on my right, and vice versa?
In other words, he's assuming a fixed set of relative spatial directions
based on his current orientation as he looks at the mirror, and he's
asking how the directions of the actual objects compare with the
directions of their reflected images. Of course, on this basis we're
forced to conclude that the PREMISE of the question is totally erroneous,
because it's obvious that objects to the left of the viewer appear to
the his left in the mirror. Thus, if we assume this interpretation we
have the fun of telling him that he's so stupid, even the PREMISE of
his question is wrong, i.e., he's asking for an explanation of why
something occurs when in fact no such thing occurs! Hah! It's always
deeply satisfying when we can slam someone like this, thereby
demonstrating the clear superiority of our thought processes.
for more go to http://www.mathpages.com/home/kmath441.htm
silly Calgon. Hugs, Mariposa
When looking in your rear-view mirror, objects in front of the mirror
(as seen in the image in the mirror) are reversed left and right, but
not up and down. Why are left and right reversed, but up and down
are not? To answer this commonly-asked question, we need to first
answer the question: "Reversed relative to what?" From the context
of the original question we can infer that it refers to the image in
the rear-view mirror being reversed relative to the image we would
see if we turned around and looked directly out the back window. If
so, then the answer depends on HOW we would turn around. Most likely
we would rotate our field of view about a vertical axis, so the image
we see will be reversed laterally (left-to-right). Of course, if we
turn about a horizontal axis (difficult to do in a car, but not
impossible), the image we see would be reversed top-to-bottom.
Another answer that is often given to this question is that mirrors
reverse neither left-to-right nor top-to-bottom, they reverse front-
to-back. This is actually the answer to a slightly different question
than the one asked above, but it's such a cute answer that many people
can't resist giving it whenever anyone asks anything about mirror
images.
The reason there are consistently conflicting answers to "the mirror
question" is partly due to the fact that the question is often poorly
expressed, so that it can be construed in several different ways.
The ambiguity is two-fold, because, first, the question often doesn't
explicitly identify the two things that are posited to be "reversals"
of each other, and second, the question often doesn't define the
intended sense of "left" and "right", i.e., as relative directions
or as designations of "handedness".
Thus, if someone asks "Why do mirrors reverse left-right?" we could
imagine that he's asking
(0) Why, as I look at a mirror, do objects that are actually on
my left appear to be on my right, and vice versa?
In other words, he's assuming a fixed set of relative spatial directions
based on his current orientation as he looks at the mirror, and he's
asking how the directions of the actual objects compare with the
directions of their reflected images. Of course, on this basis we're
forced to conclude that the PREMISE of the question is totally erroneous,
because it's obvious that objects to the left of the viewer appear to
the his left in the mirror. Thus, if we assume this interpretation we
have the fun of telling him that he's so stupid, even the PREMISE of
his question is wrong, i.e., he's asking for an explanation of why
something occurs when in fact no such thing occurs! Hah! It's always
deeply satisfying when we can slam someone like this, thereby
demonstrating the clear superiority of our thought processes.
for more go to http://www.mathpages.com/home/kmath441.htm
silly Calgon. Hugs, Mariposa
C
Calgon1
Guest
Congrats Mariposa. Very interesting answer!:thumb Very interesting answer. Guess I'll have to come up with a better question for tonight.
R
reggae
Guest
Mariposa...YOU GO GIRL!
N
nieciez
Guest
LOL WAY too deep for me this morning :lol Go Mari! Keep them coming Calgon...your keeping us on our toes 