I am emceeing TamLondon at the weekend, and there are still a few tickets available. Tis a great line-up of speakers, so do come along if you can make it. Tickets here.
The word on the street is that men and women see a certain picture in different ways. But is that really the case? Time for a test.
I have put the picture after the break, so go take a look and tell me what you saw when you first looked at it…..
September 29, 2009 at 6:13 am |
i actually saw a woman waving. not a face in a mirror.
September 29, 2009 at 6:16 am |
I saw a woman in the mirror.
September 29, 2009 at 6:18 am |
I saw the woman first and then very quickly the fish. I can see the fish far more clearly if I tilt my head.
September 29, 2009 at 6:22 am |
I saw a face, but not in a mirror. Notice the turtleneck continues below the “reflection”.
September 29, 2009 at 6:26 am |
Saw a young lady waving, too.
September 29, 2009 at 6:40 am |
I saw a woman waving – rather than a reflection of a woman in a mirror – then very quickly saw a fish…
September 29, 2009 at 6:51 am |
saw a face – then i thought it might be in a mirror…
then i saw the kipper
September 29, 2009 at 7:45 am |
I saw a face but didn’t think about mirrors at all until I read the poll results. I saw the fish fairly quickly, but only because I wondered what else people might see. If I weren’t asked the question of “what do you see?” I doubt I would have seen the fish.
September 29, 2009 at 7:59 am |
i didn’t see anything other than a fish until i read the question options.
September 29, 2009 at 8:00 am |
As with several others, I saw a woman, buy not in the mirror. I didn’t see her waving though; the hand looked disembodied to me! (Still does, obviously, not that I see the fish).
September 29, 2009 at 8:01 am |
I also saw a face first, but didn’t think of it as being in a mirror. Then a few seconds later I saw the fish.
September 29, 2009 at 8:02 am |
Same here, saw a face, a woman waving at me. Then I saw the fish. Then I scrolled down to the poll and….WTF? What mirror?
September 29, 2009 at 8:03 am |
I saw the face, then looked for something rude but couldn’t see it. Oh well.
September 29, 2009 at 8:03 am |
I’m struggling to see a mirror, but face over fish definitely. I assumed the oval shape was her hair. It’s a struggle to see the fish.
September 29, 2009 at 8:05 am |
I saw the face – like others, I didn’t think of it as in a mirror.
I didn’t see the fish until I read the options. And now i cna see it flipping between the two…
September 29, 2009 at 8:08 am |
I saw a woman in a mirror instantly, then very quickly saw the other option. Now it’s difficult to see what I originally saw. It no longer looks like a woman in a mirror to me, but the face is still too clear for me to be able to just see it as a fish on a plate. Sideways helps, but still.
September 29, 2009 at 8:13 am |
Actually the first thing I saw was the text in the poll “a face in a mirror” and then my eyes popped up to the pic. Then i saw the woman, but could also see the fish. Like most others, I didn’t see a mirror, though.
September 29, 2009 at 8:21 am |
i see a women, and had to really squint to see the fish. still it flips back to a women the second i see the fish.
September 29, 2009 at 8:29 am |
I saw the woman, but not in the mirror, like so many other folks. I don’t see her as waving but simply holding her right hand, palm-facing toward her.
I saw a fish after a few seconds, but still see the woman first when I look at it. Wasn’t sure which to vote so I didn’t.
October 31, 2009 at 3:50 am
Same o.O
September 29, 2009 at 8:30 am |
like the others, at first glance i saw the face (but not the mirror). then i noticed that she seemed to have a gaping empty eye socket, which kinda creeped me out. then i noticed it could also be a fish
September 29, 2009 at 8:36 am |
I first saw the woman’s face but withing maybe one second, also saw the fish. When I looked at your poll’s results, more men than women saw the face first. Is that what you and/or the instigators of this research expected? More women than men see the fish first? What’s the official explanation? That women are usually the ones who do the cooking?
)
September 29, 2009 at 8:38 am |
Fish!? What fish?
September 29, 2009 at 8:52 am |
I saw a face first, then a few seconds afterwards saw a fish.
September 29, 2009 at 8:53 am |
Well, there’s a face, but that is definitely not a reflection in a mirror.
September 29, 2009 at 8:54 am |
Unfortunately (perhaps) I saw the poll options before seeing the picture.
That notwithstanding, what I saw was a woman, whether in a mirror or not.
However, my mind tells me that it is a left hand viewed from the back (not sure why it isn’t a right hand from the palm) and so, if it is indeed a mirror, the hand must also be in the reflected image (or her thumb’s on the wrong way).
Except it can’t be as the hand is outside the frame of the supposed mirror. Unless the whole frame is the mirror. But then there’s the turtleneck, which abruptly cuts off.
Mirror. Not-mirror. Mirror. Not-mirror. Mirror. Not-mirror. Arrrghhh!!
Wibble.
I’ll just view it as a fish, I think.
September 29, 2009 at 8:57 am |
I can still hardly see the fish!
September 29, 2009 at 9:20 am |
I saw the face then the fish almost instantly afterwards but then I knew it was two pictures in one so Iguess I was looking for that as soon as I glanced at it.
September 29, 2009 at 9:29 am |
I saw a one eyed girl.
September 29, 2009 at 9:35 am |
I saw the fish but saw the face less than a second later.
September 29, 2009 at 9:41 am |
I saw the face – didn’t notice the nirror.
Fish is obvious now.
Wondering if men are supposed to see the food, and woman the face? If so a quick glance at the comments says that the woman wins hands down, next is the fish and last is the mirror!
Like it!!
September 29, 2009 at 9:50 am |
A woman winking, no mirror. (So did my significant other.)
September 29, 2009 at 9:51 am |
i agree with julie. in here a woman as a bibelot, not mirror.
September 29, 2009 at 9:51 am |
At first glance I saw a woman with one eye closed and her hand up. Didn’t think of a mirror at all. Thought the open eye looked strange though and then my brain clicked into seeing the fish on a plate. It’s a good one.
September 29, 2009 at 10:05 am |
I saw a lady waving, but now I see how it is someone in a mirror! Didn’t see the fish at all!
September 29, 2009 at 10:09 am |
i think this must not be a fish. because its branchia not seems a branchia!
painter wanted us to think that it likes to fish. and when i realized it, lost my concentration. brainy experts (as Wiseman) try to know about us through these non-eccentric questions; fish or woman… hm if you see fish, youre pathetic… woman, youre sexist and like that…
and i saw a hand that belongs to man who seeks a woman or fish.
September 29, 2009 at 10:09 am |
Woman waving and winking with a strangely positioned hand. No mirror… and I still struggle to see the fish (allthough I kind of understand how it could be one).
September 29, 2009 at 10:24 am |
I saw a woman, but I wouldn’t think of a mirror in a million years!
September 29, 2009 at 10:26 am
To rephrase it a little, about 2 seconds later I noticed it’s also a fish.
September 29, 2009 at 10:41 am |
Saw a fish, and then a face, but the face never looked real. I had to try to consciously explain the tail fin; saw that as a sort of ruffed collar and couldn’t explain why it extended beyond the square. Despite this I see the face now, and can hardly see the fish even with effort. The mirror part is easy (apart from the collar existing below the frame): the hand is the right hand of a person facing the woman – not her left hand.
September 29, 2009 at 11:11 am |
I saw a womans face and would never have thought of fish until I saw the options.
September 29, 2009 at 11:23 am |
I saw a woman, then the fish a moment later. Can still see both pretty easily, but the fish seems to be missing a fin?
September 29, 2009 at 11:32 am |
Girl winking at me. I must be programmed for this. Male
September 29, 2009 at 11:50 am |
Saw woman’s face and assumed hand was from another person in foreground. Did not see mirror. Once saw answers could easily see both face and fishp
September 29, 2009 at 11:57 am |
I also didn’t see the fish until I read it as an option. In Google Reader, by the way, I didn’t see the poll question. So it didn’t influence my first impression. (Had to click through to the actual blog to answer the poll.)
September 29, 2009 at 12:21 pm |
Paredolia wins.
I didn’t see a mirror, but a face with someone else’s hand.
September 29, 2009 at 12:56 pm |
I saw a woman who was about to, or who just, put her hand to her face. It was only after I read the options, that I also saw a fish.
September 29, 2009 at 1:35 pm |
I am not convinced. I think if it were rotated 90 degrees anticlockwise more people would see the fish first rather than the woman.
September 29, 2009 at 1:37 pm |
At first I didn’t scroll down completely to see the entire image, only the first three quarters of it, and what I saw was a chicken in a dissected egg. But when I saw the entire image, I saw a woman’s head on a plate.
September 29, 2009 at 2:02 pm |
Hmm, so far the face is way ahead for both men and women, so most of both groups seem to see the face. Depending on the number of respondents there may be a significant difference between men and women regarding the likelihood of seeing the fish.
September 29, 2009 at 2:32 pm |
Saw a face in a mirror – didn’t see the fish until I read that it was one of the options!
September 29, 2009 at 3:47 pm |
Like many others, I saw the face first, then the fish seconds later.
September 29, 2009 at 4:07 pm |
I’m sure I’ve read that people are hardwired to see faces just about everywhere (for example when cloud gazing!) – maybe there’d be more of a difference between what people see if one of the options wasn’t a face? Unless this is the point, that either men or women are meant to be more likely to pick up on a face?
September 29, 2009 at 4:11 pm |
I saw a distorted face, but didn’t perceive that it was in a mirror.
September 29, 2009 at 4:15 pm |
Argh. I voted in the men’s poll instead of the women’s — delete one vote for man seeing woman in mirror.
September 29, 2009 at 5:18 pm |
not a mirror, but a face first, the fish soon after – obvioulsy the big majority vote for both sexes.
September 29, 2009 at 7:15 pm |
I saw a woman’s face, but not in a mirror. I thought the hand belonged to someone else reaching towards her (the back of the hand facing the viewer).
When I read the poll options, I immediately saw the fish and can now see them both equally as well.
My guess as to why the fish is so rarely chosen first is because, when we have a fish on a plate in front of us, it is rarely in that vertical position. I agree with the poster above who said if the image were turned 90 degrees, I’d bet everyone would see the fish first and the face would have to be justified as someone lying on her side (instead of the mirror).
September 29, 2009 at 7:34 pm |
I saw a girl winking and holding her arm up awkwardly. I didn’t see the fish at all until I looked at the poll.
September 29, 2009 at 8:43 pm |
I saw a face, but then I saw a fish because I knew I should also be seeing something else; I don’t know if I would’ve noticed the fish had I not known beforehand that it was a trick.
–
http://noamgr.wordpress.com
September 29, 2009 at 11:56 pm |
And now i think that tail of the fish on the plate must not flow to out. I think this is a clue for the many persons to trow that it must not fish.
Moreover at first glance, quasi Joreth is right (about vertical position of fish); but we have to consider that in here no fork or knife; so this tended hand is not for the purpose of eating, but taking only, maybe. But, as I said, the outer tail (from plate) is a clue.
September 30, 2009 at 1:32 am |
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September 30, 2009 at 2:24 am |
A winking woman. Took a minute or two before I saw the fish.
September 30, 2009 at 2:27 am |
i saw a face and then some arm trying to touch the face
I think if the same picture was sideways, meaning 90 degrees rotation, most people would see the fish first. People recognize faces by using the eyes.
September 30, 2009 at 5:12 am |
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September 30, 2009 at 5:50 am |
I saw a woman winking & waving at me. No mirror, no fish.
September 30, 2009 at 5:51 am |
Oh, crap, and I’m male.
September 30, 2009 at 8:56 am |
Faces are certainly easier to see than fish. We don’t get too many fish-pareidolia.
I saw a woman holding her hand up.
October 1, 2009 at 2:29 am |
Instantaneously BOTH! Honestly, I couldn’t tell you what I saw first. (Is that normal??)
October 1, 2009 at 8:16 am |
I think most people will see the women. People search for eyes and are very good at face recognition.
October 2, 2009 at 9:49 am |
I saw a face in the mirror
October 8, 2009 at 10:16 am |
Female face. I particularly noticed the open eye.
In another context I might well have missed the fish interpretation.
October 11, 2009 at 6:30 am |
I first saw the face, only saw the fish after reading the poll option. I guess our brains are much more conditioned to recognize a face than a fish. Also I don’t eat fish and have never seen it like that on a plate.
October 12, 2009 at 12:20 am |
I am a man and saw a face!