badong

an interesting question for all you philosophers:
why does a mirror mixes up left and right and not up and down? of course, i know the answer

zen_tom

Why is that a question for the philosophers? If you want an answer to a physical question, ask a phycisist. Or, do a google search, which is where I found this

itch vaccine

urh? agree with zen_tom

how does it have any relation to philosophy?

badong

if it's not philosophy, could you define philosophy? i think that wouldn't be that easy. it is more than thinking about the excistence of god, etc. logic for example is a philosophical discipline, too. but i really asked that question only for your intellectual entertainment. if you are not interested, no problem. besides that, the answer has not much to do with physics more with theory of cognition (i don't know if that is the right term) and i think you would count kant to philosophers not to physics, wouldn't you?

zen_tom

No you're right badong, the philosophical tradition encompasses all aspects of life, from the deep philosophical question of homosexuality (if this forum is anything to go by - this is a point relating to a popular, if misplaced thread in this section, rather than an observation on anyone here) all the way up to the old left-right mirror paradox. Which side of the fence do you stand? Are you a traditionalist, or do you swing with the radical crowd on this issue?

zen_tom

badong

damn it! of course it's no intellectual entertainment, if you can find the answer so easyly with google. and i wasted a whole day with finding the answer by myselfe. it seems, i'm not only a traditionalist but also very old-fashioned.

no problem. anyway, i have enough problems to understand your cynism, because my english isn't that good. i hope your mood will become better. (your name is zen_tom. shouldn't your mind be perfectly balanced?)

zen_tom

I do my best to be harmonious, open-minded and perfectly balanced - but sometimes, I am just an asshole.

tecoyah

He woke up on the wrong side of the mirror.

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Phage

Of course, this is not true. A vertical mirror will result in the left and right being displayed in reverse, but if the much less common configuration of a horizontal mirror on the floor or ceiling is used then up and down can be confused.

badong

what the hell is the difference between a vertical and an horizontal mirror? where can i buy one? if i lay a normal mirror an the ground, is it a horizontal mirror?

Techno

I think that's what he means.
Nice question btw.

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Phage

Vertical: http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=vertical
Being or situated at right angles to the horizon; upright.

Horizontal: http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=horizontal
Parallel to or in the plane of the horizon.

I clearly specified that I was talking about an uncommon configuration of mirror. If I talked about trapping something under an upside-down cup, surely you would not confusedly protest that you have only ever encountered right-side-up cups, right?

badong

now i understand what you mean. its not the correct answer. but it may go in the right direction. when you lay the mirror on the ground, up and down are mixed up. but also left and right are mixed up. there is a difference between the mixing up of up/ down and left/ right. when you lay the mirror on the ground you can not compare up/ down of the horizontal and left/ right of the vertical mirror but up/ down of the horizontal and front/ back of the vertical.

Reese

Let's start off by saying that Left and Right are relative directions to you and other objects where up and down are relative directions to the Earth, so let's not use them. Instead we'll use North, South, East, West, Up and Down.

When you are facing north while looking in a mirror, raise your West arm and the West arm of the mirror raises, Look East and the mirror image looks east. Look up and down and the mirror does the same.

Mirrors only reverse the direction perpendicular to the plane of the mirror. That means that if I am facing north, the Mirror image faces south.

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