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From: colonel@sunybcs.UUCP (George Sicherman)
Newsgroups: net.philosophy
Subject: Re: Why do mirrors reverse left & right, not up & down?
Message-ID: <976@sunybcs.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 5-Feb-84 02:31:13 EST
Article-I.D.: sunybcs.976
Posted: Sun Feb  5 02:31:13 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 9-Feb-84 09:34:37 EST
References: <537@bbncca.ARPA>
Organization: SUNY/Buffalo Computer Science
Lines: 16

You could write to J. L. Borges, an expert on the philosophical
implications of mirrors.  He might be able to clear up the problem.

It sounds something like the Headless Self problem.  If a real person
stands facing YOU, then his right hand faces your left.  But this is
merely by custom.  If most of your acquaintances go walking on their
hands, then their right hands will face your right hand, and your
reflection will seem top-to-bottom inverted by comparison.

In other words, it's not just the reflection's fault.  If your
reflection were to look out at you and at somebody standing next
to you, he'd think BOTH of you were reversed from left to right.

Hope this helps. :-)
				Col. G. L. Sicherman
				...seismo!rochester!rocksvax!sunybcs!colonel