Mirrors in Mind

by Richard L. Gregory

Mirrors fascinate us - they can reveal and they can delude; and they reflect nature for both science and art. The precious and magic objects of history still set us curious puzzles, such as the left-right reversed mirror writing, which has confused philosophers and scientists - and most people - through the ages.
In this highly unusual and deeply fascinating book, Richard Gregory provides us with a rich and a varied feast from the world of mirrors in science, in art, and in history. Thousands of years of questioning and experimenting have led to an ever more surprising understanding of light, of matter, and of mind. Who could have guessed that mirrors are like radio aerials, and like tuning forks; and yet through the strangeness of light they are not quite like anything else at all. It is high time, believes Richard Gregory, to look, and to reflect, with mirrors in mind.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction

302 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Richard]

(Mentioned in V.S. Ramachandran's Phantoms in the Brain; apparently it includes an explanation from Richard Feynman regarding why we perceive mirrors "flipping" images from left to right, but not top to bottom. "How does the mirror know?" asks the child to the discomfited parent. "And while we're at it, why is the sky blue?".)

[Assaf]

Chapter 4 about mirror reversal - the Feynman explanation - should be nice.