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Why is text reversed in mirrors?
Have you ever wondered why text shows up backwards in a mirror? It's confusing to our brains because it doesn't seem like anything else is flipped like that. If we turn our head, it doesn't move the opposite direction in a mirror. Or does it? After all, right-handed you is actually left-handed you in the mirror. Right? (Wait, is that right?)
Mirrors can be confusing, despite not being very complicated. A mirror image is simply a reflection of what's before it. But when someone else is looking at us head on, they don't see text in reverse, so why don't we see what other people see when we see ourselves in a mirror?
Kitten Aww GIF by MOODMANGiphy
(If you think this is a super stupid question with a super obvious answer, congratulations. Pat yourself on the back and scootch along so the folks who don't fully grasp the physics of mirrors can enjoy a demonstration that makes it a little easier to understand.)
"Why do mirrors reverse text?" asks the creator behind @humanteneleven on YouTube. "You might think it's just a property of mirrors—they flip things from left to right—but that's not true." He then picks up a metal arrow to show that it points the same direction in the mirror as it does in real life. So why is the text flipped when the arrow isn't?
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
He then holds up a book to show how the text on the book cover appears backwards, just like the shirt. But when he holds up a Ziploc bag with the word "HELLO" written on it, the word shows up properly.
That's because he had to flip the book over to see the cover text in the mirror. The baggy he could just hold up and see the letters through the transparent plastic, just as we see them in real life. If he flips the baggy over like he did the book, the text shows up backwards in the mirror, just like it does in real life.
"So it's actually not the mirror that's flipping anything from left to right," he says. "It's the human."
People appreciated the simple, straightforward explanation and demonstrations.
"One of the most insightful demonstrations I've seen. It's simple and explains the phenomenon. Well done!"
"While I've heard this explanation many times before, I've only recently seen it demonstrated with text-on-transparency, which is what really makes it click. Great video!"
"Love these sorts of demonstrations. It’s a bit of a complicated one, but I love seeing how different people's minds work when explaining simple things like this. My kid explains it with “left is on the left, right is on the right, things aren’t flipped, they are mirrored” but it’s true that you are the one who flips things and I’ve never thought of it that way before."
"Oh my God, I haven't understood explanations from physics videos about why mirrors flip but this, gosh this helps."
Mirrors have been hilariously befuddling people in other videos as they try to figure out how the mirror knows what's behind a barrier placed in front of objects.
@sarahcoome this is kinda creepy 👀 #mirror #relatable #creepy
Is this something all of us should probably have learned in high school? Yes. Do all of us remember everything we learned in high school? No. Does the scientific explanation make perfect sense to everyone even if it's explained in detail? Um, no.
Like the reversed text question, having a simplified explanation that doesn't fully get into the nitty gritty physics and geometry of how mirrors work is helpful for some folks.
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
For those who do want a bit more scientific substance to their explanations, this next video does a good job of giving a bit more detail while still keeping the explanation simple. It even uses a visual diagram to explain:
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
And for those who say, "This is so basic! How do people not understand this?" here's a video that really does get into the nitty gritty physics and geometry of how mirrors work, diving into ray and wave optics, photons, wave functions, probability, and quantum mechanics. It's only 12 minutes, and it manages to entertain while explaining, but it certainly blows the notion that understanding mirrors is super simple.
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
As one commenter wrote, "I thought I understood mirrors. I understand mirrors even less now. And that's a compliment."
Isn't science fun?
An isolated island called Ocracoke is home to a unique accent not found anywhere else in the world
American English comes in all sorts of different flavors and varieties. I grew up in Baltimore, which shares some dialectical DNA with the accent you find in other Northeastern cities like Philadelphia. Baldamor, hon! There's the New England dialects, most famously the Boston accent: Pahk the cah at Havahd yahd! The New York accent is world famous, as is the deep Southern twang, which gives way to a thick Cajun accent the closer you get to the water in Florida and Louisiana.
These are all different versions of the greater American dialect. But there is one place, a tiny island off the coast of North Carolina, where a few residents speak in such a unique way that it's not even identified as American by most people around the world.
Ocracoke, North Carolina is home to a unique dialect called the Brogue: A strange blend of American Southern, Old Elizabethan English, with little bits of Irish and even Australian thrown in.
Americans think Hoi Toider sounds English. People from England think it sounds like something else.Giphy
The Brogue, also known as Hoi Toider, is absolutely fascinating to hear in action. When you watch interviews with the locals of the island, they at first appear to be speaking a form of deep American southern — you can hear the twang the way you might in parts of Georgia of Alabama. But then, without warning, a word or phrase will slip out that sounds distinctly British. Old English even. Then you'll swear you hear a bit of Irish!
The dialect owes its roots to a surprising source: Pirates.
Pirates loved to hide out on Ocracoke as the island is incredibly remote, about 20 miles from the mainland of North Carolina. Even today there are no bridges or flights to Ocracoke; it can only be reached by a (quite lengthy) boat ride. Eventually, the island was actually purchased by the Blackbeard's quartermaster (yes, that Blackbeard), William Howard, where he created something of a pirate settlement. English sailors and Native American tribes also passed through and had their own unique impact on the culture and developing language of the island.
Legend has it Blackbeard himself named the island.Giphy
In case have your doubts about the island's buccaneerish roots: "In one popular island legend, Ocracoke comes from the phrase, 'Oh, crow cock,' which was spoken by the infamous pirate Blackbeard as he waited to do battle at sunrise with the governor’s forces that had come to capture him," writes a guide from NC State University.
The dialect had a lot of room to develop without much outside influence. The BBC writes, "Howard's community lived in near-isolation for almost two centuries. Electricity didn't arrive at the island until 1938 and a ferry service didn't start until 1957, leaving the islanders cut off except for the occasional supply trip to the mainland."
That's why Hoi Toider is still alive to this day, although its speaking population has dwindled. Here are a few hallmark phrases of the unique dialect:
A 'dingbatter' is anyone not from the island; a tourist. An 'O'Cocker' is anyone born on the island of Ocracoke. A 'buck' is a good male friend, while a 'puck' is a female friend. The Brogue uses 'weren't' liberally for singular nouns ("The sun weren't out yesterday.") and frequently adds an 'a' in front of verbs ("We went a-fishin' this morning").
But to fully appreciate Hoi Toider, you've got to hear it in action:
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
Experts say, as awesome as the Brogue is, it will likely disappear within the next 50 years.
Though the island remains about as remote as it comes, in 2025 there's no escaping the influence of social media, television, and film. Every generation born on the island is a smidge less-adoptive of the Brogue than the one that came before.
It will probably be mostly gone in the next couple of generations, which feels like a tragedy. Instead of "dingbatter" and "buck," the kids will be saying "Skibidi toilet" and "rizz." OK, maybe that's an exaggeration, but young people growing up on the island won't be as immersed in the language as their elders and will begin to speak more and more like your average American.
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
There's a concept called culture homogenization. It's the idea that over time, because of technology and globalization, unique individual cultures from around the world will all start to look more and more the same. It's why you see fast food restaurants directly next to the Leaning Tower of Pisa and people all over the globe listening to the same handful of musical artists.
Ocracoke has managed to hang on longer than most places due to how difficult it is to reach. Here's hoping that the Ocracoke Brogue can survive somehow, some way, in little pockets of the island. It's just too dang cool and interesting to go away just yet.
To paraphrase a friend's insightful words: "You can't make a person who can't hear you, hear you, because, well—they can't hear you."
So many can relate from a metaphorical standpoint. You try to have calm, meaningful conversations, but the words get stuck somewhere along the way and simply don't land correctly. Whether it's a discussion about the current political climate or about tiny (and big) idiosyncrasies in a relationship with someone—a partner, parent, child, friend—it can often feel frustrating that you're not being heard.
Listening What GIF by The Roku ChannelGiphy
As the world has become more separated by entirely different news sources (and/or social media platforms) in recent years, there seems to be a communication breakdown. In Lisa Pavia-Higel's piece, "'Agreeing to disagree' is hurting your relationships—here's what to do instead," for communication.com, she explains that the outdated "agree to disagree" tactic can seem dismissive, putting no resolution on a discussion. Though, of course, sometimes it can feel like (and might be) the only way to move on from an argument going nowhere.
She cites communications researcher Mark L. Knapp, who has created a model of relationship development, claiming, "All relationships have a life cycle. People come together and solidify their connection through five stages, from 'initiation' to 'bonding.' But many relationships eventually come apart, going through five stages of breakdown." One of those, she further explains, is called circumscribing, which can often be a passive-aggressive way of shutting down a conversation.
Here's an excellent example of circumscribing from the movie The Break-up starring Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston.
- YouTube, Universal Pictures, The Break-Upwww.youtube.com
Pavia-Higel adds, "Circumscribing is one of the 'coming apart' stages in Knapp’s model. If problems aren’t addressed, a relationship can keep sliding down the slope toward the last stage: termination."
One solution to navigating these pitfalls is called "looping," which is an excellent way to approach conflict resolution. This is "when people use active listening, meaning they pay careful attention to what their partner is saying without judgment or interruptions." They then repeat the sentiment back to the other person and say something like, "I understand you're saying X, is that right?" This is known as the empathetic paraphrase.
An example: "So I understand you're saying you're worried about spending so much money on the Taylor Swift concert and might bail?" (I realize that's extremely specific, but bear with me.) If it's not correct, person A loops again until they understand and both parties are on the same page, feeling equally seen.
On the Top of Mind podcast, Julie Rose shares that "Feeling understood will give your partner a surge of positive emotion, which goes a long way toward keeping a conversation healthy, rather than contentious."
@topofmindpodcast There is no "silver bullet" for successful tough conversations, but certain techniques will go a long way. Try this technique used by conflict mediators—called "looping"—and follow Top of Mind to see these tips in action.
She shares, "Looping has other benefits, too. In one study, empathetic paraphrasing not only made participants less anxious but also made the speaker see the paraphraser in a more positive light."
Katherine Miller and Melanie Rowen explain on understandingconflict.org that "it provides an opportunity to more deeply understand what is important to other people and why, and allows space to explore the emotions involved."
Incidentally, as for the Taylor Swift concert, the person decided not to bail, no one got stuck trying to sell an extra ticket, and everyone had the time of their lives.
