Optical Illusion?

[Lemur]

I need help. This is driving me nuts. In theory, the picture below is an optical illusion, and most people should see it rotating counter-clockwise. It's something to do with left-brain right-brain dominance. I can't see it. I look at it with one eye, then the other. I look with my peripheral vision. Nothing helps. It's going clockwise. It is! I cannot, for the life of me, look at it in a way that reverse the direction.

Help me, fellow Orgahs. Look at the image. Which way do you see it rotating? Is this a legitimate illusion, or a malformed GIF? Does anybody see it rotating counter-clockwise?

[GeneralHankerchief]

I can see her going both ways with a subtle switch in vision. Don't worry Lemur.

[FactionHeir]

CW only for me, same as Lemur.

[Samurai Waki]

I can see it going just CW

[shlin28]

It works for me, try to focus on the foot, then it somehow changes

[CountArach]

Nope, can't see it.

And no babes outside the babe thread

[Warmaster Horus]

Erm, that's definitely clockwise for me; but my parents said they could see it counter-clockwise briefly.

[Samurai Waki]

Aha! I got it. You have to very closely Concentrate on the foot. And I mean close... like my eyes were practically touching my computer screen, and as soon as I noticed the change backed my head away, and now it won't change back to CW!

[Faust|]

I first saw it as CW. If I look at the more "outstretched" hand when it appears to be crossing the sillouhette in the "back" and imagine it instead to be crossing in the front (or vice-versa) I can switch most easily.

The CW one looks more like your looking slightly down on her, whereas the CCW one looks like your looking up at her somewhat... maybe why the CW is the first one that tends to be seen.

[shlin28]

Hehe... now I can change the direction at will.

Blinking helps

[Louis VI the Fat]

I, for one, can move it in either direction at will.

Looking at just the shade helps, then you can 'switch' the direction. It's funny, I just knew it was about this illusion when I read the title. I spend half an evening looking at it last week. It took me an hour before I could change the direction. But I still can't for the life of me figure out how this illusion works.

[GeneralHankerchief]

Hehe... now I can change the direction at will.

Blinking helps

Try doing it while you're staring at the head.

[Husar]

Mostly clockwise, with some concentration counter clockwise but it everytime she is at 3 or 9 o'clock my brain tries to make her change direction.

[Csargo]

The picture switches back and forth. From Counter-clockwise to Clockwise. it's the pic.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Yeah, it's an illusion. It's easiest to get it to switch by looking at the feet. Cover up the rest of the body, then look and see which leg is passing "in front of" the other one. Then convince yourself that it's actually passing behind it.

[Csargo]

NOW SHE'S DOING CARTWHEELS AMAZING!!!!

[RoadKill]

okay, I've been staring at it for 10 minutes now, its driving me insane, I can only see it rotating CW.

[Whacker]

I absolutely cannot see the clockwise rotation. I guess that's fine though, because I am definitely am left-brain dominant.

Edit - I just realized I posted wrong. Fixed.

[Charge]

I absolutely cannot see the counter-clockwise rotation.

Same...

[Husar]

I played around a bit in Corel Draw and erm maybe this helps in some way, I found the fast rotation a bit too fast...



The question is what can we gather from the shadow?
It's closer to her foot when it moves from the right to the left, to me that means the foot is further away and when it moves closer, the shadow is outside the picture, thus she would rotate counter clockwise.

[Dutch_guy]

The trick is to concentrate fully on the little shadow at the bottom of the image, then you can see the counter clockwise movement.

[Charge]

WTHell? She rotates in both CW & C CW! Just righ now I see it, then again cw...

[Blodrast]

I can only see the counter-clockwise. I've seen it before, and I spent 2 minutes trying to see it the other way, but couldn't, and gave up (I'm lazy that way).
I admit I didn't try to focus on just one body part.

[Charge]

I'm sure it rotate in two directions, changes them from time to time.

[Louis VI the Fat]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Now I see what they're doing!! At last I figured it out. Bit difficult to explain, but when you see her from behind, lifing up her left leg, the image is identical to seeing her from upfront, lifting up her right leg. Etc. etc.

Thanks, Husar, you're a genius.

Edit: spoiler tags might be a good idea.

[naut]

I can see counter-clockwise. What's the big deal with it?

Edit: What shlin28 and Dutch_guy said works, now its clockwise.

[Whacker]

OK, finally got it. Concentrating on the feet didn't work at all.

I had to close the window, "visualize" the graphic moving clockwise, and then re-open it. It worked that way.

[pevergreen]

It changed 3 times in about 10 seconds.

I hate that picture so much.

[seireikhaan]

???? I only see it going counter-clockwise. Weird...

[RoadKill]

HOLY !#$@$%@$# I FINALLY SEE THE COUNTER-CLOCKWISE!!!! But now I can't get it to go back to clockwise.

EDIT: What the heck this is driving me nuts, everytime I close my eyes it goes back the other way, and it keeps flipping from clockwise to counter-clockwise.