Quote Originally Posted by doc martin
Apologies for not being ESG
Don't be sorry - it isn't all it's cracked up to be.
Quote Originally Posted by David Franklin
My understanding is the effect is really in the brain. Briefly: mirrors actually reverse back to front (reflection in Z). But 99% of the time, the way we see the side of an object that a mirror shows us is by a vertical 180 degree rotation (equivalent to a reflection in both X and Z). E.g. if we use a mirror to see an object behind us, the "normal" way for us to see it involves us turning our head 180 degrees.

The result is that our brain auto adjusts for the 180 degree rotation, leaving us interpreting the final result as a reflection in X (left-to-right).
All true, I think. I would just add that it's most confusing when you look at yourself in a mirror and see your reflection wave his/her 'left' hand when you wave your right. But the front-to-back reflected person - because we have nearly exact bilateral symmetry - looks a lot like a person just facing the other way. In fact it isn't, and it isn't his/her 'left' hand that moves when you wave your right.