Posted by Racer on April 3, 2004, at 8:08:44
The thread on Psychology reminded me of this, and it's coming from my ragged brain, so I can't remember all the details. I came upon this about 20 years ago, and it was interesting enough that it stayed with me. The thread about looks brought it back to mind.
Take a photograph of your face. Cover one side of the face, and look at the half face that remains. Now look at just the other half of your face. Each side is probably different enough that you'll be shocked. (If you want to play with PhotoShop, you can flip the halves so that you get a full face based on just the one half.) I can't remember which half is which, but one half is the "hidden" you and the other is the "presented" you. The hidden half may look more frightened, more worried, or more confident, depending on your personality. (I think the left is the hidden half, but can't say for sure.) The other half shows how you present yourself to the world, so it may look more friendly, more forceful, or more confident. I remember doing this when I first heard of it, and being quite shocked by my results.
This little experiment isn't all that important, but when lonelygirl posted about one eye being more open than the other, it brought it back to mind. All faces -- and bodies, for that matter -- are asymmetric to some extent. For faces, it's usually more asymmetric than you might expect. Hands are asymmetric -- you'll wear a larger ring size on your dominant hand, for example, and the shape of the thumbnail on your dominant hand will be more square at the base than on your non-dominant hand. Your feet are asymmetrical, too, with one foot being wider and usually longer than the other. Legs, arms, breasts, etc, are also asymmetric.
On the other hand, just as the SuperModel ideal has a lot of people believing that the average woman is 5'10" and weighs 110#, models are chosen in part for the relative symmetry of their facial features, and that makes a lot of people believe that facial symmetry is natural or necessary for beauty. Not so, since makeup, lighting, and touchups of the finished photographs can correct a multitude of woes.
So, grab that photo (I used my driver's license -- it needn't be a Great Picture, just a picture of your face), and learn who you introduce to the world, and who you'd rather keep to yourself.
Hope you enjoy this.
poster:Racer
thread:332027
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20040331/msgs/332027.html