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THE VIDEO SHELF · mirror reversal

Feynman: Mirrors FUN TO IMAGINE 6

Richard Feynman, in a clip from the BBC series Fun to Imagine, takes on the puzzle of why mirrors seem to swap left and right but not top and bottom.

Why HN readers recommended it

Cited as the best explanation of mirror reversal.

This is a summary from the source dataset, not an endorsement by Hacker News or the video creator.

Video & recommendation details

Creator / channel
Christopher Sykes
Topic
mirror reversal
Format
explainer
Level
general
HN recommenders in dataset
3
HN mentions in dataset
3
Recommendation years in dataset
2012–2024

These counts and years describe the included Hacker News records; they are not YouTube views or the video’s publication date.

From the original HN conversations

Excerpts from the recorded comments. Follow each source for the full comment and surrounding discussion.

  • 1. Feynman explains it best [VIDEO] 3. They approach one another at 30000 mph = 500 miles per minute, so two minutes before they collide they are 1000 miles apart, and who cares that they start out 1317 miles apart? 8. The balloon rushes forward, …

    evanb on Hacker News · 2014-11
    In Top Martin Gardner Physics Stumpers
  • Since left and right and up and down are both the same, it's essentially as though you're looking through the back of the object. Imagine if you made a sign clear and looked through the back. Even though no reversal has taken place, the text …

    QuixoticChris on Hacker News · 2012-12
    In Math Professor Invents Non-Reversing Mirror
  • > One thing I do remember though is how odd it felt looking at yourself in a mirror without your image being mirrored. Not sure my brain was ready for that one after thousands of years of looking at itself in mirrored surfaces. Feynman has …

    lloeki on Hacker News · 2024-10
    In Eye Contact Correction: Redirecting the eyes to look at the camera

Summaries, classifications and recommendation records are from the HackerTube source dataset. Read about this library and its limitations.