You know how people — maybe even you — joke about having a "good" and "bad" side of your face? Turns out that you actually DO.
That explains at least some of those awkward middle school photos, right?
The peeps over at PsyBlog are awesome at combing through scientific research that normal folks like us might have missed. And recently, they uncovered a study in Experimental Brain Research that compared the left sides of people's faces with the features on their right.
Nope, they're not exactly the same.
We probably don't even need to tell you which side is "better." Chances are that you already instinctively know. Most people do. Face a mirror and turn to your favorite side.
You turned to look at your left side, didn't you?
Because that's the side which all of us appreciate more.
The reason has nothing to do with a cheekbone that's a millimeter higher or that you've perfected your Blue Steel look on that side.
It comes down to emotion. We show our expressions more on the left side. And as we know from the success of reality TV, we humans lurve us some drama. (Both men and women.)
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But here's the other thing. We humans also tend to "read" each other from L to R. And whatever we see on another person's left side is given more consideration than what's playing on the other side of the nose.
So basically, you could look like hell on the right — have a massive breakout, finally wear that urgly pink lipstick you paid a fortune for but hate, don't bother to floss out that spinach wedged between your teeth. Because it's your LEFT side that people pay closer attention to.
That's because when we look at someone, the RIGHT side of our brain is doing most of the work. It's the side that's excellent at reading emotions.
But it operates through the left side of our body, so it needs to pull data through our left eye. Which sounds kind of gross, but don't worry, doesn't hurt a bit.
But wait! You might be saying. I always take my selfies from the right!
Of course, you do. Because — and here's the big reveal — smartphone cameras work like mirrors, reflecting what they're being pointed at. When you upload your #picoftheday, your image is reversed. Which means it highlights your…
Left side.
And who says science isn't beautiful?
Image via Production Perig/Shutterstock
