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Trying to prove the Inexistence of the Mirror World

Sheilawisz

Queen of Titania
Moderator
After researching more carefully into this subject, I want to start this thread with a personal warning:

In case that you have a phobia of mirrors, or simply mirrors tend to scare you or make you feel uneasy in any way, you should not continue reading this thread.

I have been fascinated by mirrors for many years, and even though I do not have a fear of them, I have always imagined that there is something strange and likely creepy about mirrors... This is reflected in one of my Fantasy stories where my characters open gateways across mirrors, traveling to different worlds.

The point here is that you never see your true self in a mirror...

The other-you that you can see across the mirror is not the same person that others see when they see the real you in everyday life. If you raise your left hand in front of a mirror then the mirror-you will raise its right hand, and if you close your right eye, the other will close its left eye.

This has caused me to imagine that the Sheila that I see in the mirror is not myself but someone else who lives in another world, so the mirror can be kind of a window between worlds or maybe even a gateway... I have believed for years that ghosts and other beings can travel across mirrors, but... Where would they travel to?

My theory at the moment is that a physical travel between these two worlds is impossible, because anything that attempts it gets repelled by its counterpart trying to go through at the same time- You would need to be immaterial to travel successfully across (like a ghost) but even if that is possible... What kind of world is that?

I have considered three options:

1- It's a real world just like ours.
2- It's a fake world composed by illusions and a dangerous trap.
3- There is no window or gateway, it's just a piece of glass.

Obviously the third option is the most believable, but I have a tendency to believe in all sort of impossible things and I love playing with ideas like these =)

I have a huge window just behind my bed, large enough to walk through it easily if I could do that. I enjoy looking at the bedroom in the mirror world and my mind really likes playing with these concepts... but now I want to design an experiment that proves once and for all that the third option is correct.

My goal is to trick the other Sheila so she lies to me at the same time that I intentionally tell her the truth, and I think that I have the idea to successfully practice this experiment...

That would demonstrate that she has no mind and no conscience of herself, which would mean that mirrors are just pieces of glass- Well, it could also demonstrate that the Mirror World is real as a world of dangerous illusions, so I am not sure what am I trying to prove with this idea.

What do you think of all this strange stuff?
 

ThinkerX

Myth Weaver
I had a cat a long time ago who vehmently believed in option 1. My bathroom back then boasted an unusually large mirror right above the counter. Sometimes I would come home to see him perched on the counter, swatting and sometimes hissing at the 'intruder cat'.

Apart from that, I am reminded of all the magical mirrors in the old D&D game:

'Mirror of Life Trapping' (something like your option 2) ;

'Mirror of Mental Prowness' (classic magic mirror) ;

'Mirror of Opposition' (bane of more than one adventuring group I was in)
 

CupofJoe

Myth Weaver
And then there is Interstitial String Theory which suggests that all realities are latices that interweave with all others. It means that in all ways but one our current space is shared with countless others. If there was a way of moving in that one dimension alone you could travel to new realities. [Apparently it make a lot of the maths easier] A physicist friend of mine hates this theory with a passion that is almost scary because he admits it might explain the paranormal - some of the latices are closer together than others [they have to be, in the theory, apparently] and we might have leaks from one to another where the latices are almost the same... Poltergeists, ghosts, clairvoyance, "sixth sense" and Déjà vu could be interpreted as the other realities crossing our way. So that "someone walking on your grave" shudder you feel once in a while might be you coincident-ing with a different you in a different place... I like the idea that the leaking goes both way so my drinking coffee at 5 in the morning might be paranormal to another me...
Now if I could only write a story for it...
 

Sheilawisz

Queen of Titania
Moderator
Thanks for your comments, Thinker and Joe =)

My cat Jerry does not react to mirrors at all, but I still want to show him a mirror while I am holding him so he can see us together... Maybe that would cause a different reaction??

Yeah, the ideas of magical mirrors can be very good for Fantasy games and stories...

The Interstitial String Theory sounds deep, I had never heard about it before- also, recently scientific research has suggested the existence of something called Mirror Matter and a possible Mirror Universe. Who knows, maybe in the end science will be able to offer a good explanation for all the Paranormal stuff.

Maybe our universe is not a real place but some sort of fake holographic world, we cannot be sure... so, the concept of a Mirror World does not seem too crazy to me.

Well, my experiment would go like this:

1- If I write "My name is Sheila" on a piece of paper and show it to the Mirror Sheila, she will show me another piece of paper with the name Sheila written backwards... So, we both would be telling the truth to the other- However, I have discovered a way to trick her so she writes a lie on a piece of paper and shows it to me while I show her a message of truth.

2- This would be creepy, maybe I should not play with this stuff!!

3- When I sit on my bed staring at my mirror, I am looking in a straight line towards the North while my back is to the South, my left to the West and my right to the East. I know this thanks to my Compass.

4- Then I take a look at Mirror Sheila's compass, and I can see that, while she is looking to the North with her back to the South just like me, the East is to her left and the West is to her right.

5- The idea is to write on a piece of paper the words El Este queda a mi derecha (in my language, that means The East is to my right) and then show her the message to see what she has written on her own piece of paper.

6- The likely result is that her message will say the same as mine, just written backwards, which would mean that she would be lying: The East is to her left, not to her right... So, Mirror Sheila would be lying to me at the same time that I tell her the truth.

7- The other result would be that her piece of paper would say El Este queda a mi izquierda. In such a scenario, I would turn away and run as fast as I can!!

What do you think??

This experiment seems really creepy to me, who knows, maybe I should not dare to try it just like I do not dare to invoke ghosts or spirits in any mirror...
 

Sheilawisz

Queen of Titania
Moderator
Yeah Steer, I really should film the experiment in case that I decide to try it out =)

Anyway, what would I demonstrate with this?

1- If Mirror Sheila lies to me as I tell the truth, then maybe it means that she has no conscience and there is no Mirror World because there is no other side. Still, the Mirror World could be real as a world of dangerous illusions like it has been demonstrated in experiments, where volunteers have stared into mirrors for too long with severe consequences.

2- If I get the other result, then she would be a real person in a real world and that would be about the creepiest thing of my life.

What do you say, should I try it or not??
 

Steerpike

Felis amatus
Moderator
This is what is going to happen to you, Sheila:

mirrorgif.gif
 

Chime85

Sage
Sheila,

I do not particularly belive in "mirror" versions of my good self. However, I am comfortable with the possability of parallel existances. It is comforting to thing that another me has chosen to do (or not to do) the action I had been considering.

That said, I also believe we, as individuals are capable of controling our own destiny. There is no will driving us but our own. If you make a decision, it is not by a third party, or a different version of your wonderful person. It is solely by your decision. Of course, in another existance, perhapse your other self made a different choice. That said, there is no way to tell. For all tense and purpose, the "other" you made the same choices.

Enjoy the idea that another you made another choice, in another universe. Don't feel disheartened about the choices you have made. Do not take away validity from your actions, you're a wonderful person and the universe knows it :)

x
 
As far as I can tell, mirrors are just highly reflective surfaces. What you see in the mirror is just photons bouncing off an aluminum or silver substrate. :)
 

Butterfly

Auror
Ever placed a mirror in front of a mirror?

It creates a tunnel reflecting back, neverending, spiralling away and down (mostly). I always wondered what might lie at the bottom of it...
 

Sheilawisz

Queen of Titania
Moderator
@Steer: That animation of the mirror girl is so scary!! =)

@Benjamin: Yes, I want to believe that what you see in a mirror is just light particles bouncing off an aluminum or silver surface... However, my many unusual ideas and beliefs keep suggesting that maybe (just maybe) a Mirror World has at least a little possibility of existing for real.

@Chime: That was really beautiful and you made me smile, thank you a lot =)

I believe totally in the existence of other realities where other Sheilas like me live in a world just like this, and even though I also believe in the existence of windows and gateways between different realities, I am now almost convinced that to create such a gateway you need way more than just a piece of glass with a metal coating on one side.

Today I have discovered another anomaly that suggests that mirrors simply show us an optical illusion:

Let's say that a perfect replica of the Mirror Sheila's bedroom was built in our world. I would then walk into that bedroom and I would experience everything just like I had walked across the mirror... However, to create the best illusion possible the window of this bedroom would have to look to the West just like it happens in my real bedroom.

That way, I would get the intense light of sunset in my window to copy what happens in the mirror's room.

Then, lying on my bed with the window to my left my head would point to the South, not to the North... A real compass would prove the falsehood of the replica bedroom, which means that the bedroom that I see across the mirror makes absolutely no sense- It's just an optical illusion!!

You know what, I'll try the experiment one of these days =)

@Butterfly: There are many superstitions about the mirror facing a mirror thing. Some say that by doing that you open a gateway for ghosts and other things to enter our world, so that's another thing that I do not want to try with mirrors...

Anyway, I warn you all about something that is very real: Do not stare at your reflection in a mirror for too long.
 

Butterfly

Auror
Anyway, I warn you all about something that is very real: Do not stare at your reflection in a mirror for too long.

You warn too late my friend. Done it... years ago... saw weird things though, like my face changing, growing moustaches and wearing hats.
 
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Sheilawisz

Queen of Titania
Moderator
Ireth, that comic is so freaking funny!!! Thank you =)

@Butterfly: Yes, that has been done in serious experiments before. All of the volunteers have ended up feeling very scared and even sick, reporting to have seen their faces change colour, melt like wax and even transform into a variety of terrible, frightening things...

Some have reported that their entire reflection disappears.

Apparently it's some sort of wicked hallucination caused by something in your mind, but who knows, it could be something else... better safe than sorry!!
 

Devor

Fiery Keeper of the Hat
Moderator
Of course, there's no reason to think that the cardinal directions should match between our world and the mirror world. Still, if it were me, I'd insist on several glasses of wine to work up the courage and it would in no way affect the results . . .
 

Sheilawisz

Queen of Titania
Moderator
That's a great idea, Devor!!

Wine first, open a gateway to another universe and shatter the foundations of reality later =)

That way, even if Mirror Sheila crosses over to visit we could at least enjoy some wine together listening to Leaves' Eyes...
 
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