Mordor, Gandalf, Is It Left Or Right?

[Cuivienen]

Imagine you have reached a fork in the hallway, road, whatever. You can turn left or right and there appears to be no difference. Which direction immediately springs to your mind? Please don't base your responses on politics.


DO NOT read the below until you have answered.

















This is a real test; I'm testing whether my theory that "Left" springs to mind far more often than "Right" is true. As yet, I've no idea why, but 39 of 46 people at my school chose left over right with no preference assigned to one or the other. I just want to see if that was coincidence.

 

[blindside]

I chose left. Perhaps you should have asked whether the people are right handed or left handed. I'm right handed and for some reason I feel that played a part in me choosing left.

 

[HighlandWarrior]

i chose right.

 

[Xiahou-Dun]

I picked left. Why left, for some reason (too many years play games?) I see left as the easier road.

"You take the high road and I will take the low road." I see the left as the high road. I might stand crooked though.

 

[Marla_Singer]

Well, I've imagined myself driving on the expressway... usually exits are on the right side...

So if there's a fork on the expressway, and that there's no sign saying me which direction I should pick, then I will pick the left one because there are more chance it will be the main road... knowing that exits are usually on the right.

What's the link with Mordor and Gandalf by the way ?

 

[Yom]

I picked right. Maybe it's because of driving, but the right seems more natural.

 

[Cuivienen]

Oh, just a quote from the movie that sprang to my mind while I was writing up the post. It's what Frodo says when they leave Rivendell.

And so far the evidence seems to disprove my theory. Ah, well. Maybe age (or, more accurately, driving) is also a factor; all of the people I interviewed at school don't have driver's licenses.

 

[Marla_Singer]

I picked right. Maybe it's because of driving, but the right seems more natural.

Do you live in a country where we drive on the right lane of the road ?

Well in this case, when you drive on this road and there's suddenly the choice between left and right, there are better chance the right direction will be an exit... Right ?

 

[stormbind]

From memory, the last time I was looking for Mordor, I found myself walking in a leftward circle *nods knowingly*

However, without drawing on that experience, my initial reaction would be that I turn right. Maybe that means I do both? With that in mind, I wonder if the decision has anything to do with the side of the road cars drive on

It's difficult to know for sure, and it would need testing for me to give a completely honest answer. Do they have mobile phones in Mordor?

 

[FriendlyFire]

Right

--

Notice how ALL webpages place there navigation on the LEFT ?
Or center images require more space bottom then top ?

Natural human perception

 

[SoCalian]

I picked right as well

 

[Marla_Singer]

Right

--

Notice how ALL webpages place there navigation on the LEFT ?
Or center images require more space bottom then top ?

Natural human perception

That's not especially human perception. It's widely linked to the fact we read from left to right.

In Arabic or in Hebrew, we read from right to left... as such, the navigation is on the right.

Here are examples :
CNN in Arabic
Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs

 

[MSTK]

I chose left because Morder really is on the left side of the road.

 

[De Lorimier]

Left.
No idea why.

Now we should make a thread or a study about what will people vote for when they know what the poll really is about. I'm sure we have a few liars who voted right so they can feel different or better than the "norm" indicated in the first post...

 

[MSTK]

If I had voted according to what sprung to mind first, I assure you that it would have been Right. However, I voted according to the Mordor Question.

 

[stormbind]

If I had voted according to what sprung to mind first, I assure you that it would have been Right. However, I voted according to the Mordor Question.

Then the question is wrong, not the answers. That makes a refreshing change

 

[MSTK]

Mordor, Gandalf, Is It Left Or Right?

Grab any map of Middle-Earth, and trace the road from Rivendell to Mordor. Follow down the Misty Mountains and sail down the Anduin.

Now, I ask you, is Mordor left of the road or right?

 

[The Person]

I was wondering for a while what kind of test this was before I voted left. It was harmless, as I found out.

 

[stormbind]

It's neck and neck now. I wonder if the results are region-dependent. Perhaps people instinctively look towards their fears (Communist states) ... so people in Europe look East (right) and people in the US look West (left). Just guessing at why time zone activity seemed to affect results.

I am most likely talking nonsense. Quit scowling at my post!

 

[Steph]

I choose right. Because when I played RPG in my young times, and we were exploring dungeon (i.e. mazes), we used to stick to the right walls and map the dungeon from there.