Quick:
Recognize this famous Mirror Reading Test?:

“Twas bryllyg, and ye slythy toves-
Did gyre and gymble in ye wabe:”

One of the most famous mirror reading tests appeared in the 1870s as “Jabberwocky, ” a very unusual poem featured in Lewis Carroll’s classic Through the Looking Glass.

Readers are tested to decode the first stanza as a mystified Alice might have – in mirror reverse format.

To make the test even harder, Carroll used nonsense words so readers lose their sense of semantic balance. You try making meaning of the next lines:

It is a true test of concentration, attention and mental rotation, for anyone. Genius, some say.

Enjoy our version of a MR Test by clicking HERE:
Below, find more information on Mirror Reading Tests and our own research findings.

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A bit of background on Mirror Reading Tests…

They have existed in the reading sciences since at least the 1920s. Designed to illuminate the mysteries of word and letter reversals in reading and writing, measures were developed from perspectives of learning disorders and neurological dysfunction.

The image that accompanies this post is of Dr. Samuel Kirk, among the first researchers to systematically explore reversals in reading and writing. He popularized theories describing strephosymbolia, or ‘twisted symbols.’  His classifications led to diagnostic categories, interventions, and educational philosophies. Notably, Kirk is known as the father of learning disabilities.

Mirror reading tests have advanced. Today’s investigators extend their research to include non-clinical samples and ‘regular readers’ in order to map difference, focused less on disability. Computerized data collection offers access to larger, global, samples. There is a fresh focus on development potentials and neuroplasticity in learning. Innovative brain imaging techniques transform the metrics of mirror reading with new precision. Transfer effects and applied studies are the next foci.

Far from signaling inevitable pathology, mirror-reading skills in ‘ordinary people’ are associated with an array of working memory and spatial abilities. Lots of ordinary people are curious about their own skills.

We received requests for an MR Test that is simple, straightforward, and available to anyone, with a timer to provide a speed marker, and a final score for Mirror Reading Ability.

So we created the first ever-online Mirror Reading Test (Free for the curious). Keeping it short, there are only five questions in a multiple-choice format. All answers are presented in mirror text.

Responses are assessed for time, accuracy and each player receives a score out of five with a short interpretation of their skills.

The first data is in!
Here are some preliminary findings – December 2012-April 2013*

Total sample: 63
–> 32 women, 31 men
Average age of participants: 31.97
–> Average age of women: 32.38, men: 31.55
Age span: all participants: 13 to 69
–> Women: 13 to 69, men: 13 to 64

Perfect scores (5/5):
35 (55.56% of the whole sample)
Women -18 with an average time of 175.33 seconds (51.43% of the sample of perfect scorers)
Men -17 with an average time of 163.18 seconds (17 men, 48.57% of the sample of perfect scorers)

Dominant Hand:
–> 52 Right (27 female, 25 male)
–> 9 Left (4 female, 5 male).
–>  2 Ambidextrous (1 male, one female),
84.54% of the sample is right-handed, 3.17% ambidextrous and 14.29% left-handed.

*This data is collected from an admittedly self-selected sample. It’s a beginning.  Please add to our collection.

The development of the Mirror Reading Test 2.0 is already underway. If you have any suggestions, please let us know:
Shelagh@mirrorread.com

April Fools! Not…

I was asked to create this Mirror Readoku for the Puzzles page of a local newspaper for the April 1 edition. 

The joke’s on them as it is not an easy task to complete for most people. But it’s worth making the mental effort.

Of course, the best brain exercise is getting our bodies moving – breaking a physical sweat. But challenging ourselves to engage in new mental exertions doesn’t hurt in the development of brain pathways.

While Sudoku is a numeric process of elimination game, Mirror Readoku requires one more key talent: Mental rotation, which gets easier and more efficient the more you do it.

True, it can be positively painful the first 30-seconds – enjoy the strain. Keep track of your time.

Interestingly, you don’t have to be a good Sudoku player to be a great Mirror Readoku player.

Copy, paste, print and check it out for yourself – do smart.
Immerse yourself and go for it, no fool here.

Let me know how you manage.
shelagh@mirrorread.com 

A celebration of sentiment, from a different perspective.

Around the world, there are so many people who celebrate February 14 as special. Maybe you.

Dedicated to expressions of positive connection, romantics of all ages, across countries and communities, send Valentine’s messages of appreciation and love to one another.

People go to great lengths to craft unique Cupidean notes that speak from the heart. Much effort is put into tender letters and hopeful missives that catch the eye and pull at the heartstrings.

Valentines come in a myriad of forms and languages, with a singular powerful emotion at their core. By their nature, they are full of magic – suffused with the positive intentions and attentions of the sender. This may be why, in keepsakes boxes, it is the Valentines notes that survive, re-read and faded after years, especially the ones from children.

I received a tip to a website providing a template for a Valentine that stands out: You can format messages on a custom Love Letter Scroll. In this scroll, the secret sentiments are locked away in a foreign language – until the reader realizes the meaning beneath the twisted symbols: 

The message is printed in reverse, easily decoded by mentally spinning the letters, or holding it up to a mirror. The scroll is a printed work of art, to be treasured and kept.

I think it’s a great idea. Going to such lengths signals “look again, look closer, there’s more here than meets the eye…”
Please click the link at the bottom of this page for more information.

There are lots of ways to make your own Mirror-Valentines:
Options include by hand, Photoshop, or using the t-shirt transfer setting in your Printer options.

For those who want to create a custom electronic Valentine-in-Reverse for everyone, the Mirror Read Messaging Window on the MR website is easy, and you can send directly to FaceBook or Email, or save to download and print. (Flash format does not work on iPad – sorry)

Create your own Mirror Valentine: Here are the steps to take:
First, write your message – For Valentine’s, I prefer capital letters,  Spellstone font, in Red, size Regular.

Next, write ‘MR Valentine for You’ in the Subject line, or some other meaningful title.
Then unleash your inner Cupid…

Hit send.

I find the Messaging short format particularly perfect for Mirror Haiku Valentine’s poetry. See for yourself:
5-7-5.

My keyboard observes,
Alchemical mystery -
Love becomes letter.

CC me on your best Mirror Haiku Valentines – I will post on the MR Gallery.

shelagh@mirrorread.com

Happy Hearts Day to all!

Love Letter Scroll: http://www.romanticraft.com/love-letter-scroll.html

I am not usually an advocate for the regular perspective.

Typical standpoints, which use the status quo as reference, can lead to flaccid creativity and dulled imaginations.

Alternative points of view offer impressive opportunities to all of us, psychologically and physically.

By being willing to experience the world from unfamiliar angles, we create opportunities to see what has been in our blind spots, including personal capacities and abilities of which we had no previous awareness.

There is potential in irregularity.
That being said, I’m really glad we included a REGULAR button on the latest Mirror Read Resource. . .

Announcing:

After much magic of the coding kind, the Mirror Read News Trainer is launched on the Mirror Read website!

We opened a unique portal to the Mirror Read App on iTunes. Now anyone, anytime, from anywhere, can read their news in reverse, directly off the Mirror Read Website.
For free.

Check it out for yourself here:http://mirrorread.com/mirror-read-headlines/

One of the special features we included was a REGULAR button that can be used to toggle from mirror to ordinary text.

Originally we had thought readers could use the REGULAR button before reading their news article to orient themselves. Which they do.

Now, after testing, we have also found that smart newsfans begin by reading their article in reverse, then they REGULAR it, and they read it again, from left to right.

And in the process experience a shocking sensation of effortlessness and ease-of-skill. After the brain strain of reading backwards, REGULAR reading feels surprisingly smooth, almost slippery, even soothing. 

Sometimes REGULAR can feel like a stream of cool water on a hot day. It can offer relief and comfort, and occasionally, bliss.
This was news to us at Mirror Read.

After the epiphany, readers can check the timers to see how long it took them to read their article in reverse, versus reading REGULAR. It’s easy to assess aptitudes with regular practice.

After trying it many times myself, I have a newfound appreciation of my own ability to read. It feels amazing to know literacy and be so fluid then have it removed, to relearn. Then revert, back to REGULAR.  In a flash, I truly do appreciate the ordinary.

To more bliss for all of us in the coming year, regular and not.

Please share your own MR News Trainer experiences with us: shelagh@mirrorread.com

The following article was recently featured on the online resource for parents, ourfamilyworld.com.
The editors had asked me to write a summary of why parents thought reading books in mirrors with children was important.

I came up with a top three list. Here it is, in an extract from the article:

Reading books in mirrors:
1.  Breaks the routine
2. Encourages laughter
3. Stimulates memory-making

1.  Mirror Reading is a routine breaker.
Small changes in everyday lives create freshness. We can forget to see the specialness of just being with little ones in quiet moments. Putting a new spin on a routine activity, like story time, offers an amazing opportunity to explore something new, yet familiar, with a child. It’s all about a change in point of view – for them and you. Reading books in unusual places, like in closets wrapped in blankies, or in bathrooms, takes you into the known unknown together – easily and conveniently.

2. Gives kids a chance to be silly
It’s inevitable with all the face-to-face action. When you read a regular book with a child, your eyes are down, focused on the page. In a big mirror, little ones can look at you from a different angle, observe your lips as you pronounce words, see your eyes widen in a smile, and watch your funny faces.
You may not realize what you look like when you speak in the squeaky voice of a character in a storybook. Here’s your chance! We can all use a bit more silly laughter in our lives.

3. Memories get made when we read eye-to-eye
What do we remember? Events that stand out – that are odd, and curious. Experiences that catch our eye, that make us look again with fascination. Special times with loved ones when we felt their gentle attention.

Reading eye-to-eye provides us with unique opportunities to connect with children in memorable ways. When we play with books in reflections, we can read with kids, not just to them. In these special moments of seeing, we grow bonds and positive memories that echo.
Read the full article here.
: :  :  :
Reading reversed format books in reflections with children may sound strange – until you get a glimpse of the new perspective it brings.  Mirror Reading leads you into completely new experiences of playing with words, transforming tales into events, and truly interactive storytimes.

There are lots more exciting and educational reasons to explore backwards books in mirrors with children. Please visit the mirrorread.com for free stories and fun ideas. And to share your reasons for mirror reading.

Mirror Read Books are available in English and French, in paper and eBook versions on the mirrorread website.
A Mirror Read eBook comes for free with the MR App for adults on iTunes, for anyone interested in exploring the benefits of mirror reading on grown-up brains. http://mirrorread.com/itunes.com
Questions: Write shelagh@mirrorread.com

You want to write ‘Bye-Bye’ on the glass to someone waving at you from the house. 

In order to be read by them, you need to write in reverse on the inside of the window, from right to left. This ‘mirror-writing’ is a striking and mysterious process…”

So begins an excellent recent review of the literature on mirror writing – complex cousin to mirror reading – by Robert McIntosh and Sergio Della Sala in the October 2012 issue of The Psychologist.

Mirror-writing is the production of letters, words or sentences in reverse direction, so that they look normal when viewed in a mirror. Or read from the opposite side of a steamy window.

McIntosh and Della Sala explore the history and research of different forms of mirror writing – deliberate, spontaneous and involuntary – and throw in a bit of mystery. It’s a complicated and fascinating centuries-old tale that is today being told through innovative research on memory and motor skills with children, adults, and elders.

They delve, “Mirror-writing has long fascinated observers in art and science. Beyond its obvious curiosity value, it provides compelling insights into how we learn about, and represent the world…”

In their succinct account, the authors dispel several myths surrounding mirror-writing in children including, notably, that mirror writing is associated with slow intellectual development. In fact, mirror-writing is common amongst children learning to write.

The authors cite the famous genius of Leonardo da Vinci’s text reversals and Lewis Carroll’s strange Looking-Glass Letters. They observe, “mirror writing is cultivated by some healthy, albeit unusual, people, often to a high level of skill.” Interestingly, being an expert mirror writer does not guarantee you will be a great mirror reader.

Many people are unaware of their latent mirror writing or reading abilities. To know, you have to try.  Then they pull out a bit of Modern Mirror Trivia: The answers are below.

1. In what movie were the ‘facts’ tattooed on the amnesic main character’s chest in reverse so that he could read their reflection?

2. What Simpson’s character wrote backwards with her blocks?

3. What dog detective show used mirror writing in the episode ‘Mystery mask mix-up’?

The article features a modern mirror writing genius: KB, a German artist who discovered mirror writing at the age of nine when he realized he could write more, and faster, if he simultaneously wrote forward with his right hand and backward with his left. Extending his talents with practice, he can now write in either direction with either hand, including making vertical and horizontal flips. He incorporates these unique perspectives in his distinctive ‘mirror-art’ – one of KB’s works accompanies the article.

McIntosh and Della Sala conclude, “The story is intriguing, yet incomplete – there will be more to learn about ourselves in this particular looking-glass.”

Read the full story here.

Maybe a bit of practice writing backwards on windows is in order.

Picture yourself writing backwards on a window now. Capital letters may be easier.

If you have any questions, or personal stories of your own mirror writing or reading talents, please share them with us. It’s great to hear from you: shelagh@mirrorread.com.

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Answers:

1. Memento

2. Maggie

3. Scooby Doo

SudokuEssentials was looking to explore something new, and asked for an article on Mirror Readoku for their website.

No problem.
And we donated a custom Mirror Readoku puzzle to challenge their guests to play in reverse.

Find the article, “A Sudoku Twist” on this page.

You can take a crack at it too – with a challenge from us to complete the puzzle in less than 5 minutes.

Described as ‘brain-heating,” “weirdly easy” and “twisted,” this version of Sudoku asks players  to activate skills they may not have even know they had.

The first moment of the unique game is the strangest, and the most revealing. The brain screams WRONG. But hold on – look for the familiar patterns. Just begin. In fact, the numbers are easy to recognize – even when reversed. You may be surprised by how quickly your juggling skills develop – often in mere minutes.

What’s the point, beyond the immediate challenge? This is where is gets interesting.  

To date, there are few applied studies of the practice effects of mental exercises, like reading and doing Sudoku in reverse. But recent brain imaging studies offer promising insights about the way our brains grow when we task them with mental activities that require turning concepts over in our minds.

It’s an exciting new spin on an old area of study. The next few years look pretty backwards, to researchers all over the world.

Our team is looking at qualitative data on Mirror Readoku if anyone would like to contribute. The instructions and questions are simple:

1. Please complete the puzzle above by cutting and pasting it into any document format and printing it out.
2. Please time yourself – note when you begin and end.

Questions:

1. If you attempted the puzzle above, did you complete it?
2. How long did it  take to complete?
3. What is your perspective on
   a) the Mirror Readoku challenge
   b) the Mirror Readoku experience, and your thoughts and feelings during and after the puzzle.

Send your answers to: shelagh@mirrorread.com

I did it for selfish reasons:
I wanted to be part of the equation. 

My goal was to share books, and fun looks, with my then 3-year old niece, Elise.

The point of my first backwords book was to create a frame in which to read a new sort of interactive story with her. I hoped to capture a few of the delicious, magical eye contacts that occur when we explore reflective surfaces with kids.  These instants of connection can echo with happy memories across lifetimes.

Later, however, when I took myself completely out of the equation, I learned again that different perspectives offer great opportunities.

What happened was that children began reading to each other, with each other, in mirrors, no adults required.

It had never occurred to me when I designed my first book printed in reverse that I was making something I could be elbowed out of so easily. Sometimes there’s just not enough room for three in a mirror.  I’d be jostled to its edge, slipping out of the eyeline to an observer’s position.

But from beside, I watched myself watching different groups of children smile and tease each other as they read in mirrors together. I witnessed their spontaneity and silliness that started with the story, then spread. I saw how kids of different ages competed for lines and corrected each other. They laughed at pronunciations, and rolled their eyes at repetitions. They didn’t always take turns. They were the center of each other’s attention, all without me.

I began to hear the same thing from parents and educators. Several mentioned that even after story time was over, the children continued to interact with each other in the reflection. Rather than focusing on the adult, or turning to talk to one another directly, they played together within the frame of the mirror, exploring the depths of reflections, pointing and mimicking.  They went far beyond the book.

I’m pleased to hear it.
This kind of play is exciting, especially in times where educators such as myself, and parents, take note of discrepancies between screen time and creative social time in a child’s day.
I recently received word of a new YouTube video in which two children read a Mirror Read Book – My Middle Name is Truck – together in a mirror. It’s funny and well filmed, and shows the kinds of connections that are easily created when we enjoy stories in reflections.  Thanks to Grampa Stephen, and to Colby (9) and Madeline (8).

Here is the link to the video: Mirror Reading on a Rainy Day.

I would be happy to post your photos or link to your videos of kids mirror reading with, or without, adults, – just let me know.
shelagh@mirrorread.com

What does it take to be a great Backword gamer?  Not necessarily the abilities you’d think.
Just ask Bee.

In the year since the Mirror Read App was introduced, I’ve been able to watch lots of people play. I’ve been consistently impressed at the strategies that individuals of different ages employ, and the varied skill levels emerging.

There are very noticeable methods that naturals have in common, completely unlike the aptitudes required for other other word games. By observing, I’ve been able to pick up some good tips.

Being adept at Boggle and Scrabble doesn’t guarantee high scores on Backword Scramble. A large vocabulary helps, as do smooth screen skills, but these will only take you so far. The mental rotation aspect changes more than perspective- it stretches our brains to respond – fast – to stimuli we are not familiar with.

Top scorers use elaborative strategies. They can spot reversed letters on the board to make simple words like CAN and quickly add endings for extra points – like CANDLE or CANOPY or CANDY. Really good players will find CANTOLOUPE and CANTANKEROUS. 

As well, Semi- pros  also have a knack for utilizing Xs, Ys and Qs when they appear on the board – which are worth more. Visualize YEARLING, BORAX or QUINTESSENCE in reverse, then find the letters? More than I can usually able to do under timed conditions.

There is also the element of ambidextrous play. Lots of people favour their pointer fingers of their dominant hand when they drag and drop letters from right to left. Those high calibre players who employ two or more digits on both hands are able to locate more complex words with fluid ease.

I am a solid 1-finger player. I admit that I am a very moderate Scrambler, even after practice. I rarely break 100.  I might be better, but am prone to an odd form of blindness that I had never noticed before playing this game: I tend to neglect the  letters on the left side of the board and miss easy word opportunities. Even knowing this, I  have to keep reminding myself to look just inches to the left. Does the fact that I am right-handed with a dominant right eye play into outcomes? Anyone else like me out there?

By contrast, there is  a certain 18-year old I know who regularly earns over 150 points on her Backword Scramble games. I think that qualifies Bee as Semi- professional calibre.  (She claims to have once achieved the stellar score 212, but there is no Leaderboard or video evidence.) Part of it is practice- I have seen her play game after game both alone, and head to head with others. She always wins.

 Luckily, Bee was recently filmed during a game where she handily earned 194 points with words like CREATION and RELATABLE. I have never seen that number before.
You can find the link to the YouTube footage here - she’s exciting to watch.

It’s fascinating to observe a good player perform – their fingers fly into letter-word combinations that are ambitious and often more than three syllables. Really.
See for yourself – invite a good word gamer you know to play. 
And feel free to send me video of your high Backword Scramble Scores.

Several years ago, in collaboration with the magazine and website Psychology Today, I wrote a series of articles on vision and social nutrition – an important emerging area of study.  In one, I explored Vitamin I, an idea that has attracted a lot of recent attention in relation to mirror reading.  
I recap it here:
—
You won’t find it on your pharmacist’s shelf, but you can make it yourself with these common ingredients…
A  gleeful glance, an admiring eye, a warm look from someone you respect.  The gaze  of a happy child….
Share, indulge, repeat. 

Even if you’ve never thought about Vitamin I, you know the feeling of it: An infusion of energy, a positive chemical spark. Vitamin I is a vital electric nutrient brought on by the kind of eye contact that just feels good.

And is very good for us. In fact, positive eye contacts are the essence of social nourishment, required for optimal human body-mind functioning across the lifespan.  

While not often discussed in the medical literature, the healthful aspects of positive visual exchanges are well known. Experiences of attention and acknowledgement are recognized elements in healing.  Positive regard is a meaningful therapeutic factor – noticed most in its absence. Kindness, connection, care – all communicated in the blink of a look – convey real physical benefits.

Much research on the links between social eye interactions and health focuses on the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland. Both are activated by what and who comes into our sight-lines in our daily lives, especially the straight-on looks of people we are attracted to.

Neurotransmitters connected with feelings of well-being, like serotonin and dopamine, are linked to receiving positive visuals. So are neuropeptides like oxytocin – central to social recognition, and attachment. Even antibody production in our immune system fluctuates according to who we see. 

Vitamin I is not nothing. When we share warm looks, whether with a loved one, friend or stranger, we exchange something tangible, though challenging to quantify. Positive eye contact influences healthy antibody production in our immune systems, and stimulates the sympathetic nervous system; it quickens the heart rate and elevates body temperature and sends endorphin surges racing through the brain, soothes…

It’s my guess that Vitamin I is an endogenous element produced by our own bodies in the presence of a catalyst.  Much in the same way that sunshine stimulates Vitamin D synthesis, Vitamin I occurs in the presence of positive visuals with others. We synthesize in ourselves,  and stimulate it in others, as we share in good  looks.

And the link to Mirror Reading?

It turns out that reading reversed books in reflections with kids is a natural source of Vitamin I.  When we read face-to-face in the glass, we are more easily able to see each other reading and make positive visual connections. Unlike with conventional books where we are always looking down at the page, when we mirror read, we also look at each other, catch glances, and play with eyes that are open, unguarded and warm.

From there, the magic occurs- eye spies emerge.  Children who do not  easily connect find it easier to look with others and be visually interactive in a mirror. Kids will watch eyes, read lips to sound out words, and bask in admiring looks as they absorb crucial social nutrients. 

Creating and providing opportunities to share some Vitamin I  is important for growing minds and bodies. And older ones too! My hypothesis: Social nutrients  synthesized during fun eye contacts provide scaffolds for good health in people of all ages….  

My prescription: Share a dose.
Please let me know how Vitamin I feels to you.

—
If you are interested in reading the rest of the article on the Psychology Today website, or viewing the series, please visit here.

We might assume that we are born seeing.  Actually, sight takes some learning. A neonate needs time to process the new visual world it’s confronted with.

Part of the problem: Eyes are built to see upside down. We learn to see right-side up in our first hours… most of us.

While I’m no expert at reading upside down, when asked, I can do it, and even pick up some speed. But I don’t call it easy.

I’m not at all unusual – as kids, lots of us played with books end-over-end for fun, and are able to read inversed texts as adults when necessary. Those of us who work with a lot of upside down documents, like tutors and clerks in copy stores, learn to be very proficient – however, not likely to read upside down by choice.

There are, however,  some people who preferentially read print formats in orientations other than upright. Called PI – Print Inverted – readers, their perspectives, like those of Mirror Readers, are inspiring exciting new learning tools for teachers and parents.

I recently became aware of a fascinating website called pireading.com – a research-based hub hosted by Stephen Round – a US elementary school teacher devoted to helping children learn to read in ways that suit their unique points of view.
 His conclusion:  “For some kids, reading upside down is the ONLY way they can make sense of print…” “A true PI reader cannot read at all in the conventional way.”

How is this possible?

We return to the biology of vision: The physics of optics dictates that the images of what we look at are projected onto our retinas upside down and backwards. It’s because of the crystalline lens in each eye that bends incoming light rays. The job of the visual cortex is to take the inverted image produced by the lens in each eye, and make functional sense of it given other sensory information.

For the majority of us, this orientation adjustment occurs early, right after birth. It seems most people come prepared to cope with these  crystalline quirks, and easily adjust.   At least until it comes to dealing with print. Recognizing an inverted tree as a tree is not the same as recognizing an inverted letter or word, because when it comes to decoding text, orientation and directionality matter. Take the classic p and q, or d and b. Learning to read English requires learning to see right-side up and frontwards.

Stephen Round believes that for some people, this ability to perceptually flip the word-image over is incomplete, resulting in tremendous difficulties when learning to read. He contends that children who have problems learning to decode ought to be encouraged to explore different text orientations, to see how they respond.

Round draws on the research of Larsen and Parlenvi (1984) who observe, “A significant percentage of struggling readers perform much better when allowed to hold the text inverted (upside down) rather than in the “normal” way.”

According to Round, “if allowed and encouraged to read text upside-down, these children progress just as rapidly in their reading and writing acquisition as their peers…The interesting thing is that when they are encouraged to read upside down, they will usually ‘turn it over’ within a month and be able to read normally after that.”

Both Mirror Reading and PI Reading are part of a fast-moving new wave of educational research and practice using alternate print formats. These discoveries, that brains approach differently oriented texts with different aptitudes, offer ancient-new options for people with dyslexia and dysgraphia.

When struggling readers learn to love books, something is going very right.

Please let us know about your own backwords skills.

Mirror Read Adventure Books were designed to be taken into unusual places…

So CBC’s Anna Asimakopoulos met up with Dr. Shelagh Robinson, and a few reading buddies, at Montreal’s Philino’s Restaurant (where the mirrors are first rate) to reflect on mirror reading, and the science behind playing in reverse.

Check out the full report HERE:

Anna mentions that she plays Mirror Readoku – a new take on the popular game – on the bus! To the puzzlement of other commuters…

Would you like to try out your skills?  Impress yourself with an exciting challenge – Volume 2 of Mirror Readoku starts ‘easy.’

Find your puzzle HERE. Feel free to print and share. 

Careful! 2s and 6s can be surprisingly hard to tell apart, when you step through the looking glass… See for yourself.

Look out for future games, and watch yourself get faster. Enjoy! And please let us know what you  think.

shelagh@mirrorread.com