Screen Asthetics

          In Chapter 7: "The Two-Dimensional Field: Forces Within the Screen" of Herbert Zettl’s Sight, Sound and Motion: Applied Media, he discusses how simple things, like screen tilting, can have huge impacts on the way that people view images. One of the first things that he points out is that "when we see a tilt to the horizontal plane within the screen we become somewhat disturbed, if not disoriented" (103). This quote specifically spoke to me because I have a condition called Neurocardiogenic Syncope, in which my blood does not flow to my brain in the way that it should. It is just slowed and takes longer to happen. If I stand still on my feet for 10 seconds without moving my legs at all (no bending or shifting weight) I faint. Before this, I would get really bad dizzy spells all of the time and I did some research on how that happens. When you get dizzy, it is generally from spinning around too fast or doing cartwheels. This creates an asymmetry in the signals that are sent from your vestibular system. Basically, your ears are responsible for telling you whether or not you are right side up. So it makes sense to me if images and screenshots are tilted causing a different effect. 
          Another point that Zettl makes is that there is a much stronger screen presence on the right hand side of the screen. When looking at a screen, the first instinct is to look to the right of the image. He showed two pictures to illustrate this. They were the same image, except one was flipped. The tendency was to focus on the right side of the screen, no matter if it was a person or an object. He later continues this discussion by using the example of television hosts. Zettl points out that the host is usually seated screen-right, while the guest is screen-left. This demonstrates that the host is more important and prominent than the guest. Even the placement of the pictures on this post. When you first opened the page, did you look at the pictures first or the text? Go back to previous posts with pictures on the left and see the difference. Do you agree with Zettl? Does the screen asymmetry play as big of a role as he thinks? Should it? How do you think that this has occurred? Where do you think people understood this knowledge from?