# Look into my/your/her/sb eye... but which eye? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 25, 2024, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-into-my-your-her-sb-eye-but-which-eye/998054 "2024-02-25T05:58:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![longtry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/839c29/32.png) [@longtry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/longtry)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2024, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-into-my-your-her-sb-eye-but-which-eye/998054/1 "2024-02-25T05:58:40Z")
I have a theory. Whichever side our dominant eye is, we tend to look at that eye of our interlocutor. For example, mine is left eye, and I mostly look at their left eye (on the right of the picture, from my POV) - thus the line of sight cross over the nose-nose line, not running parallel to it. Is it true for you? I learnt from [the other thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-look-others-in-the-eye/595908/35) that most of us do look at eyes, so we should have plenty of data for this theory. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2024, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-into-my-your-her-sb-eye-but-which-eye/998054/2 "2024-02-25T06:26:45Z")
I’m pretty sure my left eye is dominant and I tend to look at the same left eye in the mirror (right eye of another person or picture). ~Max ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2024, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-into-my-your-her-sb-eye-but-which-eye/998054/3 "2024-02-25T07:40:03Z")
(Question about the thread title: What is “sb”?) ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2024, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-into-my-your-her-sb-eye-but-which-eye/998054/4 "2024-02-25T07:59:21Z")
“Somebody’s”, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2024, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-into-my-your-her-sb-eye-but-which-eye/998054/5 "2024-02-25T08:22:09Z")
I’m not even sure I have that level of proprioception regarding the exact level of eye targeting. I know I’m looking at someone’s eyes. I’m not sure I could tell you _which_ eye, unless the interaction is taking place at kissing distance ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2024, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-into-my-your-her-sb-eye-but-which-eye/998054/6 "2024-02-25T10:49:16Z")
I would imagine that the mirroring circuits and theory of mind would tend to make you assume the other person had the same dominant eye as you. However there are a whole raft of buts in there. If it turned out that people do indeed tend to look the other person in the same eye as their dominant one, there is support for the theory. And if it turns out not to be correlated, not much support. But given the gulf between our understanding of the brain and the complexity within, I’m not convinced there is much science here. It is true for me. I think. One data point. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2024, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-into-my-your-her-sb-eye-but-which-eye/998054/7 "2024-02-25T12:32:04Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > (Question about the thread title: > What is “sb”?) Steve Buscemi, of course. mmm ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2024, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-into-my-your-her-sb-eye-but-which-eye/998054/8 "2024-02-25T12:52:50Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Steve Buscemi, of course. Was he kinda funny lookin’? Anyway…I just realized I usually look at the person’s left eye – and I think my left eye is my dominant one. This surprises me, because, if eye dominance is a factor, I would think we’d look at the other’s CLOSEST eye (to our dominant) – e.g., my left eye to their right. But it seems others in this thread could be right – we look at the eye we assume (subconsciously) is THEIR dominant one. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2024, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-into-my-your-her-sb-eye-but-which-eye/998054/9 "2024-02-25T12:56:40Z")
**Questions :** - Is the Eye an Evil One? - Are Curses involved? - Is the owner of the Eye trying to Hypnotize you? - If so, does he have Big Weird Eyebrows? - Is the Eye in question Sauron Surplus? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2024, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-into-my-your-her-sb-eye-but-which-eye/998054/10 "2024-02-25T13:14:23Z")
I look at my shoes. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2024, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-into-my-your-her-sb-eye-but-which-eye/998054/11 "2024-02-25T13:32:13Z")
The only time I’ve ever heard the expression “look into my eye”, as opposed to “eyes”, the “eye” was a metaphor for a different, much less polite, body part (which the typical human body only has one of). ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2024, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-into-my-your-her-sb-eye-but-which-eye/998054/12 "2024-02-25T14:35:55Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > > [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > > > Steve Buscemi, of course. ⁢ > > Was he kinda funny lookin’? Steve Buscemi eyes were a meme. > **[Steve Buscemeyes](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/steve-buscemeyes)** > > Steve Buscemeyes are photoshopped images of people, typically celebrities, with Steve Buscemi’s characteristic eyes substituted for their own. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2024, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-into-my-your-her-sb-eye-but-which-eye/998054/13 "2024-02-25T15:26:42Z")
I think I’m looking at both eyes. Maybe I’m not? But that’s what it feels like. If I’m actually only looking at one, I don’t know which one. And I’ve also generally heard/seen the expression as ‘look in [their] eyes’. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2024, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-into-my-your-her-sb-eye-but-which-eye/998054/14 "2024-02-25T20:21:49Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/rgAcsjmLPzM/maxresdefault.jpg "Fargo (1996) - He Was Kinda Funny Lookin'") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgAcsjmLPzM) ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2024, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-into-my-your-her-sb-eye-but-which-eye/998054/15 "2024-02-25T23:38:25Z")
I’ve seen autistic YouTube talk about not knowing which eye to look at. For me, though, I’ve always found I look at both at once. They both fit into that narrow part of my vision that is clear. I don’t get this idea that you can only look at a point. That said, my left eye is definitely dominant. I know because I can close my right eye, and I still see everything the same. But, if I close my left eye, everything shifts over. I think it’s primarily that my astigmatism is not the same in both eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2024, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-into-my-your-her-sb-eye-but-which-eye/998054/16 "2024-02-26T01:41:55Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I look at my shoes. I look at the other person’s shoes. I’m fairly extroverted for an engineer. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2024, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-into-my-your-her-sb-eye-but-which-eye/998054/17 "2024-02-26T20:37:00Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Steve Buscemi eyes were a meme. Marty Feldman would work there too. Or a niece of mine for that matter. Beautiful girl. It’s actually quite captivating. Or someone with one blue, and one brown eye (my SIL). ---
**Author:** ![longtry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/839c29/32.png) [@longtry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/longtry)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2024, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-into-my-your-her-sb-eye-but-which-eye/998054/18 "2024-02-29T11:01:46Z")
So far all of the data points favor my theory. But again, I notice that all/most of those who say it, have left dominant eye. Coincident? Guys, we need more data! Where are the right-eyers?