Variations

Inverted Symmetry

A reflection of objects in water may be changed by atmospheric conditions. Birds and insects may look differently when seen high in the air or when they are seen immersed in a swamp, a lake, or another water habitat. We can see herds of horses running close to a horizon against light, and we may also see them reflected in water. In effect, aerial, land-, and water-born environments offer us various symmetry lines, many times resulting in inverted images.

A reflection in water may serve as an example of bilateral symmetry with an axis or a surface dividing a real and a virtual. There are also other kinds of symmetry in nature showing a scene where objects and their reflections create a complex, unreal situation.