It was simply an exercise (not a scientific test) to get you to think about the direction of movement in a picture - and the feel of a photograph. Some of you chose the top photo, others chose the bottom photo. Many of you elaborated on why you chose one over the other. Cool.
The idea for the post was generated after reading a chapter in my favorite book, Perception and Imaging - Photography, A Way of Seeing, by Dr. Richard Zakia.
In his book, Dr. Zakia quotes Rudolf Arnheim: "Since a picture is 'read' from left to right, pictorial movement toward the right is perceived as being easier, requiring less effort."
Well, the photos in my original post were not generated from the same image so, again, the fun exercise was not scientific.
Compare these two images, and ask yourself if you feel as though the rider in one image is working harder than the other.
At this point, the power of suggestion plays into your decision, too :-)
Finally, and this is important, rather than ask yourself how a picture was taken (f/stop, shutter speed, etc.) ask yourself how a picture makes you feel.
Thank you all for playing along.
Explore the Light,
Rick