system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ElI5: How is it that binoculars magnify things only when viewed from one direction, but both sides of a magnifying glass are magnifying?

Optics confuse me.
gpt
Binoculars line up two lenses (one pair for each eye), plus might have some mirrors in them to adjust light path length. One of those lenses on either side is large to gather lots of light, the other is small to focus it for your eye. So it's not symmetric, meaning you can't flip it around and the light will work the same way.

A magnifying glass is only one lens, and it IS symmetric. So you see the same image from either side if you flip it.