Question: [![lotr meme](https://i.stack.imgur.com/SsEzO.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/SsEzO.jpg)
i know smeagol and gollum are basically the same person, but what does it mean in this meme?

Answer: 
In real life, it would be strange for an instructor to say something like this. Most people would keep the difference in perspective in mind and specify whose perspective they are speaking from.

> 
> Take a look at the diagram on **your** left.
> 
> 
> 

It does happen that instructors sometimes forget about the perspective difference and say something as in your example. But it is normally an oversight and its ambiguity can sometimes be clarified through context or simply asking.
> 
> *If you look at the diagram on the left-hand side...*
> 
> 
> 

If there is only **one** diagram, this phrase refers to **the left-hand side of the diagram**:

![](https://i.stack.imgur.com/dJHzU.png)

However, if there are **two** diagrams, the phrase refers to **the diagram on the left**: 

![](https://i.stack.imgur.com/07hKF.png)

So, **if you look at the *first* illustration on the left-hand side**, you can see the carbon ring in the molecule. **If you look at the *second* illustration on the left-hand side**, you can see the normal foot and arch. 

As other answers have pointed out, most often, this is from the perspective of the **viewer**. 

---

Therefore, in your example, 

> 
> ...if you look at the diagram on the left-hand side, it explains what these intercalacted disks are.
> 
> 
> 

That is referring to the diagram with the purple and yellow columns: 

![](https://i.stack.imgur.com/rVddR.png)