№ 217. Laminated Realities

What are you looking at?

Bouroullec

What are you really looking at?

a.  Chairs and shadows

b.  A picture of chairs and shadows

c.  A jpeg copy of a picture of chairs and shadows

d.  A screen projection in your device of a jpeg copy of a picture of chairs and shadows

e.  A mental construct of a screen projection in your device of a jpeg copy of a picture of chairs and shadows

f.  A dream sequence controlled in the ether of a mental construct of a screen projection in your device of a jpeg copy of a picture of chairs and shadows

g.  An algorithm running as a dream sequence, controlled in the ether, of a mental construct, of a screen projection, in your device, of a jpeg copy, of a picture of chairs and shadows

How many filters, lenses and media did you pierce before you got to ground zero--- the unmediated reality of the chairs sunbathing?

We live in a world of laminated realities. The realities stack up and get to be "handled": the virtual, actual, biased, filtered, PR-ed, edited, curated through social media and self-checked, et cetera. 

So how do we get to the bottom of things? How do we dig back to the starting point and reclaim the fundamental reality, the kernel of truth upon which all others are based? How do we mine through the whole truths, half-truths, diet truths and a whole rainbow of data and detritus floating in our consciousnesses? 

Is it even possible to do this? The regression from the truly real is almost infinite.