Remember back in the 1990’s when every mall had a kiosk that sold posters that if you stood there long enough, squinted, stared, and concentrated then suddenly an image would appear that wasn’t there before? It was the weirdest thing. This poster, that upon first look resembled a Rothko on meth suddenly turned into the Statue of Liberty or a horse or a can of Zima. Most standing around made comments like “Oh, I see it!!” and “I see it too.” and the inevitable “Cooooooool.” Remember that guy in "Mall Rats"? Honestly, I never saw the hidden images myself. Frustrating, although I have never stopped trying. My stubbornness knows no bounds.
Those posters are what are more commonly referred to as a stereogram or a 3D stereogram. They are part of a larger body of works known as optical illusions. You can still buy them, albeit I haven’t seen them in a mall for quite some time. Double albeit, I haven’t been in a mall in quite some time except to make a predetermined purchase then make a very hasty retreat.
So, the other morning, like a lot of mornings, and afternoons, and evenings, my wonderful wife and I were discussing…debating…talking about a particular social issue that we happened to see on The Today Show. And as usual, there was the same common result from all our morning discussions; I was late for work. That aside, something happened while I was driving to work that morning, which had not occurred to me in a long time. I thought about the topic, our discussion, and then in my head popped to those pesky stereograms. Only this time, I could squint, stare, and concentrate long enough to see something that I thought many others could not. Again, I was a bit weirded out, but it got me thinking, always a dangerous thing. Social issues, many times, are like optical illusions. With the slightest shift in sight and thought, you can see the other thing in the picture. Sometimes you saw the other picture. Sometimes you saw something moving that you knew wasn’t really moving. Oddly enough, this shift in thought and sight didn't seem that easy without some help. And that has led me here with you.
This blog is a social experiment. I want to present a situation and then ask questions surrounding said topic. Questions that might get people thinking. See, I believe that in our fast-paced, the world at our fingertips, knee-jerk reaction world that a lot of people make quick decisions, too quick. We don’t have time to truly think about a situation or a topic. There’s no time to get into the details, to think, to research all the sides of the topic. So we say the first thing on our minds, and move on. We've made our hasty decision and stick too it. I also believe that knee-jerk reactions are a problem and can lead us down roads, nay highways that we shouldn’t go down. They can cause more problems than they solve. Before we spout off about an issue we should ponder it, roll it around in our heads, chew on it. Then, if we present those ideas to other individuals and get their input, then well…who knows what could happen. Told you it was an experiment.
So, that’s it. That’s the point of POPtical Illusion. I hope you come along for the ride. I also hope you’ll stand here, squint, stare, and concentrate long enough to tell us all what you think. And with that said…
POPtical Quiz hot shot, what do Darth Vader and Leonardo Da Vinci have in common that Frank Lloyd Wright does not? Hint: it’s the next post.
