"It is the Difference that makes the Difference." Gregory Bateson
My husband and I were taking some photos of some wooden buttons I made to sell on Etsy.com.
If we put the buttons on a light surface, they looked dark in the camera picture. If we put them on a dark surface they looked light in the camera picture. If we put them on a rough surface they looked smoother and on a smooth surface rougher in the camera picture. However, by eye they looked the same on each surface.
This is what I guess happened....my eye compared the buttons to a larger more consistent context and thus they looked the same, the camera only (haha) saw a snap shot within a narrowed context. My husband said--but we need to make the buttons appear 'as they really are' in the camera photo. I reminded him that of Gregory Bateson's wisdom..."It is the difference that makes the difference" the experience of the button does not rely in the button, it relies in the relationship between the button and the surrounding contexts. Even if we take this idea of relationship creating the experience of the button down to the cellular level we will find that relationship comparison is exactly how the retina works....we just cannot avoid this principle. So could we say it's appearance is an illusion? Maybe--but then we would have to admit that all experience is an illusion. Oh my--to big a pill for many to swallow I suspect...might feel about as uncomfortable as swallowing one of my buttons.
