The Simulacrum Effect

"It's a High Tech Lynching!" - Clarence Thomas

"It's a Rush to Judgement!" - Johnny Cochrane

"They weren't really beating a helpless man- they were trying to control a drug-crazed criminal."
- paraphrase of defense case in Rodney King police trial.


A picture is worth a thousand words. Or is it?

Two people presented with the same facts can draw totally different conclusions, filtered by their previous life experience, prejudices and preferences. Even when presented with a photograph, or a video, the image is heavily subject to interpretation.

The SIMULACRUM effect can be most clearly observed when it is isolated as the single variable in a controlled experiment- as when an inkblot is shown to two separate groups of people, but each group is given different expectations about what they should see. That was done in a psych class at Harvard using a famous (now almost cliche) optical illusion- the drawing that can look like an old woman or young woman.

From the Optical Illusions home page...


http://illusionworks.com/html/perceptual_ambiguity.html

Prior to being shown the actual image, one half was told they would be shown a picture of a young woman- the other group was told they would see an old woman. Of course, they "saw" what they were told they would see. Then they were put in the same room and asked to guess the age of the woman. At first, there was a big argument, and each group was asked to explain to the other why they thought the woman was a certain age. But after communicating each other's viewpoints, eventually each side was able to see both images.

For example- is this a picture of a young woman with whom the President is obviously more friendly and affectionate with than "normal" ?


Or is this a picture of a naive young woman with a crush on the President who gives him a hug and appears all flushed because of HER fixation ?

Facts don't really matter anymore. The same physical evidence (like DNA) or sequence of events can be explained to conform to any viewpoint- it is the SPIN that matters. Even a video tape of someone being viciously beaten- if slowed down, freeze framed, stop motion analyzed- can be turned into evidence for the defense rather than the prosecution.

Audio tape transcripts: "But if we tell the big one that there is someone else who knows, then he will be forced to settle, right?""Maybe not, he is in denial."
- Clearly talking about Bill Clinton, right? About his guilt or innocence? Are you sure?
Could it also be two frightened women who are in over their heads in a scam that got deeper than either of them bargained for?

Vernon Jordan- "Just deny the charges."
Is he telling Monica to LIE? If the charges are TRUE, that would follow.
But if the charges are FALSE, then Vernon is really telling her to "tell the TRUTH."

It is a Gordian Knot riddle- you get to ask two men the same question. One of them is a liar. What question do you ask so you will be sure that you know the correct answer?

Either Vernon Jordan is a part of a LEFT WING conspiracy to cover up the president's dalliances, or he is an honest man trying to help a frightened young woman who is caught up in a RIGHT WING conspiracy to discredit the President. Which side you believe depends on your preconceived notions about Bill Clinton. If you don't like Bill and Hillary, you will favor theory A. If you are a moderate or liberal, you might be inclined to believe theory B. The correct answer is C = insufficient information to answer the question.


My renewed insights into the nature of perception- years after taking a minor in psychology in college- were spurred by my experience of a powerful SIMULACRUM in a photo from the Hubble Space Telescope. I was convinced that *I* saw something that I expected EVERYONE else to be able to see! But the same photons, the same arrangement of colors and shapes, brought out different reactions from different people. Yet, I can't look at the image(s) without seeing the human form that *I* recognize. See for yourself at...
http://www.mcs.drexel.edu/~gcmastra/truth01.html




CURIOUSER and CUROUSER...
Bye 4 now.

Chris M
http://www.mcs.drexel.edu/~gcmastra/strange1.html


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