Geometry emergence
Some photographs give just a slight pause when first seen - a hint of wondering ‘What’s that?’ Recently I noticed this photograph. The two dark triangles came forward and prevented me seeing the path into the distance which introduces the tunnel effect, so making the water apparent, and allowing the boat to be seen for what it is. Our lives are built around already knowing what we are looking at; before we have time to think “What’s that”? There is a silky smoothness to our experiences, protecting us from the vast depth and complexity that sits outside the protective capsule that consciousness places around us. While perceptive writers like Shakespeare saw that there were more things in life than we can dream of, it is only in recent decades that evidence has accumulated demonstrating just how true that is: our consciousness permits us to access but a tiny morsel of what is around us, giving us a beguiling and sleek prepackaged world. But if we tread softly, sometimes we may see hints; experience cracks, through which that complex chaos may emerge into consciousness.
emerge - The puzzle of how we first can know anything from outside consciousness is introduced in the Mosaic Section of this site, it is headed Emergence.
The photograph is from under a major road bridge in Singapore. The heading ‘Geometry’ hopes to avoid cuing you into seeing the image too quickly, as would be the case if it was something about bridges. (Maybe readers would also enjoy, as I did, Gombrich's Art and Illusion on these ideas, particularly his description of such cuing on page 171 of that book.)
The photograph was taken on a Canon EOS 5D Mk II on 21/4/2010 at 7.15 am. 1/1250th at f/4.0 ISO rated at 500. Focal length 28 mm.
Saturday 26th September 2026
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