Navigating the digital seas with pirate epistemology and blind cartography
And I can’t fight this feeling anymore I’ve forgotten what I started fightin’ for It’s time to bring this ship into the shore And throw away the oars, forever
Perception theory has always interested me. It started in kindergarten. That first day of finger painting when you mix yellow and red paint and get orange? Mind-blowing!
Immanuel Kant and his Critique of Pure Reason was the unlikely way in a bit later. We didn’t read the whole thing in my first-year history class (yes, history not philosophy – I was awash in John Stuart Mill and Descartes in my philosophy class, matey), but we did discuss it in two separate classes; we read the parts that related to what the prof wanted to talk about which was the sections that discussed how we know what we know. You know?
We are acquainted with nothing except our way of perceiving them, which is peculiar to us, and which therefore does not necessarily pertain to every being, though to be sure it pertains to every human being. We are concerned solely with this. Space and time are its pure forms, sensation in general its matter.
― Immanuel Kant, Critique of Pure Reason
Perception as bandwidth
Kant’s amazing insight is one which turns out to be supported by perception theory. What we perceive is not reality. It’s just a tiny part of reality to which we have attended. I like to show this infographic – informed by Danish physicist Tor Nørretranders’s “Bandwidth of Senses” metaphor – to my students when we discuss it in my class:
Tor Nørretranders’s “Bandwidth of Senses” metaphor
In this metaphor, our total sensory input is roughly 11 million bits per second and we are only aware of 16-100 bits per second. A tiny fraction. Combine that with memory. To understand and remember something requires our attention and some form of rehearsal – like writing it down or explaining it to someone else – to get out of perceptual memory to short-term memory and then repeated rehearsal to become a long-term memory. Which degrade like old treasure maps left too long in the sun.
I’m skipping a lot here, obviously. The differences between top-down and bottom-up perception also matter to what we recognize. The issue at hand, when it comes to understanding how this applies to navigating our digital seas, is related to the largest circle in that set of senses: sight.
We process visual stimulus faster. And that makes us vulnerable to manipulation via vision. Back to our treasure map: In some minds, the edge of the map represents the edge of what exists. Beyond that be dragons. But of course, that’s not true. We know that intellectually, but the process makes us feel it is. Kant fight it.
Visuals are easily manipulated, especially on the screen
This is the danger of digital spaces. We have the feeling that reality is somehow being represented within the four sides of the screen you’re reading this on. (Or possibly, the piece of paper you printed this out on when you saw how bloody long it is.) All the feeds, dashboards and search results (AI-generated or otherwise) are designed to make you feel like you’re in command, but the algorithms. The algorithms.
They are at the helm, not us.
Pirates need to think about other ways of navigating the space. Deny the algorithm where we can – do we really need to be on Facebook & Instagram, or Amazon, or Google? Can we do without some of it? All of it? Be a rebel. Don’t let the interface and its dark patterns push you where it wants. Search like a weirdo. Click unexpectedly.
We can always turn off the machine. Sail by the stars. Arr, Jim, close your eyes and listen for the breakers. Out there be dragons, and the internet of old.
But please, not until you click on something below. (I know, the irony/pirate hunters will be coming after me for that.)
Pre-order Beta Max now!
In the sequel to Alpha Max, even more Maxes face an even greater threat to the multiverse!
Pirate Epistemology: Kant fight this feeling
Navigating the digital seas with pirate epistemology and blind cartography
Perception theory has always interested me. It started in kindergarten. That first day of finger painting when you mix yellow and red paint and get orange? Mind-blowing!
Immanuel Kant and his Critique of Pure Reason was the unlikely way in a bit later. We didn’t read the whole thing in my first-year history class (yes, history not philosophy – I was awash in John Stuart Mill and Descartes in my philosophy class, matey), but we did discuss it in two separate classes; we read the parts that related to what the prof wanted to talk about which was the sections that discussed how we know what we know. You know?
Perception as bandwidth
Kant’s amazing insight is one which turns out to be supported by perception theory. What we perceive is not reality. It’s just a tiny part of reality to which we have attended. I like to show this infographic – informed by Danish physicist Tor Nørretranders’s “Bandwidth of Senses” metaphor – to my students when we discuss it in my class:
In this metaphor, our total sensory input is roughly 11 million bits per second and we are only aware of 16-100 bits per second. A tiny fraction. Combine that with memory. To understand and remember something requires our attention and some form of rehearsal – like writing it down or explaining it to someone else – to get out of perceptual memory to short-term memory and then repeated rehearsal to become a long-term memory. Which degrade like old treasure maps left too long in the sun.
I’m skipping a lot here, obviously. The differences between top-down and bottom-up perception also matter to what we recognize. The issue at hand, when it comes to understanding how this applies to navigating our digital seas, is related to the largest circle in that set of senses: sight.
We process visual stimulus faster. And that makes us vulnerable to manipulation via vision. Back to our treasure map: In some minds, the edge of the map represents the edge of what exists. Beyond that be dragons. But of course, that’s not true. We know that intellectually, but the process makes us feel it is. Kant fight it.
Visuals are easily manipulated, especially on the screen
This is the danger of digital spaces. We have the feeling that reality is somehow being represented within the four sides of the screen you’re reading this on. (Or possibly, the piece of paper you printed this out on when you saw how bloody long it is.) All the feeds, dashboards and search results (AI-generated or otherwise) are designed to make you feel like you’re in command, but the algorithms. The algorithms.
They are at the helm, not us.
Pirates need to think about other ways of navigating the space. Deny the algorithm where we can – do we really need to be on Facebook & Instagram, or Amazon, or Google? Can we do without some of it? All of it? Be a rebel. Don’t let the interface and its dark patterns push you where it wants. Search like a weirdo. Click unexpectedly.
We can always turn off the machine. Sail by the stars. Arr, Jim, close your eyes and listen for the breakers. Out there be dragons, and the internet of old.
But please, not until you click on something below. (I know, the irony/pirate hunters will be coming after me for that.)
Pre-order Beta Max now!
In the sequel to Alpha Max, even more Maxes face an even greater threat to the multiverse!
Categories:But is it art? Commentary