Ceci n’est pas une pipe: a July 4th reflection

typed for your pleasure on 4 July 2009, at 11.00 am

Sdtrk: ‘Buggy whip flings’ by The Hafler trio

When you see the above photo, what do you believe you’re looking at? A flag, right? But if you consider for a moment, you’re not seeing a flag, you’re looking at a flag of a flag — a flag with an image of the flag of the United States on it. Furthermore, you’re actually staring at a picture of a flag of a flag, not the flag of a flag itself. And to add a final layer, the above image isn’t even the original one I took with my phone; it’s a screenshot that I made when I was cropping and resizing it. So in essence, this is a picture of a picture of a flag of a flag.

Literal interpretation meets limited recursion. Whoever came up with the series of ‘YO DAWG I HERD U LIKE‘ Xzibit jokes has this to thank

Random similar posts, for more timewasting:

Tonight, on an alternate-universe 'CSI' on September 8th, 2008

Albert Speer couldn't make something this creepy on February 6th, 2005

2 have spoken to “Ceci n’est pas une pipe: a July 4th reflection”

  1. Alice writes:

    Plato would be proud. Weirdo.

  2. Davecat writes:

    Weirdo? Who, me or Plato?
    And are you referring to the Greek philosopher, or to the actress who played Kimberly Drummond on ‘Diff’rent strokes’? Gotta be specific, here.

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