Say "No" to the Dress

I just had to comment on the insane re-posting and "discussions," if they can be called that, of a particular dress, more or specifically, the colours of a particular dress on FB.

"Maybe it's the time of year or maybe it's the time of man," but every once in a while a totally meaningless item, comment or situation takes the world by storm and, well, shows us that we really haven't progressed much as human beings.

To be kinder, maybe it's just the giddiness brought on by too long a struggle with a miserably cold winter that has turned thousands of us into colour zombies!! Those of us, who are not colour blind, obviously need COLOUR!!! We've had enough of winter's black and white and so we seize every opportunity to discuss, argue, even scream, COLOUR!!

I loved an article by Edward Keenan, in the Toronto Star, on all the hullabaloo this week over the colour of a dress. The article lists twenty four reasons for all this insanity. Here they are, with my comments in italics.

1. As white and gold. No comment :) I refuse to be sucked in!!

2. As blue and black. My husband sees grey cats as green. Who am I to judge? Then again, there are the pink elephants.

3. As a stunning revelation that people you thought you could trust are lying to you about what they see when they look at the dress, for an undetermined reason.

This is so true. You know who you are. Last week it was the bank - never trust anyone where money (or colour) is concerned.

4. As an interesting optical illusion.... as in seeing spots? or pink elephants?

5. As an example of how social media makes us obsess about trivial things, presumably at the expense of more important things. Enough said!!

6. As an amusing opportunity for relief from more depressing, stressful, and frightening news and debate...and February!!

Coloured Moose - only in Canada!!

7. As an example of how all colour perception is a trick of light. Pinhole cameras anyone?

8. As evidence that all perception is subjective. This begs the oxymoron, how can anything that is perceived be objective?

9. As an illustration of how people with different subjective impressions are unable to understand or even believe those who disagree with them....been there :)

10. As a proud inheritor of the nonsensical tradition of the Ikea Monkey, dancing baby, and piano-playing cat...and in pre-internet times - pet rocks.

11. As a vivid example of how our beliefs, formed instantaneously, remain immune to argument, evidence and reason.....Happens daily!!

12. As an example, in the cases of those who claim to have originally seen it one way but later looked again and saw it the other way, of the power of peer pressure to change how we look at things....Be afraid, be very afraid!!

13. As blue and gold, for the sake of contrarianism....you know who you are!

14. As black and white, because if everyone else is being absurd about it, why not go for the other option? There's one in every crowd.

Black and white of winter

15. As a microcosm of an Internet culture in which almost any innocuous topic will quickly descend into bitter argument. This is not just about the internet. It's also why I avoid extended family gatherings.

16. As an article of clothing. I can't remember the last time I've worn a dress :)

17. As a nefarious smokescreen cooked up by oppressive conspirators to preoccupy the masses. A religion of coloured costumes - yes, it works.

18. As a sales opportunity for Roman Originals, the company that made the dress. Not a bad ad campaign.

19. As proof that in an existentially opaque universe, we find significance in arbitrary things, elevating even inanimate artifacts to celebrity status in an attempt to find meaning. Have you read my post on sieves?

20. As the stupidest thing we all became obsessed with since the escaped llamas on Thursday afternoon. No comment. I saw the raccoon video a year or so ago. I don't need any more exposure to animal antics and I never watch cat videos - bah humbug!!

21. As a likely outdated punchline at next year’s Oscar’s. I never watch these either.

Bird of paradise - because it was there!!

22. As the launch of a philosophical inquiry into whether we can really know anything, like, for sure, dude. Ditto.

23. As definitely, obviously blue and black, since the retailer Roman Originals has sent a message saying “we can confirm it is blue and black” with photos from their catalogue that show a definitively blue and black dress.

24. As definitively, obviously white and gold, since LOOK AT THE PHOTOGRAPH IT IS WHITE AND GOLD.

The pictures - random pics for a random post :)

Have a colourful day!!