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Unfortunately, the joke misses (or misses me) a bit. But it does seem like there is a critical distinction between 'this is not a pipe' and 'this pipe does not
by apocalypstyx 5y ago
Unfortunately, the joke misses (or misses me) a bit.
But it does seem like there is a critical distinction between 'this is not a pipe' and 'this pipe does not exist'.
The original targets the distinction between the image and the 'reality', the difference between the map and the territory and our linguistic/perceptual confusions as to such.
In this case however, this 'pipe' does exist. It can't be said to exists in terms of reference to an object outside of the image, but the image itself is as extant as any image. We could argue about issues of permanence---what happens when I turn my device off and the data representing such in memory and on the screen evaporates?, etc---but likewise the universe (at least according to current scientific understanding) is likely to 'evaporate', so in that regard the 'real' world is just as permanent as the image on a screen that is only a temporary electrical phenomena interacting with human perception.
Maybe I've missed something or am overthinking it.
(And yes, it's just a joke website, but if a joke can't lead one to spiraling into existential despair at the nature of existence, what's the point?)
- omnicognate 5y agoAh, but "pipe" doesn't refer to the picture. That's not a pipe. It refers to an actual pipe. That doesn't exist. :-) Edit: TBH I'm not sure why they put that picture of a pipe there, just a bit of decoration I suppose. :-D
- tetsusaiga 5y agoIt's a reference to a famous surrealist painting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Treachery_of_Images https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Treachery_of_Images My artist girlfriend shared this with me once, and I'm happy to be able to pay it forward. haha
- omnicognate 5y agoI know, I posted the same link elsewhere in the thread :-). Just trying to think of ways the domain name can work.
- tetsusaiga 5y agoAhh, woosh on me, sorry! haha
- GauntletWizard 5y agoI keep a copy of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Not_to_Be_Reproduced https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Not_to_Be_Reproduced on every one of my hard drives. Magritte was a wonderful inspiration.
- layer8 5y agoI think you’re overthinking it :). The original meant "this [depiction of a pipe] is not a pipe", and the website is saying "this pipe [depicted here] does not exist".
- quixoticaxolotl 5y agoYou answered yourself in your explanation. A picture of an imaginary pipe means the pipe it represents does not exist. At the same time, a picture of an imaginary pipe is not itself a pipe. They are two separate statements that aren't connected to each other - it's just that they are both satisfied independently by this website, so it's a happy and fun coincidence.