Heisenberg Reflection or the Inverse Quantum Observer Effect

I’m watching you.

But please, please please, dont change on my account. Dont define yourself just because someone is looking for definition in you, or through you. There are lots of names for it – globalisation, interdependancy, sociology etc. People are interacting more than ever before. Across the world, across their country. Across the street. They say that no man is an island, but a few people can be an archipeligo.

With everyone so close to each other nowadays – mobile phones and the internet being the greatest facilitators – its no wonder people are defining themselves more starkly than ever before. Its a post-modern trait, or so I was told at uni. Dividing things up, labeling them, categorising them and numbering them, listing them in various orders and headings so that one man’s one is another man’s one hundred. Everything divided so that nothing crosses. Individuality is maintained. Its not quite good enough nowadays to be part of the crowd, or so the crowd says. Its not good enough to not be fantastic. Exceptional. Extra-Ordinary.

Why are things like this? Thats a tough question, and one I dont think I’m the equal of. What I think I can say though, is the how. How it got this way, how it stays this way.

 Its the media. Its our entertainment, our own abyss and it has gazed also.

 The tendency to label and seperate has been around for alot longer than our most popular shows nowadays, but these modern shows just underline this tendency, surround it with lightbulbs like a dressing room mirror and show it to us with our own faces on. Then it has the audacity to tell us that its “reality”. Yes, thats right. I’ve suckered you straight into a rant about reality television. For the next few paragraphs at least.

The problem with reality television is that its entirely too real and 100% imaginary at the same time. We use television primarily for entertainment, and for the majority of its use, television has been used to broadcast mainly fiction. But then reality TV creeps in. People like you and me on television. But dammit, the second they’re on television, they stop being people like you and me. They become those people. People on television. Stars. Celebrities. Idols. And so we watch, and see ourselves become idols for other people to emulate. You watched this show to see something real, and its turned you into itself. You have its haircut, listen to its music, read its books and magazines. The real people you watched stopped being real the second you watched them, and now, you are the watched. By writers, advertisers, tv studios, newspapers, everything. You are watched to see how you react, and the world around you is slightly changed to make you react more favourably. To make you want to be so much like those former real people, that’d you’d give anything to get there.

The girl from your class who had a good voice is now that girl who tried out for pop idol. That guy who loved playing football is gonna be the next wayne rooney. You can feel it. Creative girl? Renouned artist. Writer guy? Best selling author. Class chav? Front page criminal. Everyone is gonna be big. Everyone is special, and are going to do great things.

But some people dont. Some people are the ones who didnt quite make it. The almost done its. The nearly theres. And according to the media, that makes them not good enough. No prizes for second place, oh no. but there are consequences.

Thats what I’m writing this about, really. The consequences. I dont mind reality TV in general. I change the channel. But between that, myspace music sensations and youtube stars, there is this growing idea that everyone has to be famous, somehow. Worhol was nearly right, he just didnt figure that some people might never get their 15 minutes, but kill themselves looking for it.

Not everyone becomes a star, and for some people thats just devestating. That doesnt just mean the celebrity wannabes. Not everyone is after the limelight in such an obvious way. But with everyone nowadays there seems to be this need to stand out, and when you’re not standing out, you’re not there. if you find out you cant stand out on your own, you stand out with a group. Better than nothing, right? So we split up again. We become goths, emos, ravers, neds, indie kids, rock fans, football fans and everything else. In the face of an expanding world and life experience your identity is more important than ever, so you get it from somewhere else if you dont trust your own quite enough.

So much of these identities are attached to the media we consume. The above list was primarily made up of music differences, which makes sense with music being the most obviously subdivided form of media out there. Probably not a coincidence that its the most popular either. Its not just music though, its everything. Everything is an influence. Take a look at your media, your loves and passions, and take a look at yourself. of course you’re going to be pulled to the things that ring truest with you, but how much are you pulled in by something and convinced of its truth? On the quantum level, you cant measure something without changing it, and its just the same on the social level. It becomes a sort of sociological self fulfilling prophecy where the label given to a person changes their behaviour to match the description as closely as possible.

This isnt some blanket statement on society. This doesnt happen to everyone, and its certainly not that cut and dry. But it is happening more and more, and on different scales and settings. Conservative or liberal? Democrat or Republican? Christian or Muslim?

Organisation is fine. Belonging to a group is fine. Categorisation, is fine. But its the absolutism thats the worrying part. The Finality and the expectations. When people join a group, and are described by their “membership”, how can that one word possibly cover everything they are? “emo” or “ned” is one thing, but when its things like “christian” and “muslim”, thats quite another. People are massively contradictory beings, and cant be understood by single terms alone. But thats exactly whats happening, and its generating really, really negative environments and ideas. The Polarisation in the world is evident, with religious aspect to politics and wars taking centre stage. Young men and women of various religions are seeing themselves only through that lense, only in that context, and only seeing others in through that context as well. The result? Suicide bombings. The Westborough Baptist Church. Extremists of every shape and size, clinging to one world view mainly out of fear of the growing choice of them.

Our pop culture is of the fantastic. The message we’re getting is Everyone Has to be Special. When this is channeled positively, it can drive people on to do amazing things. On the other side though, there are people struggling with the idea, the competition, the desire for importance. The message we should be getting is that everyone IS special. We are all capable of greatness and and of ourselves, individually, not the greatness we are told to aspire to. its a catch 22 – The one thing we all have in common is that we’re all unique. We belong to one, huge, diverse and fascinating group, 6.6 billion members, 6.6 billion stars on a massive stage. Sometimes we get so caught up in other people’s light, that we forget our own. They reflect on us, and we dim down and bask in their glow, and forget that someone might want or even need ours.

Earlier I mentioned the abyss, but its not an abyss at all. Its a bright, brilliant light, and its coming out of everyone. Other people can be great examples, but they cant be objectives or end points. Ultimately, its all down to you. And if you think about it properly? You’re a star.

New York – Part Three

Everywhere you look in New York you see buildings that seem to go up and up and never stop. Its easy, when surrounded by man made giants, to overlook the natural giants that have been there all the time.

In the heart of maybe the greatest city in the world, there is approximately 1.32 square miles of green grass, trees and lakes. We started our last full day in New York’s Central Park. Fortunately, there was no sign of clouds or David Blaine, the sun split the sky. First stop – The zoo! yes, 22 and 23 years old we may be, but there was still something awesome about polar bears up close. It seems even animals from across the world gather in New York.

We walked around the park for hours, and could have walked for hours more. It is simply vast. My favourite thing about it though was just before we left. Standing beside a baseball diamond, we got a good view. A very good view.

trees and skylines

It really felt like you were in the heart of the city. True, the name Central Park kind of gives that away, but its when you look around that you really feel  it. Buildings on every side of you. New York is, frankly, mental. This seems to be the place to relax. Everything in the city is reaching higher all the time, from people to buildings, but here its fine just to be on the ground.

Now, I’m totally going to advertise for TGI Fridays here. I had a steak. I had an awesome steak. We wanted something typically american for our last meal in american, and nothing said “USA!” quite like a large steak and pint of beer. We had no idea what to do after dinner, however. We thought as far as “go on the roof of the hotel” and then maybe move on. When we got there however, we met some guys from Toronto.

Every year, they do a guys trip somewhere, and this year was NY’s turn. They all had weekend names, and it took till the end of the night to learn their real ones. We talked most to a guy called Glenn (took a few hours to find that out). Turns out he has family in Aberdeen and has been to Scotland a few times.  I cant get over that actually. I go to a city with more people than my own country and find a canadian talking about the price of fish suppers. One of his friends, “charlie” had a few things in common with us too. Charlie had been to Japan for three years teaching – something people who know me will know I intend to do too. Craig got talking to him too, and it turns out they’re in the same profession.

We hung out with the guys for most of the night, went to dinner with them to an italian place where we were given a particularly potent shot called either Raffa or Rappa. Anyway, it is not an experience I’d wish on any man, woman or murderer. Steer clear. After dinner, most of the boys went down to the meat packing district, but Glenn decided to come with craig and I for a drink before heading back to the hotel. He told us about his life, his wife and children, what he does for a living, and how much he hates it when people think Canada is run by America. He tutored us in how to properly mimic a Canadian accent, and did a pretty good scottish one himself.

On getting back to the hotel, we decided on one last drink on the roof. It was around 12am at this point, and we’d been walking all day. Just started a bottle of beer, and I’m talking. I realise that craig isnt talking back,and find him on the right side of unconcious, still clutching his untouched beer, bottle upright. We were tired, and needed sleep. We said our goodnights to the city, and it said goodnight in return. It was gonna stay up for a while.

Goodnight