thoughts, words, deeds

the mirror lies

The mirror never lies. Or does it?

The mirror can lie. And does--always. Just like pictures can lie. Think of illusions—most magician’s tricks rely on the ability of mirrors to hide the truth through angles or through misdirection. Think of a funhouse where mirrors reflect short or tall or misshapen in some other way.

Ultimately, all mirrors, no matter how true, set up a reflection of reality, and such reflections are not reality. For one thing, they are mirrored—showing left as right and right as left. Like fiction, which reflects reality without being it, they give only part of the story, sight without touch or smell or sound or taste.

I like mirrors, but not because they tell the truth. I like them because they're strange and magical.