Confusing Truth Essay Example for Free

Confusing Truth Essay 1. 1 Introduction Before the advent of digital imaging, we rely on paintings and books to record for documentary use. While paintings and books suggest the clear separation of what is truth and what is falsehood, people believe that camera is trustworthy and photos taken from it are the truth because camera is a machine with no emotions. Digital imaging gives better quality images to readers. However, due to the potential of digital photography manipulation, it has clarified that truth is not fixed anymore but has fluidity. There is no absolute truth. Before digital imaging, although photograph still has manipulations during their creation through framing or posing, photo manipulation is not that serious because fake photos are usually easily detected. Nowadays, digital imaging has made manipulation much more easily and harder to be detected. But, there are different degrees of alterations. From removing a hair from the forehead to removing a person in news photo, we can see the potential of digital manipulation. People start arguing on the matter of what to be considered as truth and falsehood; it is all because of the presence of fluidity of truth. 1. 2 Concept of Fluidity of Truth Generally, we are used to the truth-versus-falsehood nature. However, with the potential of how digital imaging can be changed in different degrees of alterations, it is not always easy to identify a point where truth is lost and we cannot set a clear line separate truth from falsehood. This is the concept of fluidity of truth. In the following, I will explain how digital imaging clarified fluidity of truth, with 2 altered images examples with different intentions and degree of alterations. Digital imaging and the powerful techniques of manipulation distort the truth. Photographers manipulate photos mainly in 4 ways: bad intention with large alteration, bad intention with little alteration, good intention with large alteration and good intention with little alteration. 1. 3 Example of manipulated photo with bad intention Take the award-winning photo about Tibetan Railroad in 2006 as example (see figure 2. 1). The photographer combined two separate photographs together to make a photo of a group of antelopes running below the Tibetan Railroad, showing a state of harmony between railroad technology and animals. At that time, environmental protection groups were aware that the construction of railroad had destroyed the ecosystem. With this combined photo, it is proved and people believed that construction did not affect the animals at all. The Government used this photo as a proof to persuade the Environmental Protection groups who object to the construction of the railroad. This photo, for sure, should be considered as falsehood, covering the truth, because of its bad intention. Figure 2. 1: Photo of Tibetan railroad, Liu Weiqiang, 2006. (10 News photos 2009) 1. 4 Example of manipulated photo with good intention Another example is about National Geographic (see Figure 2. 2). In 1982, it was accused of altering a photo of Egyptian pyramids, squeezing them closer together, in order to fit into the cover vertically. In this case, the photographer did not have any bad intention. He just wanted to fit his original horizontal photo into the magazine’s vertical cover. He did not alter the photo a lot either with the fact that if he went farer and took the photograph, the resulting image would have been the same as the altered image. Regarding this case, pyramid was still there and nothing was added nor removed. Truth was not lost at all. Should this photo be considered as falsehood? It is difficult to set a clear point to discern between truth and falsehood. Figure 2. 2: Photo of National Geographic, February 1982. (10 News photos 2009) 1. 5 Different perception of ‘heavy alteration’ As shown above, it is difficult to discern manipulated digital images to truth or falsehood depend on the intention. So can we identify them in accordance with degree of alteration? For instance, photos with large alteration should be considered as falsehood. The answer is probably not because everyone can have distinct perspective towards what is more and what is less. Take Klavs Bo Christensen’s photo of Haiti in 2009 as example, his photo has been processed in terms of the color tone and sent to a Danish photo contest (see Figure 2. 3). Retouching made the photo stunning and contrasting in color tone. At the end, the judges disqualified the photo since they thought the photo were too extreme and unacceptable. Christensen, the photograph, admitted the retouching but insisted that the result image was within his limit. In this case, we can see that different people have different perception of ‘heavy alteration’. Neither did Christensen remove a person nor combine two separate photos. All he did was toning the color. It is difficult to identify a clear line to tell what is truth and what is falsehood. Figure 2. 3: Photo taken by Klavs Bo Christensen, April 2009. (10 News photos 2009) 1. 6 Ironic photography and retouching techniques in products In postcards and photos of residence catalogs, most of them have been processed and are taken in certain angle in order to make the place look spectacular. These beautified photos are to attract people to visit there, expanding number of possible customers. People are always disappointed when they really get there and realize the difference between the real place and the process one. Not only these two products, most, if not all, advertisement also retouch the photos to make the subject look perfect. For instance, in the advertisement selling skincare products, the skin of the model always looks silky and perfectly smooth. Again, this is the result image of retouching. However, we never criticize these photos as falsehood or lying even though they are also under the same kind of retouching technique and manipulations as the mentioned examples above. It is all because we have fluidity of truth. There is no absolute truth or falsehood. 1. 7 Inevitability of digital manipulation Indeed, media do need certain extent of digital manipulations, such as lightening or darkening a photograph just for better reproduction quality (Newton P. 11). Truth is not lost at all. In these cases, should we consider these manipulated photos as falsehood? It is always hard to judge because of the fluidity of truth where the line between truth and falsehood is ambiguous. 1. 8 Conclusion It is always hard to define what is real. With the potential of how people can digitally manipulate photos in totally different ways and with different intentions, fluidity of truth has been clarified, where not every photograph can fit into the truth-versus-falsehood nature. We can have people doing alterations with good intention or simply just for better reproduction quality, while we can also have people using photo manipulation for controlling and creating a scene that has never happened. At the same time, we have advertisements under retouching technique without being criticized. All these suggest that digital imaging, with numerous ways of manipulations, has clarified the fluidity of truth. A clear line or point to discern between truth and falsehood does not exist. We may not be able to determine absolute truth. Instead we can determine a reasonable truth, depending on our maturation of perception of reality (Newton 2007). Reference List 10 News photos that took retouching too far, 2009. Available from: . [20 October 2012]. Newton, JH 2007, Digital media: transformations in human communication, Peter Land Publishing, Inc. , New York.

Circumcision To Be Or Not To Be :: essays research papers

To be or not To Be? â€Å"Push! Push, I can see it crowning. Don’t stop keep pushing.† The doctor says in a deep but calming voice. â€Å"I can see it, I can see it! Here it comes!† says John with tears of excitement in his eyes, as he looks at his beautiful wife Nechelle, who is about to give birth to their first child, will it be a boy or a girl he wonders. â€Å"I see its head, one more push here it comes Oh my god it’s here, it’s a boy Yes it’s a boy! We will name him John Jr.† John shows all the signs of a man who is completely excited about having a newborn son, but the truth is that in the back of his mind there is question, a dark scary question, that John still has no answer to. â€Å" Should his son be circumcised?† To be or not to be that is really and truly the question. Before John can make a wise, educated decision he must first understand what circumcision is, why it is done, how it is done, how it affects the natural functions of the penis, and what the alternatives are. â€Å"Circumcision is a surgical procedure in which the skin covering the end of the penis (called the foreskin) is removed exposing the glans (head or tip of the penis)†(Love) The procedure is usually done on infants in the first few days of their life. A doctor does the procedure. Circumcision is an ancient and widespread practice. Some cultures as wide spread as the aborigines of Australia, to the Kazakh of Russia circumcises their male children. â€Å"An Egyptian inscription from around 4000 BC refers to the procedure. Male mummies have been found to be circumcised.† (Encyclopedia of Human Sexuality 118) According to the Old Testament god commanded Abraham to circumcise all males of his household. The religious, spiritual and emotional reasons for circumcision differ greatly from a pact with god, to showing your faithfulness to a tribe by having your son publicly undergo the procedure. But are there any medical justifications for circumcision? According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in 1971 †There are no valid medical indications for circumcision in the neonatal period.† Recently however the AAP reconsidered its position. In 1989 it concluded that circumcised male infants have â€Å" potential medical benefits and advantages, after all uncircumcised males have eleven times more urinary tract infections.

Exploring The Arts And Its Different Concepts Art Essay

Every twenty-four hours forenoon, many people enjoy sitting outside watching dawn. They feel relaxed seeing the reaching of the Sun with its pure visible radiation and the travelling of the dark with its darkness. They consider that a new life will get down as the Sun starts her new life. Not merely they watch the Sun, many people enjoy pulling this position because they will experience for one time that their heads are relaxed and non believing except in this new Born. This research highlights over the importance of art in our day-to-day life. It besides recalls us about the different types of art and how each of them depends on particular creative person and particular instruments used. In this research we will besides cognize the relation between colourss and how colourss are grouped in two. Besides we will detect that art is most of import than what we consider because we see art everyplace and each twenty-four hours because every thing in life is an graphics. Introduction †Art is your emotions fluxing in a river of imaginativeness † . If you stand for a minute in front any work of art, which has many forms and many line can non be described, you start to conceive of things by walking on that lines and forms seeking to link them to acquire a specific form done from your imaginativeness. What if the image is a dawn? You will get down believing in every unhappiness or happiness things that happened to you. No one these yearss knows the truly importance of art. Art is everyplace in the full universe. It is one ‘s creativeness and imaginativeness. Art is the most things you use and see ever without paying attending to that. If you want to cognize what does art intend? You have to look at every thing environing you, at every thing you use in your day-to-day life, you will detect that every thing you see shows an art, particularly your apparels, your hair design, your places etc†¦ All of them are humanistic disciplines. Art help us see everything and everyone wholly different. Art is non a reading to acquire world-weary or listening to acquire epileptic, it ‘s something which opens to us a field of inquiries and replies to things we see. That ‘s up to us. It does n't enforce itself on us to hear, believe, or even understand ; on the contrary it takes us to a long-lost universe, to a fiction universe, to a field of ideas. Art can be in different signifiers audio like music, vocals, and verse forms. Visual as movie devising, picture taking and picture, they differ depending on creative person, manner and stuff used Audio humanistic disciplines are the most used type of art. They can be in the signifier of music, vocal or poesies. They help in loosen uping one ‘s head. Music is thought to associate all of the emotional and physical elements of the existence. Music can besides be used to alter individual ‘s temper, and has been found to do like physical responses in many people at the same time. Music besides has the ability to beef up or weaken emotions from a peculiar event such as a funeral. ( Stancato, 2009 ) Furthermore the vocal, which is another type of audio art, has physiological effects excessively. Try for one time to cognize what does successful and motivated people listen to, you will be amazed that they tend to particular type of vocals and music! You will ne'er happen a self-motivated individual who does non listen to actuating vocals. Although romantic individuals listen to particular type of vocals and music, they listen to classical and romantic 1s. Poetries are besi des a 3rd type of audio art. The writer verse form expresses his feeling in his Hagiographas. They are similar to composing vocals, and can be sung excessively. Both poesies and vocals depend on music to be sang, they need an creative person holding soft voice and the author ‘s head and write excessively. But music does n't necessitate any of them. Music needs different musical instruments like piano, guitar and others. In add-on to different instrument, they come in different times. Ocular humanistic disciplines are popular art. They differ from the audio art.aa‚ ¬A? Artists topographic point images, signifiers, colourss, thoughts, down in such a manner that can be communicated with you the spectator. When you read the work it will function your apprehension in a battalion of vivacious ways. It will get down to do sense, in some instances a perverse sort of sense. An creative person will take you on a trip around his work. He will state you what to position and in what order. He will try to arouse a assortment of responses, even negative 1s. He will appeal to your sense of admiration. This graphics will and should inquire as many inquiries of both the mind and the emotions as it answers.aa‚ ¬A? ( simm ) . This is true of all art. In the ocular humanistic disciplines, picture, picture taking, movie devising, there is no replacement for looking. The assorted theories of Emotional Color will, normally all unknown to the spectator, play an progressiv ely of import function. What are these theories? Red for danger, black for decease and morbidity, in the western universe at least, are two of the most obvious. The Madonna ‘s hood in a spiritual picture is ever a certain blue. This was originally produced from a semi cherished rock called Lapis Lazuli before the coming of chemical pigment. The emotional facets of this should be obvious. Warm colourss, reds oranges, yellows appear to come towards the spectator and are on juncture welcoming. The cool colourss, blues, some leafy vegetables appear to withdraw. Atmospheric or aerial position is used by creative persons in this mode to arouse a feeling of distance or enormousness. Have you of all time considered why a certain type of music is called the blues? Or why colourss themselves are thought to sing? Why certain colour combinations are called Complimentary. ( These are the antonyms on the colour wheel, a primary with a secondary, Red and Green, Yellow and Purple, Blue and Or ange ) . ( simm ) Painting, picture taking and filmmaking differ in the instrument used and in the manner each is viewed. Painting is the craftsmans pulling utilizing his colourss, coppices and his broad idea. The craftsman ‘s pulling depends on his temper and on what type of colourss he likes more. Whereas picture taking is to capture astonishing images utilizing a particular instrument, the camera or the picture excessively. Film doing requires neither colourss nor camera. They need a narrative to be acted. Besides it needs the author and the histrion. Hence art is cosmopolitan, and is everyplace. Not merely art is for one who exercise a work art and like it. It is for everyone. Art is more of import so one can see. Without art one can non see any thing beautiful because art attention deficit disorder attractive force and beauty to any thing one can look at, even if he look at himself. Besides art reflects to us the temper and the feelings of the creative person so that if he ‘s happy he will make something astonish or funny, and if he is disquieted he will utilize to make things which would keep you to another universe of thinks. Some one said â€Å" Art is the lone manner to run off without go forthing place † . This quotation mark is particular and is the truth because when you feel disquieted what is the first thing you resort to? Certain it ‘s listening music, playing piano, dancing, pulling†¦ etc and others because you will non go forth place in a bad temper. All what you will make is a subdivision of art, because art is the best manner to experience that you are relaxed since it helps you to believe profoundly about your jobs. Besides art may assist you bury everything depressed you because your head will be as a winging bird, from tree to corner, seeking for a topographic point where he will experience safe from the dangers of life. So art is really of import because it translates one ‘s feelings and portions his emotions without upseting him, on the contrary it helps him experience better and bury every thing dejecting him. Another illustration is when a adult male see a beautiful adult female, he will run after her until she accepts to run into him or to give him her figure, but if he see an ugly miss, he will alter his manner because he acquire disgusted. So art is really of import in our life, because without art universe will be so fed up, down and bored.

Why People Have Tattoos, From An Ipa Perspective - 2906 Words

Abstract The research aims to look at why people have tattoos, from an IPA perspective. Social influences, perceptions and motivations behind the art of tattooing will hold prevalence within the data. A considerable amount of data already exist on the motivations, perceptions and social influences into the art of tattooing, this research merely exists to expand on this. Although it would appear tattooing is prevalent among the young and middle class women, and generally becoming accepted within society as a whole, the stigmatisation still exist. The research suggests perceptual biases towards women and tattoos and stigmatisation within the workplace appear to be prevalent in tattooed individuals. It would appear the main motivational aspect of tattooing seem to be ‘just wanting one’ and a form of self-identification and uniqueness. The research appears to fit with previous findings on tattoos. The social influences of the art of tattooing: An IPA approach With an influx of celebrities opting to accessorise with forms of body art that appear to influence; adolescence, young adults and middle class women to adorn tattoos, there has seen a rise in body modifications within western society (Tiggermann Golder, 2006; Swami Furnham, 2007; Sierra, Jillapalli Badrinarayanan; Wohlrab et al, 2007). The art of tattooing has become more socially acceptable thanks to an increase in media exposure of well-known faces adorning tattoos (Sierra et al, 2013). Originally tattoos were