In art school, I learned that subjectivity is omnipresent. We would draw or paint, and then present the work for critique. We would then go about trashing one another’s work with zeal. There was no objective truth in art. If I brought in a small drawing some dysfunctional art chick would say, “It should be bigger.” If I brought in a red painting then some disgruntled art bro would say, “It should be green.” It didn’t matter if you brought in gold. Every man’s treasure is another art student’s opportunity to define it as a steaming cow pie.
This is the definition of the human condition. We experience the world through our unique lens. We can all have a million different reactions to the same thing. Eye Witness Testimony is not taken as gospel, because we are fallible. To ere is human. Objective reality is often illusory. When we interpret the world we are, in fact, interpreting it. There are many ways to digest the stimuli. There are also limitless ways to express or relay one’s interpretation.
It is said that there is a culture war occurring. The culture war encompasses a battle between left and right political ideology. This has classically been a cause of war in the modern age. The current culture war was ignited as candidate Clinton and candidate Trump began their debates. Now, we are in a tumultuous time as we see an ever-growing divide. We have a battle of ideas. More specifically it is a fight between people who want more state intervention or less of it. On yet another level, we are battling inward as we search for some objective truth.
I remember the first time I stepped onto the mats as a purple belt. I had been training martial arts since I was a kid. I signed up for a Jiu-Jitsu tournament to test myself. I was testing my subjective notion of how good my Jiu-Jitsu really was. I met my opponent on the mat for contest. We would see who was the better one. We put our grappling to the test. We had both been training for about the same amount of time. We were both about the same weight and age. So, we were equally matched. Jiu-Jitsu would win this contest. We would compete to see who knew more, who worked harder and who was better. I ended up choking him with his own collar. I had my hand raised. Subjectivity was not in question. I objectively won that contest. I had my hand raised proving I was the best Jiu-Jitsu player at that point in time.
There is a reason we love sport. Sport is not about subjectivity. Sport is about discovering an objective reality. We hate when a fight ends in decision. We want to see a person get choked out, knocked out and one fighter’s hand raised as undisputed victor. We know that our own subjective lens needs to be adjusted through the calibration of reality (a.k.a, a reality check). Reality, nature and the forces that be, are here to get us more in tune with the truth.
There is a reason we love art. Art is not about objectivity. Art is about discovering truth in a subjective way. We cannot predict what will be successful. There is no formula. It either has the “it” factor or it does not. We can also see lousy art being championed by the institution like the Emperor’s New Clothes. We can’t objectively define taste. We do try though, and that keeps the world interesting. Look at all of the movements of art, literature, film, fashion, dance and music. It’s a blessing we all have the subjectivity to move the benchmark. The world would be dull if we didn’t have unique lenses.
We are at a crux between the objective and subjective world. It’s a battle between dichotomies. We see progressives damning, any or all, traditional models; traditional models got us here through adversity to the present. We see a people getting subjective articles from new papers; they read them as objective. We see science that was understood, and now is reexamined without proper process; we make drastic decisions based on false evidence or lack thereof. We are bombarded with experts who are retuning our lenses. This is a fundamental problem of perception. To ere is human (it’s worth repeating). We need to make sure that we are able to see who is writing the rules. The writers, artists, politicians, institutions and the status quo all have a hand in crafting the rules of objective reality. I would also argue that objective reality is, whether we exist or not. We are not the end all be all. The cosmos continue on without us, and reality stands. We are given the gift/curse of consciousness and participate by default. I’m not saying to adhere to the rules or break them. My point is that we have a hand in becoming aware. We can help curb our own error if we engage in the world with humility.
I present my drawing and writing to the world with both cheers and sneers. I put my body on the line with worthy adversaries to see if I am good enough. I read a variety of papers, listen to a variety of voices and have interesting friends so I recalibrate. We can’t live fully in the echo chamber. We can’t wade through truth when we are swimming in lies. So, who writes the rules? We all write the rules. More importantly though, we aspire to write the rules based on objective truth. We tell our kids not to stick a fork in the light socket; we ask our folks to get off our back; we command people to pick up their dogs’ droppings. We have an objective rationale for these rules. You can follow rules or break them. You can even write your own rules, but you better make sure you have a healthy respect for the objective world when you do so.