an analogy

Remember the progressive jpegs from the Netscape days? Over a slow (and I'm refering to speeds in the 28.8 kbs era) internet link, a progressive jpeg is displayed in stages, starting with a low resolution version of the image. Subsequent scans replace it with higher resolution versions (I ought to post an example here). If we could smoothen the transition, it would resemble the process of focussing an image through a camera lens. No nostalgia here... thanks to improved connection speeds, baseline jpegs (those that display top-to-bottom) download pretty fast anyway, eliminating the need to preview the image in stages at lower resolutions. I don't see many progressive jpegs on webpages these days.

Pardon the geekiness, but I thought this could be another (probably unoriginal) analogy of how we perceive our friends and acquaintances. So we meet someone for the first time, and ask for the first order detail. The image is a blur and we see just the most general patterns. The picture clarifies as we get to know the person. The underlying complexity get revealed. The blobs we see here and there resolve into recognisable, and possibly unrecognisable, shapes and objects. The broad solid primary color regions turn into subtle shades. First impressions change, and then we see the mushed up, the beautiful and the ugly with unmistakable clarity.

Friends of mine don't all see the same image. Most who know me stop at the level 2 scan -- the next level of resolution above the rudimentary. A handful see things a few levels deeper. It depends as much on the extent of interaction as personality compatibility and worldview. Some parts go unnoticed by most. At worst, they don't resemble anything and appear to blend into the background. I don't think anyone sees the full resolution, perhaps not even myself.

Some acquaintances think of me rather positively -- their first impressions are not usually balanced. Perhaps it's the way I look or dress. If they get a bit more time, they'll ask the obligatory get-to-know-your-background questions, where revealing your past affiliations with institutions is almost unavoidable, at least in this corner of the world. Names of mutual acquaintances may surface, with no consequence, and then they size you up and fit you into preconceived mental baskets with their friends of your ilk.

Friends get shocked when I do say or do things they deem uncharacteristic of me. Suddenly it doesn't seem so predictable anymore. The image resolves and reveals, and they glimpse the dissonances previously invisible...