We live in a prism. Information enters as white light—pure, chaotic, raw—and is refracted by the medium of the interface into the spectrum of narrative. We do not see the world; we see the refraction patterns on the wall of the cave.
The observer effect is no longer quantum theory; it is marketing strategy. The act of measuring the user changes the user. The algorithm doesn't predict what you want; it trains you to want what it can predict. We are bending towards the model.
Notice the distortion. When a physical event enters the digital medium, it changes speed. It changes direction. A riot becomes a meme. A tragedy becomes a statistic. A revolution becomes a hashtag. The medium has a refractive index, and it is not neutral.
To see clearly, one must understand the optics. You must calculate the angle of incidence. Who owns the glass? What is the curvature of the lens? Is the distortion intentional, or is it a byproduct of the compression?
We are not looking at reality. We are looking at a rendering. And like any rendering, it has artifacts. Glitches. Places where the geometry fails. That is where the truth hides. In the glitches.
Optics Calibrated