Almost eight years ago - on July 22, 2008 - Jonathan posted a set of paired images which I'll feature as the "frontispiece" of this thread. I'll explain why, and why I started the thread, in subsequent posts.
I go off on a naive Rebay tangent at the Microcosm thread. I paste it here since Ellen has narrowed the focus and opened doors to discussion. Thanks, Ellen, enjoy your European intensive, and we will meet you back here when your on-return chores are done. I predict topic drift and a tendency to ride off in all directions.
I can read Jonathan's argument more charitably. He thinks there are people with "normal aesthetic and visual/observational capacities." There are other people with le