Sharon: Discussion / Response on readings

Dialectic Materialism at the gates:

I’m intrigued by the notion of the ‘parallax gap’ – which Zizek conceptually exemplifies with a moebius strip – the same object with two opposite sides between which ‘no synthesis or mediation is possible’.

To me I think this notion of the ‘parallax gap’ expands the Hegelian concept of the dialectic mediation of the ‘thesis’ and ‘antithesis’ into a ‘higher synthesis’. The gap itself is caused by the ‘object’ (or any matter of concern) because without the object(s) there would not be such discrepancy in perception. Hence this ‘gap’ is caused by the object but also part of it.

The dialectic resolution of conflicts/contradictions (i.e. thesis and antithesis) will achieve a synthesis. But it is not a process of reduction into one conclusion as such, because this ‘synthesis will in its turn generate new internal contradictions, and then a further resolution. The process will cease only with the end of history.’

I think Zizek’s ‘parallax view’, asserts that ultimately, that one matter is never seen or interpreted from a singular perspective but from multiplicity of perspectives. This gap is thus, to me, the synthesis of the discrepancies and paradoxes. Within the tension of this ‘gap’, exists also the ‘truth’ in its multiple forms or better put, in becoming.

“The point is not to overcome the gap that separates thought from being, but to conceive it in its becoming.” - Kierkegaard

In expansion of my research I came across the employment of 'parallax' in other disciplines:

1. In science: Parallax Error (optics) refers to the error in reading an instrument employing a scale and pointer because the observer's eye and pointer are not in a line perpendicular to the plane of the scale.

2. In the game/animation realm:

Parallax mapping >> is a technique for real-time approximation of displacement mapping, sometimes called "virtual displacement mapping." Each pixel's texture coordinates are adjusted at render-time to create an illusion of depth as the viewer's eye moves across a scene.

http://wiki.polycount.net/Parallax_Map

Parallax mapping is implemented by displacing the texture coordinates at a point on the rendered polygon by a function of the view angle in tangent space (the angle relative to the surface normal) and the value of the height map at that point. At steeper view-angles, the texture coordinates are displaced more, giving the illusion of depth due to parallax effects as the view changes.

Parallax scrolling >> a scrolling technique used in video game design – in which the background images are moved by the camera at a pace slower than foreground to create the illusion of depth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3wq67W3fFg&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo%2Egoogle%2Ecom%2Fvideosearch%3Fhl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den%2Dus%26q%3Dparallax%2Bscrolling%26um%3D1%26ie%3DUTF%2D8%26ei%3Dgu%2DZSs3XH5LOsQPclpSRAg%26s&feature=player_embedded#t=32

In conclusion: I am very interested in this idea of discrepancies or ‘gaps’ being part of, as well as enabling a greater synthesis or understanding of matter.