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https://theconversation.com/in-doppelganger-naomi-klein-says-the-world-is-broken-conspiracy-theorists-get-the-facts-wrong-but-often-get-the-feelings-right-209990>
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Review: Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World – Naomi Klein (Allen
Lane)
Idly googling myself some years ago, I came upon an unusually glowing reference
to one of my academic papers. “Masterpiece is an overused word,” the reviewer
wrote, “but this Proustian evocation is indeed a masterpiece.”
Something was amiss. My paper was good, but not
that good. And there was
nothing particularly Proustian about it either. Whatever exquisite sensibility
I might possess was well hidden beneath a scholarly armour of logic, evidence
and jargon.
Reading further resolved the puzzle. “Nicky Haslam has known everyone from
Greta Garbo to Cole Porter to the Royal Family.” Curses! I had been confused
with my namesake, the famous British interior designer and scourge of
vulgarity, and my paper with one of his books.
The experience of being confused with someone else is probably universal. Names
and appearances are fallible markers of personal identity, especially as
populations grow and we become exposed to a dizzying multitude of other people.
These confusions are usually trivial and droll, but sometimes they become
sinister and destabilising. The idea that we have a double, someone who treads
on the toes of our uniqueness, perhaps deliberately, can create deep anxieties
and resentments."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
