Monday, May 11, 2009

Statement of Intent

Ozymandias is a figure in Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem, Ozymandias. He represents at once the height of human arrogance and folly, as well as the truth of his inevitable demise. When Ozymandias' gazed into his mirror he did not merely see his physical image; he saw "the King of Kings". His mirror could never fail to show him the truth, yet he could never see it. How is this possible?

We are a dual creature, both instinctual and intellectual. When instincts inform our opinion we will only see what we want to see. The intellect is a curious journeyman, a relentless effort to peek beyond the boundaries of its current understanding. The metaphor of Ozymandias' mirror is that our assumptions about the world diminish our capacity to see it.

The intent of this blog is to explore the theme of Ozymandias' mirror, that the world is a marvelous and magnificent place but we are constantly limited by our assumptions of it. There are no specific topics that I wish to focus on, but exploring and applying economic theory in history and current events, philosophy, and sharing new and interesting art or music is a good start. I encourage anyone to comment and ask questions. That being said, anything goes really and I hope you enjoy the content.


-Rafi

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