A Losers Guide to Photography: The Dilemma of the Omniscient King

https://publicdomainvectors.org/en/free-clipart/Black-and-white-drawing-of-a-king/35114.html

Definitions

Before I get into "The Dilemma of the Omniscient King" I want to first define the vernacular used. 

What is a Dilemma?

Merriam-Webster defines a 'dilemma' as "a problem involving a difficult choice". This will be represented as the illusion in our Dilemma. 

What is Omniscient?

Merriam-Webster defines 'omniscient' as "possessed of universal or complete knowledge". The omniscient being in our parable is the all-knowing king. 


The Dilemma...

This is the story of The Dilemma of the Omniscient King. There was once an all-knowing king. This king believed he had complete knowledge of the workings of his universe. Of course, having complete knowledge of everything requires the king to be well rested. Knowing everything all at once is exhausting and rather draining. The king requires sleep. After a long period of time, the king awakens from his slumber like he has done many times throughout the infinite time of his universe. This time the king felt something different. Something about his universe didn't feel right. The king knew everything in his universe so this feeling was of no concern to the king. One day, while exploring his infinite universe over an infinite amount of time, the king suddenly notices something. The king paused. The king took a glance out of the corner of his eye and noticed something that must have been an illusion. The king dismissed the illusion as a passing perceptual artifact while moving through space. And so the king continued his journey. After passing many millennia and light years, the king noticed something out of the corner of his eye again. The king thought, "this illusion has happened twice. I have seen this many millennia ago and I dismissed it without concern. And yet, the illusion is still here". The king stopped, turned and fixated his eyes upon the illusion. The king thought, "this is magnificently impossible. Nothing in my universe is unknown to me. Yet, this illusion is beyond my knowledge". The king paused and contemplated about what to do with this new illusion. 

The question to be asked is, what will the kings reaction to illusion be?


Before you continue to read further into my own thoughts, please try to answer this question for yourself. This is a thought exercise. There is no right or wrong answer. You, as the reader, must decide what action the king will take. 


My Thoughts...

I believe the king has three different paths he could take:
  1. Deny the existence of the illusion (the unknown)
  2. Give up completely and crumble with anxiety
  3. Be curious and learn

We can identify these three types of answers into different categories:
  1. The Arrogant King
  2. The Anxious King
  3. The Curious King
The Arrogant King will most likely deny the existence of the illusion and continue his journey through time and space denying the possibility of there every being an unknown illusion. For it's impossible for there to be any unknown variable to the king. 

The Anxious King will most likely accept the reality that he is no longer omniscient. The king is caught between two worlds of truth. One where he knows everything and one where there is the possibility of him knowing nothing. And therefore, the king crumbles with anxiety trying to cope with the idea of the unknown. 

The Curious King is... quite curious. The Curious King has an insatiable desire to learn about the unknown. I believe there are two other paths the Curious King can take - fail or give up. The Curious King will fail in his pursuit to understand the illusion. So instead of giving up, which is still a possibility, the Curious King is building up a wealth of knowledge of what the illusion isn't. There is the possibility the Curious King doesn't know where to start and so, without knowing where to begin, the king turns in to the Anxious King. And so the Curious King fails to learn about the unknown due to his inability to start. 


Personal Example

I think a lot of people can relate to the King. I think most people will notice themselves in one or maybe two of the kings position(s). I struggle with creativity. My mind works very linearly and I have a difficult time thinking of creative ideas. Not that linear thinking people can't be creative, but for me, it seems creativity is an uphill battle. You could say I am creatively stupid. For me, this is a struggle of my own self-awareness. I am stuck in a perpetual stupid state; I can never not be creatively stupid. It's agonizing and it has crippled me with self-destructive anxiety. I have given up on my passion many times. This has left me in a state of non-doing. Where doing becomes a chore/agonizing due to the knowledge of being perpetually creatively stupid. 

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