The Uncertainty Principle at Work?

Of all of the many things I am not qualified to discuss, Quantum Mechanics rates pretty high, but I believe it was Werner "Mac" Heisenberg who suggested that the act of observing a phenomenon also influenced that phenomenon. Not too long ago, we were discussing MacLeay's HIGHLANDERS and the general idea that they posed in their best finery.

It would be a good and joyful thing indeed, to see random "candid" photographs of contemporary Scots wearing Traditional Civilian Highland Dress, perhaps with helpful captions explaining just what activity had caused them to don the kilt and footnotes to parse and delineate the finer aspects. But I am afraid such photos would still be influenced by the presence of the camera and the implication that something important was being captured. Such is the documentarian's burden. If you doubt me, give a glance to TAKE IVY, a Japanese photo book about the way men dressed at Eastern US colleges in the early 1960s.

The problem is this: If you were to manage some of those candid shots ( and not run afoul of Rule 4) what would you have? They might not be particularly eye-catching or picturesque, or necessarily interesting to a general audience. They would make for pretty poor travel posters or shortbread tin illustrations. They would be useful for our discussion, but maybe not for much else.

A couple of analogies, if you will: Whenever you see a movie set in the 1950s era United States, (but actually filmed later) you are likely to see certain cars- often a turquoise 57 Bel Air or Thunderbird. Those cars are popular remnants of that time, but chances are, your ancestors who were living in the US at the time drove a cream colored Dodge or a brown Oldsmobile- or a navy blue Buick. But collectors ( and movie art directors) do not get excited much about those average cars. And the shortbread tin folk do not get excited about their kilted equivalent.

Another angle: Let's say you were taken to the zoo. All alone in one cage is a crocodile- he has a torn lip, three broken teeth, and is missing much of his tail. Can you be certain that all crocodiles in the wild look like him? Chances are, you will end up with a more representative idea about, say, porcupines or raccoons if the zoo shows you an exhibit with a half dozen or more animals. That is, you are better able to judge and discern what is typical of the McOnions and what is merely typical of Alisdair McOnion. But even so, you are limited to what the McOnions look like when they are placed in a cage.

I like seeing pictures of Dukes and Chiefs. I like seeing historical wedding photos and christenings of both children and boats. I like seeing parades and reels. Like most tourists, I did not go to enough private parties when I visited Scotland to form an opinion of how the average Scot dresses for a bite of dinner with the in-laws or Erotic Scrabble with the New People Down the street. I have to depend on my friends here for that knowledge.

Thanks to the diligence and generosity of many people, this thread shows a little more about THCD- and tells even more than it shows. With any luck, CMcG will be doing the

FIVE HUNDREDTH POST -LION DANCE very soon.