Illusion and Delusion: The Media and the Natural Scientist

The author argues that the world is a source of illusion upon which scientists and artists converge from different directions. Visual imagery provides a context within which to explore the apparent confrontation between science and the media which is here presented as based on the relationship between image and reality. This link generates the associated but distinct notions of sight, perception and conception, and forms the groundwork for the author’s argument centred on illusion and delusion. Alternative sensor systems to the eye are shown to have a significant influence on our image of the world, and it follows that image manipulations. (analysis, enhancement, distortion) have a tangible impact on perception. It thus becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish between objective and subjective worlds or between the underlying standards of scientist and artist. By recognizing that the reliance of sight on symbolism suggests that the visual model may well be an allusion, we take a step towards closing the gap between science and the visual media.