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title: Of Geller

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# Of Geller
<span style="color:gray">By Imoh Ussenudoh October 2nd, 2022 </span>

<span style="color:">Geller's unfettered analysis of infinity is just as convoluted as the theme itself - with treacherous twists and  turns that culminate in an endless cyclical order. He sets forth the argument that infinity is somewhat of an abstraction, suggesting that when we are challenged with such a vast subject, we are confronted with a blank canvas upon which the first ink dot triggers an endless continuum of ideological musings. The quest is less about finding answers to disturbing mathematical equations nor solving mind-bending questions of the cosmos. Rather, it is the **sum of our experiences** as we travel through this immersive vacuum of space, time, and everything else besides.
    
Interestingly, Geller's focus isn't about the morale of the story nor its characters. Rather, he ponders the vast world Piranesi traverses, extracting this single element to make his case. The same notion is echoed by Wilson (2020)"Piranesi’s work seems to gesture towards the infinite, the edges of structures and the borders of the etchings themselves letting our imagination run on wildly, rather than offering any visible end-point. They are infinite interiors." 

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<img src="https://i.imgur.com/vL0dMi8.jpg" width=32%>   <img src="https://i.imgur.com/soYfjmQ.jpg" width=32%>   <img src="https://i.imgur.com/kg23ZjL.jpg" width=31%>

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Then there is Jorge Luis Borges' narrative, *The Library of Babel* which, similar to Piranesi, conceives of a universe in the form of a vast library of endless chambers. The common theme here being of infinite worlds. There is a close parallel to the Minecraft gamer experience: "Theoretically, Minecraft worlds can extend **30 million blocks** in each direction from the spawn point, but most computers can't render worlds that large"(Wells, 2022). Would it then be reasonable to assume that our perception of infinity derives from our finiteness in so far as the most advanced processor lacks the capacity to contain Minecraft?

Geller's inquiry raises questions about rationality or even as far as Eintein's complex theory of relativity in that we try to compress phenomena into abstract algorithms just to make sense of what, admittedly, transcends our human minds. It may well be a safe haven - if only for our sanity -  that we can reduce such a vast subject to a simple ideological construct. Perhaps, at this level, we can explore, theorise, and create something more relatable, something useful. For me, that could mean using the instrument of game design to deconstruct perceptions of cultural myths which form the basis of many belief systems. "As traditional stories that help define the norms of a particular society, myths serve an important cultural role. This is especially true in the United States, a society whose national identity is heavily steeped in mythologies that have over time been constructed to serve a certain purpose" (Samuel, n.d.)  The challenge therefore assumes that cultural identity is stereotypically set up as a social continuum constantly evolving yet wielding enormous power over us.

But what happens if, like Geller, we shifted the focus from the characters; in this case, people, to bigger questions about **why culture should exist at all?** 

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**References**

Wilson, Ewan. 2020. Remenber Piranesi: [online]Exploring Video Games'Infinite Hall. [Accessed on 30 September 2020] https://www.fanbyte.com/games/features/remember-piranesi-exploring-video-games-infinite-halls/

Wells, R.E. 2022. How Big is a Minecraft World? *Are Minecraft Worlds Infinite?* [online] [Accessed on 28 September] https://www.lifewire.com/how-big-is-a-minecraft-world-5212822

Samuel, L.R. 2019. 10 Myths that Shape how Americans think and Act. Myths guide how Americans perceive the world and influence our every lives. [online] [Accessed on 30 September 2020] https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/psychology-yesterday/201912/10-myths-shape-how-americans-think-and-act





