By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 02/06/2026Until recently, we weren't accustomed to encountering coherent strings of words or polished images that had no intender, so we *imputed* the existence of that intender to them. 13/ 1342
By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 02/06/2026We did what we always do when we encounter a work of art: we tried to mentally materialize a facsimile of the feeling the artist experienced while creating the work. 14/ 1231
By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 02/06/2026Because the intention of these works was so dilute, we ended up *hallucinating* an intent. We made up an imaginary artist who meant something by every choice in the work, and experienced an emotional affect that we ourselves had created out of (nearly) whole cloth. 15/ 3353
