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Pentimento?
Oct. 22nd, 2004 05:12 amPainters sometimes change their mind about a feature in their work, and change it by painting over the top of it. Modern technology lets us see into the mind of the painter a little by using xray or other techniques to discover these hidden changes, which are called pentimenti.
Writers, of course, go through similar revision processes. Occasionally we get to see them when, as in the case of Tolkien or Joyce, their early manuscripts were preserved and later edited and published so that the evolution of a work can be actually traced.
In the relatively ephemeral environment of the LiveJournal, however, we don't often get to see these things. I just had a rare experience. Someone on my friends list posted a very rational and lucid item about US economics and politics and the way in which they interlink. During the time it took me to compose a comment, he apparently changed his mind and deleted his article (or set a privacy option that hid it from me, I suppose) so that when I hit post for my comment, I got an error message: "No such posting".
Now I know this is, at worst, a case of self-censorship. I hope he is only revising and will repost, because it was a good item. But we live in a time where government scrutiny of free speech is greatly increasing. I couldn't help thinking of Big Brother and worrying for a moment that another perceptive mind had been summarily silenced.
Writers, of course, go through similar revision processes. Occasionally we get to see them when, as in the case of Tolkien or Joyce, their early manuscripts were preserved and later edited and published so that the evolution of a work can be actually traced.
In the relatively ephemeral environment of the LiveJournal, however, we don't often get to see these things. I just had a rare experience. Someone on my friends list posted a very rational and lucid item about US economics and politics and the way in which they interlink. During the time it took me to compose a comment, he apparently changed his mind and deleted his article (or set a privacy option that hid it from me, I suppose) so that when I hit post for my comment, I got an error message: "No such posting".
Now I know this is, at worst, a case of self-censorship. I hope he is only revising and will repost, because it was a good item. But we live in a time where government scrutiny of free speech is greatly increasing. I couldn't help thinking of Big Brother and worrying for a moment that another perceptive mind had been summarily silenced.
