A (rather hastily developed) series of reactions to my editor’s recent blog post on the parable of the inkblot.
Origins of inkblots
Of course, we all know what inkblots are; unsightly excess ink pooling on precious pieces of paper. We are also relatively familiar with how they are made through various reasons, based on the type of pen. For example, when using a fountain or calligraphy pen, a single moment of hesitation or inaction can cause an inkblot. If the pen used to write is faulty, then it’s another inkblot.
Perception
Why notice the inkblot first? Only because it was a blank piece of paper; there’s nothing else that would define it except that inkblot. If that paper had something else written on it, it won’t be just a piece of paper; it would be identified as a document, a poem, an essay or even law. And even if there was an inkblot, that paper would still be identified in relation to what was written on it; albeit a damaged version of it, if the inkblot was big enough.
Remedy
Unfortunately, I cannot offer real solutions to eliminate inkblots (especially those big ones). While there might be several brands of rubber erasers for ink out there, we cannot completely remedy the damage made. As my teacher in my summer basic drawing class at Fine Arts once reprimanded us, every time we erase something we end up damaging the paper. Erase too much, and you end up making a tear in your paper.
Correction tape and fluids are another remedy, but they only work to cover up mistakes. A keen eye can easily spot these cover-ups. Tape and fluid also yellow or even crack and disintegrate with age.
And since we cannot completely eliminate that inkblot, we can create something out of it instead; everything from Rorschach tests to art.
