Even if the Rorschach ink blot pattern hadn't been so prominently featured in the movie adaption of Watchmen, I'm sure the general public would be pretty familiar with the basic idea behind the Rorschach test: the interpretation of a fairly ambiguous black splotch under the assessment of a psychologist, who uses the patient's response to draw some conclusions about their personality and emotional wellness. Apparently it's still widely taught and applied; 80% of clinical psychologists engaged in 'assessment services' in the U.S. make use of the test, according to wiki.
I can't remember the first time I ever saw or heard about the test, but I'm pretty sure it holds a place of honor in cartoon comedy's 'war chest'; whenever a character wound up in getting sent to an archetypal Freudian therapist(who often enough seemed to be Freud himself), the ink blot cards made their appearance and served as a jumping off point for zaniness. The phrase that I've always associated with the whole routine is 'Tell me what you see.'
So the other day, I was signing up for something online and was asked to complete one of those ubiquitous word verification tests to prove my humanity. Normally there's nothing exceptional or interesting about that(though I'm beginning to suspect the letters of the test themselves are transcribed by unlettered hobos stabled for the common use of all major internet businesses, given the often illegible jumble of letters and lines I end up having to pick apart), but the test prompt itself caught my eye on account of it's choice of words: 'Type what you see in the box'.
...What I see, eh?
So if I see 2zx009 as an incentive to murder clowns and real estate brokers, should I type that in? Am I going to get a call from someone about that? If the font and lettering remind me of cold, dystopian metropolis in outline, do I still get to sign up for the...International society of...Rollercoster...saboteurs monthly newsletter? Or...G-mail?
What do you see?
P.S. I don't know what it says about me, but every single Rorschach ink blot reminds me of Mothra. Take from that what you will. =P
If I took one of those, I would tell them I see a splotch of ink on a card held by a psychiatrist , worst of all my mortal enemies. Then I would twitch and make a growling sound.
ReplyDeleteDidn't stop me from signing up for Gmail though. :p
P.S. If it makes you feel any better I see Mothra everywhere.... *twitch*
I commented, I swear. It was eaten by the internets. I believe it had something to do with aliens infiltrating the uterus. I don't really recall the other details, but perhaps that's for the best.
ReplyDelete-M