Stores sell electric candles that flicker. They never get smaller, but you have to supply batteries. Are we fooled? No, we recognize them immediately as artificial candles. Why use them? Given the trouble of dripping wax, the potential for fires and smoke, and the necessity to replace ephemeral wax, some people obviously prefer the convenience and safety of imitations. We’re good at pretending. “What a lovely table setting. I like the romantic flickering of the artificial candle. It looks so real.”
Edison once said that because of the electric light only rich people would have candles. That was an insight with broad implications throughout modern society. Candles, the mainstay of nighttime lighting for centuries, have become largely ornamental or sacramental. Unless there’s a blackout in your neighborhood, a birthday cake, or some kind of ritual, you don’t need candles. They are an addendum to and an integral part of ambience. And now you can combine pre-Edison technology with post-Edison technology. Wouldn’t Edison be amazed?
Think of how much of our technology is devoted to artificially capturing the sense of “the real.” Vinyl that looks like leather. Composite flooring that looks like solid wood. Artificial grass and decorative plastic plants. Synthesized meal replacements and flavors. “Hey! This really does taste like chicken! Try some.”
Lighting has come full circle, and so have we. We can have any style of electric light throwing off any number of lumens, and yet some of us choose to have one that looks like a candle and that throws off approximately the same amount of flickering light as the thing it imitates. The Past and the Present have joined to produce an offspring, a pleasing child who seems to be finding its way between darkness and light.
We are all children of Past and Present, all finding our flickering way between darkness and light. Sometimes we shun the full light of the present to rest in a light no brighter than an unsteady candle flame, unsure of whether we want darkness or light. Look around. You’ll see flickering everywhere. You’ll see the unsteady nature of human existence. And when the lumens increase, you’ll get a brief glimpse of illuminated paths you might take. But beware. In the flickering you’ll take one step or two under full illumination and another one or two in uncertainty and darkness.
It takes both assumption and daring to walk a path by modern candlelight.
Edison once said that because of the electric light only rich people would have candles. That was an insight with broad implications throughout modern society. Candles, the mainstay of nighttime lighting for centuries, have become largely ornamental or sacramental. Unless there’s a blackout in your neighborhood, a birthday cake, or some kind of ritual, you don’t need candles. They are an addendum to and an integral part of ambience. And now you can combine pre-Edison technology with post-Edison technology. Wouldn’t Edison be amazed?
Think of how much of our technology is devoted to artificially capturing the sense of “the real.” Vinyl that looks like leather. Composite flooring that looks like solid wood. Artificial grass and decorative plastic plants. Synthesized meal replacements and flavors. “Hey! This really does taste like chicken! Try some.”
Lighting has come full circle, and so have we. We can have any style of electric light throwing off any number of lumens, and yet some of us choose to have one that looks like a candle and that throws off approximately the same amount of flickering light as the thing it imitates. The Past and the Present have joined to produce an offspring, a pleasing child who seems to be finding its way between darkness and light.
We are all children of Past and Present, all finding our flickering way between darkness and light. Sometimes we shun the full light of the present to rest in a light no brighter than an unsteady candle flame, unsure of whether we want darkness or light. Look around. You’ll see flickering everywhere. You’ll see the unsteady nature of human existence. And when the lumens increase, you’ll get a brief glimpse of illuminated paths you might take. But beware. In the flickering you’ll take one step or two under full illumination and another one or two in uncertainty and darkness.
It takes both assumption and daring to walk a path by modern candlelight.
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