Ekphrastic 7

Did you know that a child can only begin to recognize themselves in a mirror when they're 18 - 24 months old?

Do you know how we know this?

There's a test. There's always a test. These scientists placed a dot on a baby's brow. If the baby looks in the mirror and reaches for their forehead, that means it can recognize itself. That it didn't fail the test.

In the video, one of the infants sees someone in the mirror and a huge gummy grin arcs over his chubby face. He waddles towards them and says, "Hi!" And he says it with so much sweetness that I swear I had a cavity after watching it.

When do we begin to surveil ourselves instead of recognizing ourselves? I need a number, and I need it in months, and I need to wrinkle time and reach through the mirror when 17-month-old me waddles towards it.

When she says, "Hi!"

I'll say, "Hi!"

I'll preserve the sweetness of that illusion, preserve her from the panopticon, the technological Camazotz that calls to her, so she will sacrifice herself to it.

If you ask me (this me or the 18-month-old me?), that infant that failed the test didn't fail at all.