she's beautiful in every way
but if you hold her too long
she burns you

how urban living is like data compression.

In cityscapes, the ability to occupy a point in space that defies gravity is a form of vertical expansion that is afforded by architecture. It can be seen as the physical instantiation of a data compression technique.

People can be seen as bits of data that require the occupancy of space. The horizontal axis allows us to spread out, but becomes inefficient after a specific tipping point. When we begin to occupy the vertical axis, we can fit more data into a smaller area.

Similarly, when we furnish our homes we often try to make the best use of vertical space by using shelving that occupies the vertical access. This is all likely part of our ontogeny with dwelling in mountain caves. We realized there was some type of correlation between safety, efficiency and the vertical axis.

The next step in our ontogenetic relationship with the vertical axis is space colonization. The vertical axis is far more complex since its relationship with gravity is different. Much of this is a matter of understanding the physics of being able to escape the petri dish that gifted us with the minds to be able to escape it.

still

when i look into the mirror
sometimes for that split second
i don't know who is looking back at me

now illuminated
after finding a good angle,
i begin to speak my mind
and wonderful shapes exit my mouth

orbiting around your head
funneling
into your ears
you start to listen

my truest angles
eclipse
all of your
misconceptions of me

only when everything becomes still
can i stop looking for an answer