The Magenta Cow

Crime scene: Person hit with pepperWitness A (abuse survivor): “Pepper was thrown as weapon” “Attacker used pepper to harm” “Pepper = instrument of violence” W(pepper in this context) = 10 (maximum threat)Witness B (chef): “Pepper was offered as food” “Maybe thrown playfully” “Pepper = gift of nutrition” W(pepper in this context) = 3 (positive/playful)Witness C (alien with no concept of peppers): “Unknown object was transferred” “Unclear significance” “No category for this interaction” W(pepper in this context) = 0 (no weight)Court asks: “What happened?”Answer: Depends on whose perception you accept All three saw “accurately” (for their frame) All three see different events The event “itself”: Physical: Object moved from A to B Period. But on planet of emotional beings: Event can never be “simply: object moved” Must be: Assault (A), Gift (B), or Unknown (C) Truth: InaccessibleWeighted truths: Three versions, all “real”