An element [in]/[not in] a set

Abstract

I automatically read the customer’s minutest movements and gaze, and my body acts reflexively in response. My ears and eyes are important sensors to catch their every move and desire. Taking the utmost care not to cause the customer any discomfort by observing him or her too closely, I swiftly move my hands according to whatever signals I pick up.“Your receipt, sir. Thank you for your custom!” “Thanks,” he says, taking his receipt and leaving.1 Imagine a jellyfish waltzing in a library while thinking about quantum mechanics.2 Politicians in our times feed their cliches to television, where even those who wish to disagree repeat them. Television purports to challenge political language by conveying images, but the succession from one frame to another can hinder a sense of resolution. Everything happens fast, but nothing actually happens. Each story on televised news is “breaking” until it is displaced by the next one. So we are hit by wave upon wave but never see the ocean. 3 Non-productive consumption” is just as important in human activity as productive consumption.4 1 From Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata 2 From cognitive scientist Lera Boroditsky’s TED Talk 3 From On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder 4 From Georges Bataille