A Question of Resolution
In defining the word resolution one can look at the advances that have been made in technology. Resolution is the ability of a television or film image to reproduce fine detail.
Let’s look at the television over the years. First, there were the black and white TVs. They created an image that seemed clear to us growing up in the ’50s, even if it was small. But it was as it says, black and white.
Then came the color TV. Somewhat expensive at first and still gave a pretty good picture. As we developed things from tubes to transistors color screens became more defined as did the pictures they showed.
As big bulky TVs were phased out, soon came the flat LED and Plasma
screens that were in 720 or 1084 high definition. Pictures now became very clear, so buying larger TVs made more sense. And now there are Ultra HD OLED screens. Crystal clear images where you see everything as if you were observing it under a microscope.
Similar things happened with computer monitors that went from monochrome screens to RGB Color, to High definition, to Retina color screens and even more.
Too bad that all these improvements in resolutions, which allowed us to picture so much more clearly everything that is happening in the world, didn’t help us clearly see what is happening in reality.
Why is it in this world of anger, discordance, and strife we can all see the same things happening right in front of us, such as climate change, bigotry, abuse, inequality and all and yet not see clearly enough to act in a just and common way?
The definition of resolution in music is the progression of a dissonant tone or chord to a consonant tone or chord. Shouldn’t that be our goal? The concept of resolution is improved clarity. Not just how we see things, but how we understand them. As we’ve improved the resolution of screens and other technologies, let us improve our own resolution of thought and behavior. Let’s stop thinking only about ourselves, but of our future and generations to come.
Then we can sit back and watch those gigantic, super, ultra-high holographic screens and bask in the knowledge that what we are seeing is what we resolved to create – a better world. Now that’s a resolution I can look forward to.
