In a series of articles I’ve touched on how discoverability is an act of agency and why cultural sovereignty is more urgent than ever in a world where instability is wielded as a tool to destabilize world order.
But to truly understand what’s at stake, we need to tear a page from wisdom that has guided us for more than two millennia.
Yes, I’m asking everyone to reach back to Philosophy 101. Please don’t roll your eyes — we’re diving into Plato and Aristotle, and I promise it matters. Stick with me and I’ll show you why.
The Cave We’re Living In
You’ve probably heard Plato’s Allegory of the Cave — a group of people live their entire lives chained in darkness, watching shadows on a wall, believing it’s reality. The real world is just outside, but they never see it. Why would they question the only world they’ve ever known?
Sound familiar?
We think we’re seeing the full picture, but we’re really just watching projections — fragments of reality, shaped by unseen hands. The internet isn’t an open window; it’s a curated feed, designed to keep us engaged, not informed.
And the invisible force shaping what rises, what sinks, and what vanishes entirely? Metadata.
Metadata as Digital Mimesis
Plato warned that people mistake shadows for reality. Aristotle, on the other hand, saw mimesis (not just imitation, but the structuring of reality itself) as how we make sense of the world. In Poetics, he argued that stories don’t just reflect reality — they shape how we interpret it.
Metadata is digital mimesis. It doesn’t just describe content — it structures meaning, deciding what connects and what disappears. It tells search engines what links to what, how information is ranked, and which narratives emerge. A film isn’t just a film — it’s metadata that links it to actors, genres, themes, and reviews. A historical event? It’s metadata that decides how — or if — it appears in digital archives.
Aristotle also gave us catharsis — the emotional release that comes from a well-structured story. This is why I love King Lear, why Akira Kurosawa’s 1985 film Ran still hits hard, and why Star Wars resonates across generations. These stories make sense of chaos, even when that sense is painful.
But what happens when mimesis exists without catharsis?
When reality is structured but not processed? When metadata connects, but meaning is missing?
We get simulation without resolution — an endless stream of fragmented content that demands reaction but denies closure. The internet becomes a machine that imitates reality but never helps us make sense of it.
In a digital world shaped by broken metadata, catharsis becomes impossible.
Instead of a coherent narrative, we get algorithmically curated noise — designed for engagement, not understanding. Information is disconnected, history is lost, and meaning erodes.
Metadata is supposed to help structure knowledge. But when platforms prioritize attention for profit, catharsis isn’t just lost — it’s replaced with perpetual noise.
When Meaning Breaks, Disinformation Wins
When metadata is broken, meaning fractures. Instead of structured knowledge, we get a flood of disconnected facts, half-truths, and algorithmically amplified noise.
And when meaning breaks down, disinformation fills the void.
We see it every day — sensational, emotionally charged falsehoods outpacing nuanced truth. Why? Because the systems deciding what we see are wired for engagement, not accuracy.
Instead of structuring meaning, metadata is missing, warped, or weaponized.
The result? People aren’t just misinformed — they are caught in an illusion of knowing.
And when the Illusion Takes Hold?
It doesn’t just mislead — it weakens us.
Information should help us understand. But without structured metadata, it becomes a weapon — shaping perception, fuelling outrage, and reinforcing whatever narrative is most profitable or politically useful.
People searching for clarity end up trapped in echo chambers, believing they are informed while actually being manipulated.
Truth doesn’t just disappear — it gets replaced. And that makes people easier to control.
Who Controls the Shadows?
The reality we see online isn’t organic. The way information surfaces, how histories are told, and which voices get heard aren’t accidents. They result from deliberate choices made by a small group of companies that control the metadata infrastructure shaping our digital world.
But here’s the real trap: we built the system that keeps us chained.
And the worst part? We knew better.
For more than 2000 years, we have understood the importance of mimesis and catharsis. Aristotle laid it out — meaning isn’t just about consuming information; it’s about structure, resolution, and understanding.
But somewhere along the way, as we built the internet, we forgot to pay attention.
Instead of designing systems that support meaning-making, we built ones optimized for speed, scale, and profit. Instead of catharsis, we got infinite scrolling. Instead of structured knowledge, we got algorithmic chaos.
We convinced ourselves that better algorithms, smarter AI, and infinite feeds could fix it.
But no matter how sleek the screen, we’re still staring at shadows.
Because the problem isn’t the projection — it’s the cave.
Today’s digital cave isn’t built for understanding; it’s built for engagement. Algorithms prioritize what keeps us scrolling, not what helps us see clearly. Metadata — the infrastructure of meaning — has been twisted to serve the system, not the seeker.
Until we step outside — until we take control of the metadata shaping our reality — we’re just rearranging the furniture in a prison of our own making.
Stepping Into the Light
This isn’t just a technical issue — it’s a crisis of meaning.
When metadata fails, it’s not just information that gets lost. It’s our ability to make sense of the world.
And if we lose that, what’s left?
We risk living in a world where reality is whatever the most powerful systems decide it should be. A world where knowledge is fragmented, manipulated, or erased, leaving us in an endless loop of engagement, but never understanding.
And without understanding, all we’re left with are baser emotions — outrage, fear, confusion.
No way to step back.
No way to see the bigger picture.
No way to transcend.
No ability to individuate.
No ability to make meaning for ourselves.
Because understanding requires structure. It requires an infrastructure that supports meaning-making, connects ideas, and allows narratives to cohere.
This is mimesis. Not just the representation of reality, but the structuring of it.
And when the infrastructure of meaning collapses — when metadata is broken or controlled for profit — what we get isn’t just chaos.
It’s a world where understanding itself unravels.
There’s no going back — we let the cat out of the bag.
Now, we either shape the digital infrastructure of meaning, or we let others cement it for us.
Metadata is a leverage point. If we want to take back control of how culture and knowledge are represented online, we have to start here.
What’s at stake — our ability to trust what we see, connect meaningfully with knowledge, and break free before shadows become the only reality left.
This is Just the Beginning
This is the conversation I want to keep having.
In the next article, I’ll dig into why metadata is one of the highest-impact leverage points we have — and what we can do about it.
If this resonates with you, let’s talk. Where is metadata working? Where is it failing? And more importantly — what are we going to do about it?
