english,

Literary: Mary

10/27/2017 08:33:00 PM Media Center 0 Comments

Mary was a scientist
Living in her little black and white room
She knew everything there ever was
From the first ray of light to our impending doom

Mary knew everything
What, who, where, when, why, how
She knew every research ever made
All about the past, the future and the now

All she has in her little room
Is her one black and white computer
Telling her everything she needs to know
All information known from then and forever

Now, Mary knew one thing in particular
She knew everything about colors
How many neurons vibrate, jump and go
She knew of red and blue and yellow

Mary knows the pigment composition
Of every color ever made
But Mary has never seen
One color on her screen

One day, her computer turned itself off
And the screen went all black
Mary tried to fix it
But she couldn’t bring the picture back

Then it buzzed
And showed a single picture on the screen
On a blue background was a red apple
With leaves colored green

Now the question is this:
Does Mary know something new?
Since she has never seen color
What does this picture do?

To Mary who has only known black and white
But knows everything happening in the brain
Does Mary already know the sensation
Of seeing red and blue and green?

Not everything could be represented by formulas
Or letters or numbers themselves
So, Mary wouldn’t know what it truly feels like
Until she has seen the colors herself