The glass begins the trick. A mirror seems to offer a verdict, not an image: a face held still by silvered backing, framed by familiar light, and returned with the authority of an eyewitness. Yet its answer is contingent. Tilt the surface, step nearer, change the lamp, and cheekbones, skin texture, and symmetry can all appear to shift.It commands belief. What the fairy tale supplies is an impossib...More