one way on a (supposedly) two way street

ever wondered how one way mirrors work? (sometimes, one way mirrors are actually called 'two way' mirrors. haha. weird. go figure) well, according to this article that i read, there's really no such thing as a totally one-way mirror. this from wikipedia:

A two-way mirror, also sometimes referred to as a one-way mirror or one-way glass, reflects some percentage of the light and lets some other percentage pass. It is a sheet of glass coated with a layer of metal only a few dozen atoms thick, allowing some of the light through the surface (from both sides). It is used between a dark room and a brightly lit room. People on the brightly lit side see their own reflection — it looks like a normal mirror. People on the dark side see through it — it looks like a transparent window. It may be used to observe criminal suspects or customers. The same type of mirror, when used in an optical instrument, is called a half-silvered mirror or beam splitter. Its purpose is to split a beam of light so that half passes straight through, while the other half is reflected — this is useful for interferometry. The reality television program Big Brother makes extensive use of two-way mirrors throughout its set to allow cameramen in special black hallways to use movable cameras to videotape contestants without their coming in contact with the workers.

Contrary to popular belief, passive one-way mirrors that operate directionally between equally lit rooms do not exist. The laws of physics do not allow for real, passive one-way mirrors or windows (ones that do not need external energy); if such a device were possible, one could break the second law of thermodynamics and make energy flow from a cold object to a hot one, by placing such a mirror between them. One-way windows can be made to work with polarized light, however, without violating the second law.

er. right. hahaha. anyway, isn't it odd how much trust we put in our senses? we think that what we see is real.. what we hear is true.. what we feel is unquestionable. more often than not, though, reality is best described not by our senses, but by (sometimes) incomprehensible laws - of nature, of science, of god.

take, for example, the reciprocity of giving. logic would dictate that too much generosity is bound to make one broke. the truly giving person, of course, feels that dent in his budget each time he helps someone financially or offers tithes to the church. but the old saying is true.. it is better to give than to receive because by experience, really.. you reap what you sow. and it is true - generosity begets generosity.

at least, it should.

but i think my being alien causes me to *not* follow the laws of this world. so what normally applies to people does not apply to me, in general.

one way on a supposedly two way street. yeah, i know. it sucks. big time. but such is life. for me, that is. my every (half)silver lining has a cloud..