1. Anti-Surveillance Camouflage for Your Face

In this article, Robinson Meyer, an associate editor at The Atlantic, explains to the reader his personal experiment with modern surveillance systems and the concept of wearing CV dazzle; or facial anti-surveillance camouflage. He is not against these face tracking systems nor is he paranoid of being detected by them, but he explains that it was a curious experiment to test CV dazzle's authenticity and to observe the reactions of the people around him. Meyer explains that Adam Harvey, a student at NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program, was the inventor of this anti-surveillance camouflage method and effectively explains CV dazzle in a well simplified way by using factual and concrete terminology, and by also using more average reader friendly terms. He describes CV dazzle to be "...ostentatious and a kind of rad-looking, in a joyful, dystopic way.” In this way he uses words that are descriptive but at the same time leaning more toward a personal perspective. Meyer explain his experiment to wear CV dazzle on a day to day basis as a constant reminder of the CV dazzle, as it is very well noticeable and eye catching feature. The CV dazzle works by creating false depth and erasing uniqueness from the face with paint put in the proper areas on the face. It is a face paint after all and so it attracts a lot of attention from other people. He cleverly states that CV dazzle; the very thing that makes your invisible to computers, is what makes you glaringly obvious to other people around you.

In the article, Meyer focuses on the experience of wearing CV dazzle more than the pros and cons of the concept. He does not disapprove of it, but agrees that, in an age of sophisticated facial-recognition technology, it serves as a nice release from being tracked and monitored by machines. Meyer uses personal pronouns and personal anecdotes throughout the entire article in a casually informative, conversation-like manner to get the reader to relate. His diction was good and conveyed the right tone and properly delivered his main point and conclusion. At the end of the article, Meyer states “But to a human spectator—whether in person or looking at those pixels—CV dazzle made my face highly visible. Perhaps even unforgettable.” To introduce irony to the fact that CV dazzle was made to hide the user’s face but in the process of doing so, makes the user stand out more and become perhaps unforgettable to other humans. It is a great ‘food for thought’ conclusion that leaves the reader wondering about the topic.


http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2014/07/makeup/374929/