Hold on to your hats. Get ready for a strange one here . . .
Second-year students (typically) can do something that beginning law students cannot do: they can read the law. They see things from a different perspective; they see things that the neophytes cannot possibly see, try though they may. They see with a depth, a clarity.
You might say that where others just see a two-dimensional meaningless montage of colors and shapes, the experienced reader of the law sees three-dimensional meaningful images of wondrous issues.
How in the world can you convey this difference to a wunnelle?
Try this. Show them a Magic Eye image, and help them learn how to view it properly.
Magic Eye images are "stereo" images. To learn to view stereo images, begin with the "frankfurter" experiment, then follow the instructions below that. Once you accustom your eyes to this method of viewing, you are ready to advance to the hidden 3D pictures . . .
Try these on your computer monitor: Image 1, Image 2, Image 3, and my personal favorite with a deep, hidden 3D message.
Where can you find more of these clever images? Use Google. To get yourself started, click here.
My Orientation sessions occur in a large appellate courtroom, with a massive screen (the type that electronically rolls out of the ceiling). What do you think about projecting a Magic Eye image on the screen, and using it to explain the difference between reading and, as Professor McKinney would say, Reading Like a Lawyer?
Can someone find a 3D image that has some visual link to the law? If you find something interesting along these lines, please post it to the list-serve or send it to me, and I’ll include it on the Blog.
… credit where it is due: thanks for the suggestion, Mary Costello, recent Roger Williams grad! (djt)
