The day was marvelous, almost coming to its end. Two agitated young ladies, Janse and Sally, were walking down the park lane leading to the open grounds. They were in the middle of a lively conversation. Ashton, a remote friend from the Faculty of Arts, hurried against them with the idea to join the talk. He had heard the news and precipitated to ask.

- To the library? – the new-comer smiled to the girls.

- Indeed. – Janse was hastily trying to go back to the topic she was entertaining before being interrupted by the young man.

- Oh, sorry. It seems to be important. – Ashton shrugged his shoulders shyly. His elegant figure was towering over the girls’ silhouettes.

- Indeed. – This time replied Sally. – But you can join! I think it will become even more interesting if we involve others into our small discussion.

Janse nodded. She looked serious and too engaged in her own thoughts but she agreed without hesitation. The girl was short and stout in somewhat childish fashion, her blond hair was dancing with each blow of the wind, flirting with the fading light of the sun; her smile was charmingly captivating.

- So, what is it about? You seem to be really into something. – Ashton was genuinely curious to know. There was going to be a Great debate later that day in the Old Library and he knew the girls were from the few invited guests. Such an invitation was a real honor for every student of the University. They were both highly knowledgeable in their field and the artist sincerely respected them for that.

- You may put it that way. – Sally replied again. She, on the contrary, was taller, lean and unnaturally pale, appearing drained by the burdening thoughts dueling inside her petite ginger head. – Actually, we were discussing media.

- Oh, that is fascinating! – Ashton exclaimed as if it was the most unexpected topic one could examine. – I assumed it was something much more grievous. – The last words were said with an air of relief.

- Seriously? And what could be more grievous than nowadays’ media? – Janse was not losing the sternness of her face expression. – The more we discuss, the more I lose end in sight. I have become anxious about the extent to which media actually is not only dominating our lives, but also about the way we subconsciously have harbored it and become unable to conceive reality outside the lines it has drawn for us to see as the delimitating premises of objectiveness. The more I speak, the more I feel media’s grip over my thoughts helplessly trying to disencumber from its preformulating omnipresence.

- Oh, that was powerful. I wonder where were you coming from? – Ashton felt completely unprepared to enter the conversation at this point. He knew he would not make a peer to the girls in the talk but still felt the delight to witness the display of their philosophical supremacy.

- Yes, it is true we were in the middle of a very important and rather displeasing observation on the conditions the media has set for the consciousness conceived in modernity to dwell in and to develop. I argued that the human mind is independent by presumption but quite restricted when practically unfolding into the external world. – Sally continued explaining. Her sky-blue eyes were shining with a mixture of anguish and vigor. Ahton did not seem to understand the initial statement of the argument. He was still too new to the topic.

- Yes, I must agree with Ashton’s hesitant look, Sally. Saying that the mind is independent only by presumption would imply that, to you, the mind is actually unfolding itself in dependency to the media? - Janse calmly asked Sally.

- Indeed, that is what I was saying. And I find my statement so obvious to observe that it is almost unnecessary to argue; but still, since I do not support the argument of the self-evident facts myself, I shall go on and explain what I mean by stating that the mind of the modern man is dependent on the media in which it is practically and fundamentally embedded.

- Go on, – Ashton said expectantly - it promises to be interesting.

- Well, yes, Ashton, this kind of knowledge is intriguing, I admit. – Janse decided to interrupt her friend. – Observing media theoritically is as interesting as when you conceive your reflection and realize that what you see is both yourself and, at the same time, an image of an external corporal body. One experiences quite the same feeling when contemplating on the essence of media. Believing that you see yourself in the external surface of reflection, represented both as a unique being in the midst of its inherent environment; and, as an actor, materialized as an artificially separated corporal segment in the middle of the innumerable chains of objects, is, I deem interesting, as you put it.

- Media as speculum. – Ashton smiled. He was an artist after all. – I like that!

- Yes, I can relate to this thought myself. – Sally agreed with the rest. – Media is a mirror and speculation. A reflection. Now that I think deeper, the claim to objectiveness of media is immaterial, for, due to its speculative and reflective nature, it is away from any form of objectivity. It is the self as image and as actor, displayed in the midst of the world’s open scene, unfolding unstoppably while trying to be seized by the self’s cognitive perception.

- The perception of the self is a speculation itself. – Janse smiled at Sally.

- That sounds like a vicious circle to me. Looking at yourself and the world at the same time, projecting your own thoughts on reality, expecting them to be the adequate representation of the surrounding when they are nothing more than the adequate representation of the thinking self. How could this be avoided? – Ashton was puzzled.

- It is an aporia of some sort, I agree. We tend to adopt our own explanations of the world as objective observations, regarding the surrounding exterior and our internal nature. Afterwards, we install these conceived perceptions into pieces of representations addressing them to the external world via the channels of human communication. We reach to the world in our quest to know it. We know by making our knowledge communicable. Knowledge exists only and as long as it can be communicated. The transmission of individual reality perceptions in search of communicable objectiveness, in the broadest sense of the concept, is what we call media. But I have a question which does not promise to comfort my concerns, and that is whether media is close to both the perceiving self and the objective reality?

- Oh, it surely is, but revealed in its most paradox form. When we started our discussion, I was puzzled to admit to myself how paradoxical media is to me. Media is looking at the real and objective while producing an image and a thought. – Janse agreed with the aforementioned statement. - Our means of communicating reality aim for objectiveness but are conceived by the subjective mind. Thus media communicates our duality on its way to perceiving reality.

- But it hadn’t always been like that. – Sally sounded discontent with Janse’s observation. – Historically, media is a concept of modernity. It came into being quite recently, therefore, it cannot have expressed the duality of our nature all along.

- No, it has not, at least not in its current form, you are right. – Janse acceded to her friend.

- But shouldn’t we then first try to outline the concept of media itself, as to clarify what we mean precisely when we use that notion? Because to some thinkers, media can be a pretty straightforward notion while to others – most ambivalent, and they would all be right but still argue, because they did not clear the idea of the initial presupposition they both started from when defining the nature of media. – Sally continued asking herself and the others.

- Is that possible at all? – Janse challenged her back. At that question, her two companions gave Janse a long puzzled gaze.

- Well, I thought you were the one who made the first strong statement about the nature of media. Meaning, - Ashton was really confused, - that you would have had an idea what you were talking about.

- Indeed, I did. I had an idea but that is the closest it gets while I entertain the thought of media. In fact, at that point I am positive that I cannot make a definition of a notion by that title, because I do not believe such a notion would be wide enough to grasp what my idea of the phenomenon encompasses. I should explain myself, I know. – the young philosopher smiled. - The thing is that, as I said when I first confronted the problem, I believe media to be a paradox; I actually believe it to be a mix of numerous paradoxes, and as we go on, I hope I will have the chance to prove my point.

- Alright, so you think we can make statements about the nature of something which, as you put it, does not have an encompassable nature at all?

- Indeed. – Janse nodded to Sally’s question.

The three friends walked fast and, not noticing the speed of their pace, invigorated by the talk, strode outside the University campus well into the broad fields to the Library.

- Well, I shall take a different approach from yours here, because I believe that everything in the end has a base of solid meaningfulness which we can reveal, even if, at first, it looks paradoxically dualistic, as I too believe it does. But my idea is that the paradoxical nature of media is only on the level of practical observation, and not, as you claimed, a fundamental quality of its framework.

- Oh, ladies, you’ve got me here. – Ashton was truly intimidated and started to look around as if he needed help. – I haven’t been that deep into the topic of media ever in my life. I am afraid I cannot be of use to your learned discussion.

- Do not worry! – Janse was laughing cordially at his expression. – Your observations on the topic are very important, believe it or not. You are, in a way, a prime exemplary of the actual person we would inevitably be referring to during the discussion. The one that lives in media and creates it all the time, unconsciously and unintentionally. This is the center and the very core of our speculations - the one true dweller and agent of the modern concept of media. Please, stay and bear with us!

- Sure, I would love to, but what if I don’t have anything close to the deep ideas of media you do. I am a free artist as you know, and, from my perspective, I recognize media as something quite useful and influential.

- Great, go on! – Sally smiled at him encouragingly. – What else?