We are slightly nervous, giggly, and undignified, but safe because we think we can always find our way out of the fun house back to Reality. But what those fun house mirrors might teach us is that Reality, and the Authority of the mirror, are not reliable as Truth after all. At its center, the illusion gives way to something else. Then we have need of a lamp, to light our paths to new ways of thinking. But lamps too, have a variety of properties.
Lamps can be too bright to look at, too dim to read by, too hard to reach, or too hot to touch.
Some are smelly, some use exotic fuels, others require shading, yet others glare so they make us squint. A good lamp shines over our shoulders, spilling its illumination onto the good things we read, study, examine, or observe. It does indeed offer expanded possibilities. With a good lamp, we are offered the opportunity to see many things in new ways. In bright light, the world is hard, and relentless.