An opaque dummy object substitutes for the inspector in the lantern undetected

Evidence

Therefore, the inspector disguises his absence (he leaves the lantern surreptitiously: he lets himself out through a trap-door in the floor and descends through the interior of the central tower) by placing ‘any opaque object’ in the lantern. The difference between an inanimate object, constantly at rest, and the inspector’s body, occasionally in motion, would not be discernible, according to Bentham, because the apertures in the lantern are so small. At this point, what constitutes the spot that returns the prisoners’ gaze, what sustains the all-seeing gaze, is nothing more than an opaque object. Regardless of what it is that constitutes the spot in the lantern – the inspector’s body or an opaque object – the prisoners will always believe that they are under constant surveillance. — Jeremy Bentham, The Panopticon Writings, 61

Categorization

• XREF: Mirrors how the perceived omnipresence of Big Brother persists even when actual monitoring personnel are not present — the dummy replaces the watcher. — connects to: Invisible inspection can awe prisoners to silence without any physical restraint — Jeremy Bentham, The Panopticon Writings, 288; A centered watcher who sees all cells is inevitably visible from all cells — Jeremy Bentham, The Panopticon Writings, 295; The panoptic inspector must hide for fear his fictional divinity will be exposed — Jeremy Bentham, The Panopticon Writings, 81 (+2 more)

Related

• Visibility and invisibility must be balanced for surveillance to function (similarity 0.87)
• Panoptic power derives from invisible omnipresence rather than real presence (similarity 0.86)
• Apparent omnipresence of the inspector sustains discipline (similarity 0.86)
• Even imperfect invisibility can sustain the illusion of constant surveillance (similarity 0.86)
• Invisible inspection can awe prisoners to silence without any physical restraint (similarity 0.85)
• The panoptic inspector must hide for fear his fictional divinity will be exposed (similarity 0.84)
• Constant visibility captures subjects better than darkness and enclosure ever did (similarity 0.84)
• Each inspector is himself under inspection, losing his omnipresence at moments of visible action (similarity 0.84)
• The inspector’s hiddenness is engineered so prisoners never know if they are watched. (similarity 0.83)
• Unlocatable individual addressing makes all prisoners assume they are watched (similarity 0.83)
• Invisible presence requires real absence to seem omnipresent (similarity 0.83)
• The pierced-blind design lets the inspector see all inmates without any inmate seeing him (similarity 0.83)
• Panoptic power rests on central inspection plus unseen watching (similarity 0.82)
• Visible visitors in the central tower create avenues for conspiratorial signaling (similarity 0.82)
• Centralized visibility defeats prisoners’ ability to prepare staged appearances (similarity 0.81)

Broader Connections

• Even imperfect invisibility can sustain the illusion of constant surveillance #corroborates (0.85) — Jeremy Bentham, The Panopticon Writings, 303
• The panoptic inspector must hide for fear his fictional divinity will be exposed #corroborates (0.80) — Jeremy Bentham, The Panopticon Writings, 81
• Invisible inspection can awe prisoners to silence without any physical restraint #expands (0.75) — Jeremy Bentham, The Panopticon Writings, 288
• A centered watcher who sees all cells is inevitably visible from all cells #qualifies (0.72) — Jeremy Bentham, The Panopticon Writings, 295
• Apparent omnipresence of the inspector sustains discipline #expands (0.72) — Jeremy Bentham, The Panopticon Writings, 33