Iran and Lee's Smile: When Seeing Shouldn't Be Believing

A week ago Iran tested some missiles, causing quite a storm of comment. Not the least concerned of it swirled abour the question of how many missiles there were. A video posted last Wednesday, the day of the test, clearly shows four missiles launchers but only three successfully firing. Shortly thereafter Iran released a still picture which apparently had been Photoshopped to show all four firing. Then, while discussion flared in cyberspace, they re-released an un-doctored photo of three missiles which matches the video.

Seeing isn’t believing, in other words, a maxim we should all take to heart, particularly when so many agendas are at play.

But the incident also reminded me of a little judicious cropping I did for our Christmas letter and blog last December.


For some reason Lee rarely smiles in photos, but I wanted one with him looking pleased so I took a picture from Lukas’s and Sophie’s wedding and used only his head and mine. The whole picture shows him making a devil sign behind Lukas’s head in the true Soderstrom horsing-around tradition, but you’d never know it from our Christmas messages.





If you’d like to see what Lee looks like now, here’s the link to the McGill Economics Department website which featured his picture the week after he officially retired. But now, come to think of it, his face isn't as broad as that. Could this shot be doctored a bit too and stretched to fit the shape of their template? Beware what your eyes see!

Note: thanks to Kris Down who took the picture.