The Crisis of Perception and the Return to Sense in the Age of Algorithms

This essay analyzes the profound crisis of perception brought about by the dominance of algorithms and digital navigation tools. Drawing on Tristan Gooley's concepts, the author argues that modern humans are losing the capacity for authentic presence in the world, replacing sensory experience with the reading of dry data. A return to natural navigation—reading nature's signs and the shadows of the gnomon—seems a necessary step toward reclaiming subjectivity. This is a call for a cognitive revolution that will allow us to transcend the framework imposed by machine learning and regain sight in a world dominated by predictions. The article combines phenomenology with the practical wisdom of spatial orientation.