this post was submitted on 17 Nov 2025
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Independent Media

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Why two tiny mountain peaks became one of the internet’s most famous images (theconversation.com)
submitted 3 days ago by Wren@lemmy.today to c/Independent_Media@lemmy.today
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It’s happened to you countless times: You’re waiting for a website to load, only to see a box with a little mountain range where an image should be. It’s the placeholder icon for a “missing image.”

But have you ever wondered why this scene came to be universally adopted?

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[–] Multiplexer@discuss.tchncs.de 9 points 3 days ago (1 children)

To spare you the read:
The article does not answer the question from its headline.

[–] Wren@lemmy.today 2 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

It does. It doesn't give one answer since the author explains it's an example of semiotic covergence.

It describes the different ways the same symbol evolved to have similar meanings across cultures.

[–] Multiplexer@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

No, it theorizes how that might be the cause without giving any evidence apart from some anecdotal stuff, which is mostly not even directly connected to the topic.

The mentioned camera symbol theory looks much more likely to me (it predates Japanese SLRs by the way, I own a 60's German compact camera that uses it for far focus setting and it has been a thing before).
But that is also just a theory without real evidence.

I think the article is neither a good one about semiotic convergence, nor about that part of internet history.

[–] Wren@lemmy.today 2 points 3 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

I disagree. I found it interesting on the topic of symbolism, as the author explains environmental symbolism is the lens through which he's viewing.

He's tracking a modern archetype, so the cultural references are evidence enough. Kinda like the "Cool S," some symbols don't have clear origins. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cool_S

I agree it would be more interesting to know the exact thought process of the designers and track the dissemination of the image. I couldn't find anything like that, so if you have more sources, feel free to share.