Why an Atheist Thinks the Shroud of Turin is the Real Deal

Proximity to the Observer

The point about proximity to the observer is essential. The apparent whiteness, the albedo, the highlighted appearance of an object has nothing to do with proximity of the object to the observer—at least it doesn’t in practical terms unless we are cosmologists looking at distant stars and galaxies. The observer may be you or me or an artist trained to notice the highlights. The observer can also be the detector in a camera, which may be a modern digital chip, a piece of celuloid film, a glass plate with photosensitive emulsion or, if you still want to believe it, a piece of linen coated with something like chromium salt or silver nitrate. The VP-8 test to which Adler alluded is a handy way to find out if this is so.