false mental recursion

I used to play this game. I'd look at my mind. Then I'd look at myself looking at my mind. Then I'd look at myself looking at myself looking at my mind.

I felt like I was getting an increasingly meta perspective, and I tried to get as high as I could, but I could never reach the top. I suspected that a wellspring of mysterious cosmic consciousness might be lurking up there.

But, I think there need be only two cameras, and time. One camera sees the mind a moment ago. A moment later, the second camera sees the first camera seeing the mind two moments ago. Then the first camera can see the second camera seeing the first camera seeing the mind three moments ago. (edit: I originally described this with one camera, but it would need to be a camera that could see itself — easier with two cameras I suppose ;)

It's like a webcam seeing a webcam — the image actually becomes infinitely recursive going forward in time, but it starts out with one of the cameras not seeing itself in the other screen. Even double mirrors do not peer into infinity. One of those nested mirrors just has a ceiling light in it.