Jean Baudrillard's Simulacra and Simulation

Origin
Jean Baudrillard was a sociologist and philosopher who appeared as part of a new generation of French thinkers who shared interest in post-structuralism, which detested the sole use of binary labels. Many agreed that true meaning of something was derived from the meanings of multiple objects interacting together. However, Baudrillard theorized that a society’s desire to find complete meaning of the world was unachievable and resulted in hyperreality, where attempts to find a cohesive whole picture merely resulted in more disorder. He details this concept in his treatise Simulacra and Simulation, where all signs and symbolism have all but replaced actual pieces of society. He viewed the first Gulf War as having no symbolic change in leadership and offering no real victory, while the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center where a reaction to technological and political growth.

Effects
Allows symbols created to possess physical properties of what they are normally attributed to. Flames will produce spurts of fire or release high temperatures, swirls can create air currents or mazes depending on the original connotation, the sun can create light and a bullseye can create a neighboring field of accuracy. The effects deteriorate and change with each use, causing unexpected occurrences which may harm the user.