We are not Watching the Same Show:
Dear You,
I was watching a show last night with three friends, Barry, Bashar, and Nee. It was the Simpsons show, one of their couch gags, as a friend carefully edified us all.
I thought I was watching an episode that depicted the imperfection of human judgment. I now suspect, my mind was in that atmosphere because I had watched a video about exonerees, right before.
My friend Barry who sat on my left said, “Everything is connected!”. That snapped me out of that mindset. I realized that my former thought was simply perception, and so was his.
I was suddenly aware, that people around me were not exactly watching the same video. We were all sharing a common experience, but it meant something different to each of us.
Out of curiosity, I began to observe the reactions of my entourage. We laughed at the appropriate cues most of the time, but why? Was the reason the joke was funny to me, the same reason it was for Barry?
The episode ended, and we all resigned to our phones like any good millennials would. I launched the google app and searched “Perception”. I skipped the obvious stuff such as colour blindness, and mental diseases. The definitions that popped up from google were:
per·cep·tion
pərˈsepSH(ə)n/
noun
the ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses.
“the normal limits to human perception”
the state of being or process of becoming aware of something through the senses.
“the perception of pain”
a way of regarding, understanding, or interpreting something; a mental impression.
And yada yada yada…
This, perhaps, was not the best time to be catching this thought train. It was 11 PM and I hadn’t had much sleep in several days. I pursued it, nevertheless, despite my biological needs. I thus immersed myself in semi-research.
As I read several other articles, such as Perception and Perceptual illusions by Psychology Today and more. Things became increasingly clear, the last few months started to develop out of the dark like polaroid film. Why most of what Bashar said would always bounce off my ears, made perfect sense now.
I replayed my memories and wondered. How many of my misperceptions go unnoticed? In my day to day interactions, do I really take the time to listen and understand?
Because if the above is the case, shouldn’t it bother us even a little, that we’re fast-forwarding through life in our lanes, a bit more like racehorses than humans. Never getting to truly know someone else, never actually listening.
Half-blind and half-deaf.
Sincerely Yours,
Mosaid Ayn
This article was first published at mosaidsuniverse.com .
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