Is what we see always the truth?

No!

We can’t really blame our eyes for not always seeing the truth, for we see only what we want to believe is true and that’s a cognitive bias. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that we create our own subjective realities of a given input.

But an account often has multiple sides to reveal — most of which are not apparent at first. Real can be anything that has a real effect on a person. It’s not uncommon to notice one another in stark contrast when viewing something subjectively in daily lives.

Our thought processes highly differ and these depend on factors such as past experiences, surroundings, reasoning, prejudices and stereotypes. Someone with an abusive childhood would perceive things differently from someone raised with comforts and luxuries.

The way I interpret mathematics might strongly vary from the way you do and the way a third person does. The eye I see in a cloud might be a fish for you. The Italy I see on the world map might just be a boot-shaped country for you.

Consider the given tale:

Once there was a blind old man. He used to carry a lantern with him whenever he used to go out at night.

People used to mock him, for they couldn’t get how a lantern could be of use to a person without the ability to see.

One day, someone mockingly asked him the reason behind it to which he replied, “The lantern is not for me but for others to see so that they do not accidentally hit me at night.”

What takeaways do we get from this?

• Sometimes, there is a thought in the other person’s mind beyond the commonly-held opinion.
• One should depend on himself and not on others.
• One should be proactive enough to evade prospective risks.

When viewed from a subjective standpoint, we get to learn something or the other. But when regarded objectively, it’s plainly a matter of fact that the old man carried the lantern for self-safety concerns. And that pretty much sums it up.