What is the Nature of Confusion

And how to gain clarity

Chosen for further distribution.

Photo by OSPAN ALI on Unsplash

Confusion

I dislike confusion. It robs me of clarity and stops me from acting. So I thought about what confusion is and asked myself, is it an emotion or not? Indeed, when I’m in a quandary it affects my feelings ― bit so does rain, or sunshine, or politics.

I decided to look it up, and Marriam-Webster defines confusion as ‘The quality or state of being confused,’ and ‘An act or instance of being confused.’
Duh …

So I checked confused, and here Marriam-Webster makes more sense: ‘Being perplexed or disconcerted,’ and ‘Disoriented with regard to one’s sense of time, place, or identity.’

But it still does not answer my question if it’s an emotion. Perhaps I should approach the issue from a different angle.

A Problem Defined

I’m aware that being confused occurs only in response to an issue, a problem or situation to which an adequate response seems absent. And a problem is defined by the absence of a satisfying solution ― otherwise, it would not be a problem.

I questioned why some problems cause confusion and others don’t. And the answer is that confusion occurs when solutions…