Relativity of perception

The article ‘relativity of perception’ would not have been possible without the ensuing incident. On that day evening, my wife and I engaged in casual chat from the balcony of high rise one-bed apartment. The hustle and bustle of city life in the distance nourished our conversation until sibling fight between eight- and four-year-old mercilessly abandoned me alone in the balcony. Annoyed and desolate, I awaited her return, quite impatiently.

‘Look at that swimming pool,’: I said to the wife, who just returned from the ‘war’ zone, pointing towards deserted swimming pool on the terrace of a nearby luxurious apartment. ‘Hey, can you guess why none use the swimming pool in spite of its high-class facilities and shaded cabanas?’: I asked her. ‘How do I know?’ she replied, as expected, with a nonchalant shrug. A triumphant smile appeared on my face. ‘They don’t have enough time for leisure since they are too busy making money.’: I sympathize with the wealthy. Our conversation extended late into the night.

The above incident would have raised little interest in me, had I not discussed this matter with a tenant in that apartment. She credited their collective disinterest to elite club memberships. According to her, they prefer luxurious recreational facilities in clubs over local amenities. I disgruntled by this explanation that stems from the awareness that reality was very far from the preliminary conclusion about wealthy.

Perception dilemma

The perception dilemma made me regretful on so many other occasions. For instance, I preferred stairs over escalator to reach atop of footbridge as a result of enduring knee pain and switched to Keto diet to control weight as a result of exercise restrictions as contrary to my perception that people taking shortcuts in their life are lazy. Similarly, the dilemma hit me again when the actual cause of my son’s short-sight substantiated by hereditary theory as opposed to my belief that gadgets and televisions are solely responsible for developing eye problems in children and blame goes to parents.

Perception is subjective

The message is clear. Human perception is highly imperfect and by definition, subjective. Consequently, deep filtering in the brains based on limited knowledge and conclusion from previous incidents, one pays the price for flawed decisions.

Reality Vs. Perception

The above incident cautioned the stark contrast of the reality with perception. Observing events, that demand our final impression, through lenses of relativity keep us to stay prudent and intelligent. In fact, every incident set off a learning process. Therefore, our conclusions on any future event largely influenced and shaped by mental pictures of previous experiences captured in our brains.

Erroneous conclusions from past experiences leading to wrong perception same as the wise conclusions of the past resulting in the right judgments. But the rightness of the findings depending upon our proper understanding of the relativity theory of perception.

How to tackle wrong perception

The relativity theory in the context of perception put forward two solutions.

Firstly, it calls for an individual’s attention to other’s perception of a specific incident before any conclusions to happen within. From that standpoint, cloning another’s feelings and the situation helps acute analysis of the situation without any bias or prejudice.

Secondly, It needs blending with other inputs like mental state, family background, the economic status of the other individual(s): more inputs, better the outcome. Try to develop capability to observe minute details in an incident and use them effectively.

Therefore, applying these two(2) methods in your perception process would definitely lead to wiser decisions.

Conclusion

No opinion or action immune from disagreements, especially among the wider audience. Derive you final perception after blending initial impression with other inputs that may influence a particular incident. Implementing this idea can help you to stay prudent and sagacious. No doubt in it..