The Glaringly Obvious... or What Your Brain Knows But Won't Tell You
Posted: Thursday, April 08, 2010
by Jean Horst
I've been reminded recently of the amazing capabilities of the human brain. In this particular case, it involves the brain's ability to tell you that what you ARE seeing is what you think you SHOULD be seeing. Let me illustrate. Several days ago, I noticed in the Q&A section here on SearchWarp, there was a spelling error. Next to the name of person who asked a question, there is a link that says, "More Questions By This Person", except that on this particular day, I realized that it actually said, "More Question (no "s") By This Person. I have looked at and clicked that link probably hundreds of times since the Q&A section went live. I would have sworn under oath that it said, "Questions". I would have sworn that there was not an error there. Yet, suddenly, one day, right there it was, plain as day.
In both cases, as soon as I realized the errors, I couldn't NOT see them. Whereas up until that point, I had looked at them so many times I couldn't count them, my brain had not told me the truth. I expected to see a certain phrase, so indeed, I saw it.
That has me thinking now... there is a lot of arguing and fighting going on in the world. There is a great polarization occurring with the extremes getting more extreme in both directions, it seems. People are adamant that how they see things is the correct way. If they believe some point of view to be correct then nothing anyone says can change their mind. They've closed off to logic or discussion.
How much of this is reality? How many of these opinions are not real? Am I guilty of this? Am I seeing what I want to see, what I expect to see? I feel like I can make obvious conclusions that others are mistaken and they just haven't seen the light yet, but what about me? Where am I looking at specific issues and letting my mind fill in the blanks and gloss over mistakes because I'm not taking the time to really LOOK and really SEE the facts and circumstances? Am I not really LISTENING? Do I only hear what I want or will I genuinely wait to perceive someone else's viewpoint?
So now I'm wondering... what does it take to break the barrier in the brain that is keeping us from seeing mistakes and errors? How many other times have I looked directly at something and not seen what I needed to see or perceived it correctly? I hope that this little exercise sticks with me and reminds me to examine closely and pay attention. I want to remember how tricky my brain is, that apparently it will fill in blanks and whitewash mistakes right out of my sight if I let it.
Any more question?
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More commentsI agree wholeheartedly with you Jean. I've lost count of how many times I've done the exact same thing when proof-reading my own work. I look at it so many times that I start to miss the obvious mistakes.Now you've got me thinking about how many times I miss facts and misunderstand other peoples viewpoint because my brain wants to perceive something else.Thanks for sharing this article and your insight. I'm going to do my best to start checking my own perceptions and judgment from now on, and then hopefully, start to break the barrier between my perceptions and other people's viewpoints.Baden, thank you for sharing your thoughts. How much difference would it make if we all double checked ourselves? I hope I get to see that happen!
Jean, your writing style is good and the content is very very good. I agree with you that we see only what the brain wants us to. In fact, many of our views are formed by news disseminating agencies like newspapers and T.V. The news presenter or article writer basically forms our views...Thank you, Shabbir. It is healthy for us all to become more aware of how our opinions are formed. Good comments.
That is really good article and I really enjoyed reading it.Thanks for your comment.
Nice article. I like the way you describe the topic. Thanks for writing .Thank you for reading and commenting, Mark.
I agree with this whole heartedly. As a freelance writer I know well the dangers of writing copy without leaving it to stew for at least a few hours.I appreciate your comment, Sue.
I experienced this many years ago at the beginning of the proliferation cable television. I received a marketing letter from the cable company stating that my house was wired for cable and I should contact them if I wished to begin the service. We had never had cable TV since in the 4 years I lived in the house, but I didn't know. Since we had been waiting for cable to come available in our area for some time, I went to the cable company and they said it would take several weeks to get the equipment there to install the cable. After several increasing loud verbal exchanges, I showed them the letter saying my house was already wired. The clerk looked at the letter and quietly showed me that it said my house was NOT wired for cable. I was incredulous. How could I have not seen that?That wasn't the first time I learned that you see what you want to see, and it wasn't the last, but it is the one I remember the most. That is why when I use the word processor, I always print out the writing and proof read it again from the paper. Many times I see things differently than on the screen.Hi Bob,Thanks for stopping by. I have sometimes made embarrassing mistakes because of misunderstanding information too. It always makes me more mindful and determined not to let it happen again! I appreciate your thoughts.
Hi Jean, Continuing with my comment posted earlier, I think we should have some ethical news agencies in lines of the UNESCO etc. that is formed with the participation of all the countries in the world. Only they should distribute news throughout the world, with one goal in mind. Unification of all people, and peace and brotherhood to prevail. Presently vested interests are brainwashing the common man with the wrong kind of ideas and ideals. Then the world would be a much better place to live in.Hmmm, I'll have to think about that. I don't have a problem with more than one news source. I think it's pretty much necessary. It's individuals who need to do their research and become aware of their biases, it's not news sources that need to be limited. Thanks for your thoughts and comment.
Jean,Great ! Subject is tremendous and you handled it with grace and humor. Thanks. You've given me an idea for a follow up on your work. Stay tuned.BobI'm looking forward to it, Robert!
Oh, you've written a great piece about my favorite topic and observation of all. Bravo!Thanks for reading and commenting, Randy!
hi jean,
it's funny, i just got done correcting an article i wrote a few days ago, where i had wit instead of with. that's why i love the edit option. sometimes, when you write an article, and you really put your all into it, you don't feel like reading it again, so you just post it, and hope there's no errors :)
i hope all is well,
my best to you,
sueThanks for stopping by, Sue. I'm always amazed when I find an error in something I've looked at dozens of times without noticing.
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