Sunday 1 May 2016

Matter of Perception

Ptolemy’s perception of the Universe was such that the Earth was at its centre. And before Columbus,  the whole World perceived that the Earth was flat. Perception may be a result of intelligence not just of an individual but that of the entire species.  Edwin Abbot’s novel Flatland imagines a 2 dimensional world populated only by the 2 dimensional geometric figures. Mr. Square in the Flatland ‘perceives’ a sphere – a 3 dimensional object – passing through the flatland only as a series of expanding and shrinking circles. Since a sphere can’t be ‘perceived’  by the townsfolk  of the Flatland, it simply can’t exist.   

But it is not only the experts whose perceptions are borne out of their ignorance or in case of the denizens of the Flatland, their own inadequacy. Each one of us is a creature of our own perceptions. I don’t even want to guess – at this point in time - whether the perception is a cause or an effect of who we are!

What determines our PERCEPTION? It could be any or all of myriad of factors; Genetics, Gender, Ethnicity, Education, Social &  Cultural milieu, pleasant or tragic Experiences or just plain providence. Perception as we know, also changes over a period of time.   An individual’s ‘perception’ or his world view seems to me as unique as his fingerprint. However at times a person or a whole bunch of them will simply suspend his or their own perception and ‘adopt’ the perception of the majority because it is either safe or convenient or profitable. Naturally, perception is at the core of how families, communities, organizations, even states behave  and respond at any given time to any given situation.

Despite having discovered a tricky quagmire around this seemingly innocuous perception, I want to use mine to reflect on several relevant topics we encounter in our families, societies and organisations. I want to take liberty to share my commentary on such topics and look forward to hearing from you.  What better name than the Matter of Perception.


I have used the pronoun he or his as a matter of habit. The intent is gender agnostic and also  implies she or her.  

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2 comments:

  1. Perceptions can also be formed by a human beings upbringing and family values.These perceptions metamorphose into very personal world view.Humans tends to stick to those perceptions.

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  2. Thanks Ranjana for posting your comment. Very well said. There is no one Absolute Truth

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