What you See, is Not Necessarily What you Get.
When I was growing up on a tiny Island in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean, I read and worked on my school assignments during the night in the light of a kerosene lamp; regardless of the low light it provides, I was able to see clearly and worked gratefully. After thirty-one years of exposure to all these different kinds of lights, my eyesight began to wear down. I believe if I was reading this book under the light of a kerosene lamp, I would really be struggling. These days driving in unfamiliar places without a GPS (Global Positioning System) would be very difficult because I would assume the remaining alphabets on the street signs. I would be able to make the first couple letters and just assume the rest of the letters (the blurry ones).
I guess because of resemblance, most of the time other people greeted me with Hola, even Hispanics. Sometimes, I played along until I had no clue whatever they continued to say. Other times when I mention that I am a Pacific Islander, I got asked a lot of questions about surfing. At other jobs, my supervisors/managers would be talking so slow to me with a crazy gesture; sometimes just for the fun of it, I just looked at them and not saying anything. Of course, my skin is dark, my hair is black, my eyes is brown, and I spoke with an off-key accent; but it doesn’t mean I spoke Spanish, or I surfed, or I do haka, or I understand sign-language It is only the resembles, not the whole picture.
In reading, ‘Why We’re Wrong About Nearly Everything,’ it is almost seemed likely to be the case, ‘misperception’ about how we look at things. We might be able to make out the first, the second or the third, but the remaining is what we perceived it to be; and that so often, we were not right. In the introduction [1], the author (Duffy Bobby) talked about his credentials (education) and his work (the research) to build his argument upon. He then elaborates on what I believe to the main theme of his book when he wrote, “I’ve run hundreds of surveys on public misperceptions—what we call the ‘Perils of Perception’—investigating a range of social and political issues, from sexual behaviour to personal finance, across a large number of countries. We now have over 100,000 interviews, across forty countries on some questions, allowing us to weigh up our perceptions against reality. This is a unique and fascinating source of data on how we see the world, and why we’re often so wrong about it.” [2] So, he said it. ‘Public Misconceptions or ‘Perils of Perception.’ From the beginning chapter to chapter 9, he (Duffy) showed the misconceptions that we (human) have in regard to health, sexuality, financial, immigration, politics, etc. However, in the last chapter (chapter 11) [3], he pointed out that our ‘misconception’ was due to our ‘delusion.’ But what triggered this ‘misconceptions?’
Mclemee (October 31, 2019) [4] wrote in the review that Duffy attributed ‘availability heuristic,’ which is a mental shortcut in which the mind gives associations to readily a available bits of information though does not the fit the situation or the full picture, as a contributor to delusion or misconception. While others blamed this on our ‘inherent biases.’ [5] Acton (February 04, 2022) [6] in her article, “Are You Aware of Your Biases?” shares the following strategies to avoid biases: (a.) Acknowledge having biases and learn to do better, (b.) Give others room to challenge your assumptions, (c.) Openness to feedback, and (d.) embrace diverse perspectives.
In order to ‘Get What You See,’ there must be (1.) an awareness of the existence of ‘Public Misconceptions’ (2.) Misconceptions resulted from ‘inherent biases’ and (3.) And it could be dealt.
[1] Duffy, Bobby. Why We’re Wrong About Nearly Everything: A Theory of Human Misunderstanding (p. 8). Basic Books. Kindle Edition.
[2] Ibid
[3] Ibid (p. 203).
[4] https://www.insidehighered.com (Retrieved March 23, 2024).
[5] https://www.powerofpositivity.com (Retrieved March 23, 2024)
[6]https://hbr.org (Retrieved March 23, 2024)
About the Author
Noel Liemam
16 responses to “What you See, is Not Necessarily What you Get.”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Hi Noel,
Thank you for sharing your story. I am sorry for all the misconceptions people make about your background.
Did this book give you any hope for dealing with people’s insensitivities or direction on how to answer them?
Thank you for a great post,
Thank you for your comments, Chris; it is a good reading, I learn a lot from it, However, hope? People are just who they are. There are those who really caring and there are those who are just so caught up in themselves. So, it does not really bother me anymore. And I only deal with them if they ask questions.
Noel,
I’m sorry you endured the level of what I would describe as racism. My father used to say to me when I shared similar stories, “Remember, they are ignorant,” but at some point that ignorance wears on your spirit.
What do you think is a better way to manage the misconceptions that people have about you other than to let them talk and walk away? Maybe there isn’t, but I wonder if you don’t speak up, are you allowing them to continue to think they were right in their assumption?
Blessings to you!
Thank you, Nancy, for your comments. It is true there is not much I could do. On the other hand, it was helping me to learn work on my character. Unless they ask questions, I try to give informative answers. These days it does not bother me much.
Thanks, the idea of trying to avoid biases is interesting because I’m so unaware of my biases. Thanks for the information from Acton’s article. The most challenging one for me would be (b) give others room to challenge your perspectives. It’s not about being challenged as much as intentionally inviting others to challenge. I don’t always think to do this. Which of these four are most challenging for you?
Thank you, Graham, for your comments. I would say that all of them, but the most challenging one for me is the fourth one, ace diverse ‘to embrace diverse perspectives.’ That would because I could say it, but in the back of my mind could still have reservation. It makes me feel guilty of being untruthful. Maybe the better way for me to say it is to agree to be different. Thank you, Mr. English.
Thank you for sharing your perspective on biases as blurred vision, assumptions we make in low light. One of the ways I’ve heard trainers talk about understanding bias is the idea that people need to put on a “diversity lens.” This isn’t the best approach. Addressing bias is not like putting on a pair of glasses when it suits and then taking them off when done. Challenging bias is a lifestyle, it a way of being in the world, in relationship with self and others. How have you learned to manage the ways people show their biases without allowing it to change who you are in the world?
Thank you, Erica for you comment. I like that phrase you used, ‘challenging bias is a lifestyle,’ it is so true. As for myself dealing with bias (especially negative bias), I just try to ignore it to keep it from escalating unnecessarily. If given chance to explain myself or give informative answers, I take those chances.
Hi Noel,
I love that you sometimes just play along with people’s misconceptions. What is something you wish they knew about you or would ask you instead of making assumptions?
Hi, Kari, thank you for comments. What would I wish they know before making their assumptions; well, I am not sure. May just to be aware that there are several groups of people and cultures in the world and that the Creator loves every one of us all equally. We all have biases and misconceptions, but it is how we let our biases and misconceptions affects our judgement direct us is what important.
Hi Noel, I enjoyed reading your story about studying by the light of a kerosene lamp. I can see how this affects the eyes after a while! Besides making assumptions about blurry street signs (without GPS), what other ‘availability heuristics’ has Duffy’s work challenged you to consider in your own life?
Hi, Elysse, thank you for your comments. Thank you for redirecting me back to ‘Duffy.’ Well, my overall take away from Duffy (as a leader) is to always verify information before making decisions since not everything bits of information out there are reliable. And that available information are not free of biases and misconceptions. Thanks, Elysse.
Noel, thank you. As you think about your own biases, where do you think your vision could be a little clearer? (Taking off on your description of your eyesight.)
Thank you, Debbie, for your comments. With regards to my own biases and misconceptions, I believe asking a lot of questions is very essential in reducing bias and misconceptions, Let me say, ‘asking a lot of right or good questions,’ is the way to clear vision. Thank you,
Hi Noel,
This was among my favorite blogs from you. I enjoyed reading about your time growing up and the misperceptions others had about you. How has that experience helped shape your approach to others when you might misperceive them?
Thank you, Jennifer, for the kind words. You know I believe this is one of the ways that our God is using to mold my life, my relationship to others and to humble most of all. In my relationship to others other than my people, I learn to put myself in their shoes; I ask myself, what would I think if I were them. Most of them time people think differently just because we don’t know each other well. I find that once we get to know each other, or understand each other well, we realized that we are not that much different. Thanks again, Ms. Eckert.