Our perception of reality is based upon the unique way that we interpret the images that are presented to us, in which we create a unique paradigm.
We can see this paradigm evidence in Mark Twain’s story, as both the pilot and his friend have the same sensory information, however, their interpretation of the view is subject to their own experiences. The pilot sees the same sunset, logs and water that the friend does, and he uses this to deduce that the river is rising and that there will be wind tomorrow. The friend, however, is not able to interpret the weather despite having the same informational input, and he instead is focused on the fact that the sunset, water and logs look “breathtaking”.
Despite it being outrightly mentioned in the story, we can infer that the pilot has seen this view before, and that could possibly be the reason that he does not take the time to appreciate the view in the same way that the friend does. This story is another example of how it is extremely difficult to be completely certain of our perception of the real world. The pilot initially may have had the same reaction as the friend, but over time as he has gained more information, he is able to see the same image in a different light.
A conceptual understanding that can be drawn from this, is that an individuals construction of “reality” is based upon how much information and exposure one has had to a particular set of sensory data.
Thanks Teja. You have an interesting take on this; you suggest in your CU that “we create a unique paradigm” by interpreting things in different ways. I wonder, though, if it’s more helpful to say almost the reverse – that is is because of our different paradigms that we interpret things differently.
So in other words, the paradigms are our lenses, the filters through which we see the world. Change the filters, you see different things. Of course, then we have to ask what the right filters are… which is a challenging question!
Does that make sense to you?
NA