Perceptions aka Does this view point make me look fat-headed.

This isn't the first time I've written about perceptions.  Some folks would use the word misperception,but I really don't agree with that.  What I'm talking about is the way we perceive.  what filters we mentally place that color, and distort our perceptions.  Misperception means that we've seen, or perceived something incorrectly.  A fine word, the problem I have with it is that "perception" does not mean that we have seen something correct.  That what we perceive is truth.

I manage security teams for a living, and the reports my staff prepare are endless.  I insist that the reports be as detailed and accurate as possible.  I need to know exactly what that staff member perceived.  I also know that no matter how well trained, conscientious, and dedicated my people are, what they write down will not be the "truth".  You see, there is no need for the word misperception, because perceptions are flawed at the outset.

Years ago I was in a class on investigation.  We were learning how to dig through all the chaff to find that precious kernel of fact.  This particular class was on eye witness accounts, and in the middle of it masked bandits broke into the room and kidnapped the instructor.  Of course this was staged and in our infinite wisdom my classmates and I knew we had it nailed.  we were just starting to tell each other what had happened when the instructor returned and called us to attention. (yes this was in the military police)  He then had us write a report including descriptions of the kidnappers with out speaking to our classmates.

We were then dismissed for lunch and when we returned we had to write yet another report on the incident, this time we could talk with each other.  While we were at lunch the instructors had taken our original reports and broke down the description of the subjects. the only thing that everyone in the class agreed on was that the subjects wore dark clothing and some kind of full head mask like a ski-mask or balaclava.  We couldn't agree even on the color.  The instructors then went over the second report. Strangely enough these reports almost matched perfectly.  There were fifty students in the class and close to ninety percent agreed that the subjects were: six in number, wore black jeans, sweaters, and ski-masks.  They were all male and were all caucasian. So far so good, we thought.

The next four hours of the class were dedicated to the instructors going over the original reports and using them to get a full picture of what had happened.  According to their analysis, the subjects: Were eight in number possibly six males and two females.  Wore dark (navy blue or black) long sleeved tops and dark work pants.  All wore dark gloves, and masks. One of the males had dark olive skin and spoke with a "Hispanic" accent.

Now that was something we could work on.  The next day the instructors proceeded to teach us how to conduct an interview, to winnow out the chaff.  We were also introduced to the subjects (all upperclassmen),   who turned out to be six men, three women, (we missed one standing in the back)  five were caucasian, three were African-American, and one man's ancestors came from Japan.  That last man was the spokesman for the group and used a really bad fake Mexican accent stolen right from a Taco Bell commercial.  He was also the only one not wearing a balaclava, but instead wore a stocking cap and a Zorro mask.  Not only did that class teach us that eye witness testimony isn't accurate, but that everyone, everywhere filters their perceptions, no matter how exacting and professional they are, and that most importantly we allow others to alter our perceptions just in case we're not "right".

Truth is the most elusive concept we have.  It is a  bright jewel that hangs just out of reach and we can't see it.   We know it's there, and sometimes we even brush it.  But as soon as we're sure we have a good grip it slips away.

Human beings want to be correct, no not just correct.  They want to be right!   We never really are.  We are flawed.  We allow our misguided filtered perceptions to convince us that we know the truth, when maybe we have just brushed it.  In some cases we aren't even in the same room.  In other cases we have it in our hands and refuse to see it.

I joke that I'm suspicious by nature and paranoid by profession.  To a great extent that's true.   Frankly I have to be that way.  People rely on me to find out what happened.  Since I know my perceptions are flawed I am very cautious about what I consider to be the "truth".  If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and swims like a duck.  I still want DNA evidence and three sworn affidavits  from experts.

In other words I do the best I can.  That is all any of us can do and I find it helps to realize my own faults.  If something really hits my preconceptions, just makes my emotions go off the chart, that is the time to step back and be suspicious.  Our sense of outrage can and will make us crazy.  Unfortunately we don't keep it to ourselves.  We grab our neighbors and friends (sometimes metaphorically sometimes not) and shout.  "Can you believe this? Isn't it horrible? Something must be done!!!"  We cause a great stir, get everyone worked up and soon this flawed perception has a life of it's own like a Frankenstein monster.  Lets all remember that monsters like this can cause injury and death.  Sometimes metaphorically, and sometimes not.

We find it easy to be critical of others, we also find it easy to be critical of ourselves.  What we should be critical of is perceptions.  Or I should say what other people tell us are "true" perceptions.  Think thing through, check the facts, disregard the things that make you want to turn the monster loose, and most of all trust your instincts.  Most of us have good ones and they get better when we continually back them up with facts.  The great part about being human is that you can learn if you're not afraid to.

So remember if it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, but you smell a rat.  Check for a rodent covered in feathers.

Take care of each other and yourself.
Larry

Starting over

As some of you may know I started a blog a couple years ago (which frankly, I got too lazy to continue) on a site called "The Well" started by a friend of mine.  If I remember correctly the reason behind the name was that a village well throughout the centuries was a gathering place.  A place where gossip, opinions, and ideas were shared.  It's a nice idea, and I hope people will share thoughts and ideas with me.  As for the other half of the title.....

I grew up in the sixties and seventies, at that time there was a t.v. show called "Laugh In" that did sketch comedy.  I seem to remember a scene where a man climbs to the top of a tall mountain in order to consult with the guru at the top.  The man approaches the guru and says. "Master, I have braved many dangers.  I have traveled thousands of miles.  I have consulted with wise men all over the world and they all say that you are the wisest.  I have one question.  In all your years spent on this mountain top, contemplating the mysteries of the universe, what have you learned?"  "Ah my son." the guru replies. "I can tell you the one thing I have learned with absolut certainty." The guru paused then said. "Mountain tops are TOO *BLEEP* COLD!" (You couldn't use the word damn on t.v. in those days)

So you see, the reason behind "Mountain Top Well" is to mark a place where I can (and will) share my opinion, but to remind myself that if the air gets too rarefied, you can freeze your hooha off.  After all, it's all about the hooha!


That said, this blog is a personal challenge to myself. My good friend Katherine Carol Ackerman started her own blog last Monday.  Kathy and I met in third grade.  I had just moved to town and since my fifth birthday fell on the last day you could be enrolled in the fall, I had always been the youngest kid in first and second grade.  Until I met Kathy.  Her birthday was even later in the year than mine, and as a result had attended kindergarten and first grade the year after I did.  And then,   the event that would change all of our lives........She SKIPPED SECOND GRADE!!  Yes she was indeed a prodigy.

Now we attended a very small school, with somewhere between eight and twenty kids in each grade.  Our student/teacher ratio was about four to one.  Serious as a heart attack folks there just weren't that many of us.  On the plus side there weren't enough kids to form too many clicks.  one of the few clicks that did form was just Kathy and I.  You see when they tested us for reading skill in either the third or fourth grade, most of the kids were just where they should be, reading at an appropriate level.  Not us.  Kathy may remember this clearer than I do, but I believe we tested as reading somewhere around the high school level.  While everyone else was going through the "Uncle Wiggly" reading workbooks we had free range of the reading teacher's library.  From that day on we were the school geeks.

So this is my challenge to myself and to Kathy.  Let's keep these blogs going.  It doesn't take much time and working together I think we can.  (no little engine puns please).  That's enough for now. Take care and have a good night.

Larry