I Was Thinking About…Perception vs. Perspective
By Andy Lee
Lately I’ve been pondering the difference between perception and perspective. How we perceive things isn’t always the full picture. Our perspectives give context to perceptions and shape how we see the world.
Consider an iceberg. Sailing by, we perceive just a small tip peeking out of the water. But below the surface, unseen forces and environments form the entire massive structure. Perception reveals a fragment, perspective unveils the rest.
Or think about Mount Rushmore. Looking head-on we perceive four stoic presidential heads gazing at us from the rock face. Yet the full mountain itself remains obscured, flanked by the expansive Black Hills greenery. Zoom out to an aerial view and perspective transforms those stoney visages into a tiny speck of the sprawling landscape, dwarfed by nature’s grandeur.
Even colors illuminate this difference. We all perceive “blue”, that hue between green and violet on the visual spectrum. But put ten people in a room and ask them what shade of blue rejuvenates, inspires, or disturbs them. Those associations reveal individual perspective, filtered through personal histories onto identical hues. Blue serenity to me might signify sadness to you.
So what do we gain separating perception from perspective? For starters, understanding. Walking in another’s shoes expands our thinking, revealing new angles beyond our own instilled perceptions. Patience too, knowing others experience identical stimuli differently based on their unique inner forces. Even humility, as we face life’s unknown iceberg depths, unable to grasp full context despite surface perceptual clues.
Perception offers a peek, but perspective pulls back the veil. Rather than reacting to bits and pieces, probing alternate vistas exposes more meaningful depths. And gaining fuller understanding of forces shaping personal viewpoints helps connect us through empathy despite perceptual differences.
Next time perception feels definitive, I’ll ask what perspectives remain unseen. Just like an iceberg, mountain, or color, there’s always more beneath the surface. My vision stays narrow until I open to vistas beyond my own.
Stay thoughtful, keep expanding perspectives! 💭
I was thinking about... 