{"id":54979,"date":"2021-11-30T21:18:46","date_gmt":"2021-12-01T01:18:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=54979"},"modified":"2021-12-04T22:04:57","modified_gmt":"2021-12-05T02:04:57","slug":"perception-is-subjective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/perception-is-subjective\/","title":{"rendered":"Perception Is Subjective: How We Sense Reality"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What does it mean that perception is subjective? Do we know what’s real?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We don’t sense everything, and what we sense might not be real. In other words, perception is subjective. Authors Miguel Ruiz and Jose Ruiz discuss this point in their book The Fifth Agreement<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep reading to learn how perception is subjective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Perception Is Subjective<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the opening chapters of The Fifth Agreement<\/em>, the authors (also known as the naguals) invite us to challenge our perception of reality<\/a>. What we see isn\u2019t all there is, they say, and much of what we do<\/em> see isn\u2019t objectively real. In other words, perception is subjective. Further, they argue that our knowledge and beliefs are just as subjective as our perception, and that accepting the values and mores of our cultures without doubt restricts our freedom and prevents us from being truly happy. In challenging what we see and believe, the naguals say we can reclaim the power to experience the world we enjoyed as children, free of judgment, self-criticism, and shame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The authors\u2019 first point is that perception is subjective. The world we perceive through our senses is only a subjective interpretation of a thin slice<\/a> of what actually exists in the world. They argue that the information our senses give us is heavily filtered and fabricated:<\/strong> Our brains interpret a narrow band of radiation as \u201ccolor,\u201d the presence of certain particles in large enough numbers as \u201csmells,\u201d and waves of compressed air as \u201csounds.\u201d Without eyes, ears, and noses\u2014and brains to interpret their signals\u2014colors, smells, and sounds would not exist; in a literal sense, they don\u2019t exist outside of us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, \u201creality,\u201d the authors explain, isn\u2019t perceived the same way by everyone who experiences it. Some of us are more sensitive to smells, see fewer colors, or can hear at higher frequencies. Plus, other creatures on our planet interpret the same world in very different ways\u2014bats, for example, \u201csee\u201d reality in a way that\u2019s so foreign to us that we can\u2019t accurately imagine it. In short, we can\u2019t assume that we all perceive the same world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shortform Commentary: Magenta Doesn\u2019t Exist<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As the Ruizes say, the world we experience using our senses isn\u2019t an accurate portrayal of what\u2019s really out there. Perception is subjective. We often take our brains for granted, failing to realize how untrustworthy they are.<\/strong> There are dozens of studies showing how the brain\u2019s hasty processing leads us to see things that aren\u2019t there<\/a>, come to conclusions that don\u2019t make sense<\/a>, or ignore important details<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not just that our brains are often too rushed to do a good job; sometimes they just make things up. You may have heard, for example, that the color magenta doesn\u2019t exist<\/a>. In the image below, you can see the frequencies and wavelengths of each of the visible colors (colors generally correspond to a particular wavelength of radiation). Magenta isn\u2019t there<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reason we see magenta in our daily lives is because our brains are used to averaging the colors we see into a blend. Green and red, when seen together, become yellow because yellow is the average wavelength between green and red. When red and purple appear together, we should<\/em> see green\u2014it\u2019s the average wavelength between the two. But it doesn\u2019t \u201cmake sense\u201d for red and purple to mix into green, so our brains substitute \u201cmagenta.\u201d Essentially, we only see magenta because \u201cit looks right\u201d<\/a>\u2014not because it reflects reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When we keep in mind that perception is subjective, we are less likely to be deceived by our senses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What does it mean that perception is subjective? Do we know what’s real? We don’t sense everything, and what we sense might not be real. In other words, perception is subjective. Authors Miguel Ruiz and Jose Ruiz discuss this point in their book The Fifth Agreement. Keep reading to learn how perception is subjective.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":54984,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,160],"tags":[539],"class_list":["post-54979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-psychology","category-science","tag-the-fifth-agreement","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nPerception Is Subjective: How We Sense Reality - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Our senses can deceive us. We don't sense everything, and what we sense might not be real. 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