Shaped Sight

What If The Way You See The World Isn’t Entirely Your Own?

It’s been a few years, but you might remember Laurel and Yanny.

Didn’t expect me to start there, did you?

If you don’t recall this maddening sound bite, just know that some people heard Laurel and others heard Yanny when the audio clip was played. For me, I heard Yanny consistently for two weeks, and now I can only hear Laurel. For some reason, my brain won’t let me hear Yanny anymore.

Sorry, Yanny.

Anyway, here it is, listen to it with your friends, and let the arguments begin.

But the way we perceive the same stimulus differently doesn’t just happen with audio memes.

Have you seen the picture of the gray and teal (or is it pink and white) sneaker? This meme continues to divide people. Half swear the shoe is gray and teal, while the other half are convinced it is pink and white. Or, along the same lines, the dress that divided the world—half saw a gold and white dress, while the other half saw a black and blue dress.

Perception—what it is and what shapes it—is fascinating. Two people can listen to the exact same sound clip or see the exact same image and interpret it in entirely different ways. These differences may be influenced by our upbringing, culture, life experiences, or biology.

All of these factors together shape how we see the world, but they can also keep us from seeing or hearing it from a different perspective.

None of this makes us bad people. It simply means we interpret the world through the lens of our own unique inputs, which shape who we are and how we see everything around us.

And maybe that’s where it stops being about sound clips, sneakers, and dresses.

If how we individually and collectively perceive reality can differ that easily for things that don’t matter, what does that mean for the things that do?

If perception can shift over time—like how I now only hear Laurel—then maybe it isn’t fixed. Maybe it can be influenced and shaped by any number of factors, including how our brains are wired to process the same information differently.

And if how we perceive people, situations, or even reality itself can be influenced or manipulated (and it can), does that mean we are always at the mercy of those perceptions?

When ancients spoke of “seeing the light” or a “veil being lifted,” they often used the image of scales falling from their eyes. It described a physical condition—a scaly encrustation over the pupil that caused cloudiness and prevented clear sight. In much the same way, our hardened perceptions can cloud our vision. Our mind’s eye becomes occluded, unable to see people or situations with clarity.

This is why the posture of love—and the outflow of grace—matters so deeply. Because the only thing capable of breaking through faulty perception, of dissolving illusion and restoring clarity, is something strong enough to reach beyond what we think we already see. That is what love and grace can do. Love can see one’s worth despite how differently they perceive the world, while grace can walk alongside them even when we don’t see things the same way.

Question

What if what you’ve always been certain about is the very thing keeping you from seeing clearly?

Peace,

Brandon

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