The Truth, The Reality, and The Perception
I am a FAA certified Airline Transport Pilot, and also a Certified Flight Instructor. For years I have taught new Flight Instructor applicants. And to be a Flight Instructor, among all other requirements, one is that you have to pass a written and oral examination on Fundamental of Instruction, or FOI. FOI is precisely some basics of human psychology applicable to any teaching and learning event.
One of the subject areas taught and emphasized in the FOI is called the learning process. How humans learn. And one of the key factors in human learning behavior is perception. How we perceive things. For example, a child growing up would not know what “hot” is unless he in fact touches something that is hot, and we as parents tell him, “Hot!”. Now he knows what hot is. His perception of “hot” in his mind has a meaning now, which was derived from an experience, and was reinforced by the parent.
The Perception of hot in the above example has now become the Truth and Reality in the child’s brain. Probably forever. Later on he will learn the the relative terms like hotter, hottest, extremely hot, warm etc.
Here, read this story now, and then I can explain the point that I am trying to make:
The Truth, Reality and Perception of a Camel
Camels were, and still are one of the most commonly used modes of transportation in the greatest deserts of the world. Convoys of camels are used by traders in the local commerce to move goods around from place to place.
This story is about one such camel and his jockey (rider). They were a part of this convoy, travelling, when a sandstorm hit them without any warning. The convoy leader ordered everyone to stop and camp out for the night. And a part of the camping out process is that every jockey pulls out a stake, buries it in the sand, and then ties up his camel with a rope, one end to the stake and the other around the camels neck.
This jockey realized that he forgot to bring the stake and rope set for his camel. He is sitting, cursing his luck out, not knowing what to do, when the convoy leader (he is the leader for a reason) comes over and asks him what was going on. The jockey briefed him on the situation at hand; no rope, no stake, and no ideas.
The convoy leader told him not to worry and simply carry out the process with an imaginary stake, imaginary rope, and the imaginary burying, and the imaginary tying the rope around the camel’s neck. I am sure you get the point.
The jockey does exactly as was told, and moved on with the rest of the chorus of camping out and sleeping off the sandstorm. Guess what! In the morning the camel was found sitting right next to that imaginary stake, waiting for the next set of orders.
Moral of the Story
The camels learning process from his experiences in his life were as follows:
“Every time my master performs this act (staking and tying), the result is that I can’t go anywhere. I have tried otherwise while growing up, but now for years I know this. So I don’t even try. My perceptions have given me a meaning, which are my Truth.”
My Point
If you ask the camel, “Were you tied up that night?”, I am sure his answer would be, “Yes I was”. Would the camel be telling you the Truth? Ha!
We have heard that Truth is Truth. And nothing can change the Truth. The Truth is an absolute statement. I say that the Truth is again nothing but a perception, or a result of a perception. The camel’s truth is that he was tied up. I am sure he will have no problem even going under oath and solemnly declare that he was in fact tied up that night. How about the jockey’s truth? He probably would smirk, or wink, and tell you that no, the camel was not tied up that night.
Truth is perception. The way one sees things from his or her point of view. So maybe, we can all agree to this:
Truth is a meaningful insight as a result of our past experiences, and nothing but perception.
How about the Reality though?
Now, let’s ask the question, “What was the reality like that night?”
Your comments?
