Black is not the opposite of white

Black is not the opposite of white. Green and red are not opposites. These are only different colours. Sweet and sour are just two different tastes. We believe that if somebody doesn't like sour food, then he should like sweets. Not necessarily. He may like both the tastes or hate them both. Why should dark be the opposite of faint? These are many such funny human interpretations. Such arguments, over a period, shape our perceptions and then the perceptions become a reality.

Inappropriate perceptions develop prejudice. Prejudice can inflict injustice.

Perception 1: - Look at the picture given on the right side. It is a pencil sketch. The painter has drawn a beautiful scene. He has drawn a small tree, the trunk of a large tree, ground, some buildings at the end of the field and a lady walking near the trunk of the tree.

Perception 2: - Somebody can develop a perception that it is a pencil sketch of a human face. Look at it carefully with this new perception. To the left of the tree trunk, you can see the face of a man with clear forehead, eyes nose and lips.

This is the example of two different perceptions. Now, these are not opposites. Nothing is right or wrong. They are just two different ways of looking at the same sketch.

Prejudice is the foundation of inequality.

In my view, there are certain sins which we commit. Those sins result into the wrong perception and hence prejudice. I would like to discuss a few of them:

Labelling and Classifying Humans can't live without names. We label ourselves, our pets, cities, poems, streets, schools everything. Even commodities are labelled to become brands. Labelling is not a just hobby, but it has become our need. We can not stay without labelling. It is the first step towards remembering. The way we remember something depends on the way we label it. Labelling is the function of our perception. If perception is wrong then labelling is wrong. Like in the above example the sketch can be labelled differently & hence remembered differently by different people. Prejudice can spoil labelling. Prejudice is an early judgement which may not be based on reality.

We do not stop at labelling. We want to classify things after labelling. We hardly remember unless we classify. After classifying we can relate the label to a particular class and remember it. It is easier to remember such classes by identifying the similarities rather than trying to remember each label separately. But the labels in the same class could be distinctly different from other labels on many other parameters. For example, an Indian can classify Manchurian, Hakka & Cantonese preparations as a Chinese food. Travelling in China, you realise cuisines in different parts of China are distinctly different. Southern cuisine is dominated by rice whereas northern is dominated by wheat base preparations. Hakka preparation in the South is radically different from Manchurian cuisine in the northeast of China. The same thing can be true for Punjabi, South Indian and Gujarati preparations. Americans may classify everything as Indian food but as an Indian, your choices could be different. This is the same as having two different perceptions about the above sketch.

Labelling and classifying are the processes by which we create memory hooks

After branding, we want to classify the product as premium or economy. Perception is the foundation of labelling and classification. The wrong perception can create wrong memory hook. Our behaviour is driven by our memory hooks.

Prejudice is a wrong memory hook

People with right perceptions will behave properly because of the right memory hooks which drive their behaviour. We refer to our labels and classifications as our views or opinions. Once we form opinions, they are tough to change. Just look at the above picture again. Once you label it and classify the sketch as a human face, you do not look at it as a woman walking on the ground near the tree. Even if the painter wanted you to look at it that way (perception 1) you will always look at it differently (perception 2). Moral of the story: we have to be very careful when we do labelling and classifying things initially because we hardly get second chance to do so.

Gross Generalisation and Simplification To create memory hook we commit another mistake of gross generalisation. There is a limit to which human mind can handle variety. Most of the Indian brands had generalised that 'plus size' ladies would not use western wear. A department store chain, Westside, came out with a new western wear brand, Gia, for plus size ladies by looking at 'in-store videos' which showed such ladies shopping in gents section for western outfits. Gia became one of the most successful brands sold by the store chain. Another department store chain took the hint and started a speciality garment chain, in Mumbai, ALL (A Little Large), exclusively for large size customers and doing good business. Department stores were losing out business because of their gross generalisation.

Generalisation is a process of variety reduction and hence simplification. It is done to create memory hook

Obsession about simplification results into the gross generalisation. Many times prejudice is the foundation of gross generalisation and oversimplification. For example, use of words. We try to remember a new word by relating it to synonyms. This is our simplification process which creates a memory hook. But that may not be the right way to learn. For a new person, both smile and laugh mean the same. An example of an oversimplification. For somebody with English as the first language, these words meant to be used in entirely different situations.

Comparing and saying Good or Bad It is a common disease in human. When we are served food with the different taste, we tend to say either good or bad. Many things are neither good or bad they are only different. But we identify a few things which are congruent to our expectations and stamp them good and others bad. Sometimes it is exactly opposite. What we do not have is good and what we have is bad. Ladies with curly hair spent thousands of dollars to make their hair straight. Those with straight hairs spent an equal amount to make their hair curly. Dark skinned people spend a lot of skin whitening creams, and treatments and whites do sunbathe to tan their skin to look dark. What we have is bad and what we do not have is good.

Self-inflicted Prejudice The worst form of prejudice can be self-inflicted. I realised that the world is based on a binary system. It is either 'Present' (1) or 'Absent' (0). In a few cases, we say something is good if it is '1' and bad if it is '0'. It is either present or absent. You are black, or you are not black. You are blond, or you are not. Nothing is good or bad.

If you have '1' in something, then you will have '0' in something else. The universe is balanced.

Computers are developed with this base of '0' & '1' that is either presence of a current or absence of it. This combination of '0' & '1' is called byte. Many such bytes make MB and GB. Only '0' or only'1' couldn't have made computers a reality. We need both. Moral of the story: do not worry about your '0's, what you do not have. It is nothing but self-inflicted prejudice. Focus on your '1', what you have. That is a reality.