Distortions in perception and action

What will happen if the human system is in syntony with the environment? What is the consequence of distortions of human interpretations??

A distortion of interpretation can happen at multiple levels. For example, our bodies may mistake a friendly bacteria for a foe and may mount a vigorous attack. Or it may let in an insidious organism in the mistaken belief that it is harmless.?

Distortion can also happen at the perceptual level, and this has far-reaching ramifications. The objective of this write-up is to explore these ramifications in far greater detail. Consider the scenario- Your boss has given a scathing critique of your recent assignment. Different people react differently. Most would not even pause to consider what happened. Instead, they would jump a few steps ahead and reach conclusions far removed from reality. But more of that later. Among those who stop and look at what happened, even here, there are multiple interpretations possible. Some may view this as an unfair excoriation; some may go into depth and understand that they did indeed commit a folly and identify the exact source of the problem. It is also possible that you did your job to perfection, but the boss missed out on some piece of information, which was the reason for his misjudgement. Another reason for the clouded perspective could be that they had a vicious argument at home.?

A typical human tendency is to rush to conclusions without considering the actual situation at hand. The findings thus reached have no bearing with reality. Instead, it is a function of the beliefs and conditioning of the human being. For example, if my opinion states that everybody tries to exploit, I may overlook my role in the fiasco and attribute the blame to my boss.

Misinterpreting reality is the first perceptual distortion that subsequently leads to misplaced actions. Once I understand what happened, I need to make a judgment or reach a conclusion summarising the event. Here again, humans tend to falter. Assessments typically suffer from bias or the impact of one's belief systems. In the scenario above, an alarmist person may conclude that the boss wants to fire him. A more balanced human may countenance the possibility that maybe the scuffle resulted from a bad mood.

Once we conclude as to the happening, it is time to act. Unfortunately, our actions also suffer from distortions of our thought processes. Some are prone to avoiding confrontations, and even if the situation demands one, they refrain from any assertive actions. Some are always raring to have a go at it, and it may be difficult for them to reflect on a situation calmly and engender a genuinely interactive conversation.?

Every situation has a righteous action that is possible. It is up to us to fathom the act of righteousness. When we liberate ourselves from mind-numbing constraints and habits, we can reach integrity in our efforts. Faulty actions can stem as much from our unwillingness to act as they can from incorrect judgements or misplaced understanding of reality (Perceptual distortion).

The consequences of perceptual distortion and incorrect action are manifold. Perceptual distortion typically creates an imbalance, restlessness, anxiety, fear or stress within a system. For example, if I wrongly conclude that my boss is trying to fire me, I may be beleaguered by intense agitation. Incorrect action exacerbates the stress within a system.

Another consequence is that the impact that it has on the environment. Our distortions have a domino effect. Wrong perceptions lead to misplaced actions, and incorrect actions perpetuate perceptual distortions in others. We are thus witnessing an endless cascading impact of misunderstanding and errors in action. At some level, it places the entire planet in jeopardy.

It doesn't take a genius to understand the consequences of a situation not marred by perceptual distortions. The idyllic and utopian world that we all desire is closer to our reach than we believe. And the root of it all lies with perceptual distortions and misplaced actions.