we see a reflection of ourselves in everything we look at

We think of “seeing” as just detecting the world around us. But its more than that. We tie associations to objects. Within our mental model of the world are smaller mental models of specific concepts and objects. We pack these models with personal associations from our personal histories. We don’t just see the world, we see our past. And we make the world we live in.

Each of these associations leave us with a feeling that fades just as quickly as they arise. They precede conscious thought, but in the end all these feelings reduce to the impulse to either advance or withdraw from whatever we’re seeing.

Because of these associations between objects and personal experience, everyone has a different perspective on the world. An obvious thing to say, easy to agree with. But this idea is less obvious when it matters most. When we disagree with someone, it feels like our opinion is based on fact. It’s structurally sound, a logic argument. But theirs is ridiculous, based on emotion and lacking common sense. If you were them, I bet you’d think the way they do, because you’d be them.

To recognize the bias we inject, we must pay attention to the world.

The reflection of ourselves we see in the world around us isn’t only something to be cautious of. It’s something we can embrace. It forms our unique perspective that we can use to shape the world, or create art, or connect with others. Because our bias is uniquely ours (uniqueness comes from our influences), and creativity is the processes of creating connections, we can use our bias to create new and exciting connections. We can inject our own experience into our world, mesh things together, and share that unique perspective with those around us. That’s what storytelling allows us to do.

inspired by:: The Science of Storytelling (book)