{"id":2447,"date":"2021-11-10T10:37:14","date_gmt":"2021-11-10T16:37:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.mandirigmafma.com\/?p=2447"},"modified":"2021-11-10T11:29:25","modified_gmt":"2021-11-10T17:29:25","slug":"the-caveats-of-perceptual-filters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.mandirigmafma.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/10\/the-caveats-of-perceptual-filters\/","title":{"rendered":"THE CAVEATS OF PERCEPTUAL FILTERS"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Red flags to our concrete thinking that present glitches in the matrix<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we\u2019ve discussed, heuristics are designed to speed-up the processing-analysis using a combination of perceptual filters we have discussed previously \u2013 experience, exposure or immersion, nature, nurture, age, gender, class, state, environment, culture, previously-training & education, by-proxy learning, et al. Perceptual filters not only help one develop credibility in certain areas of specialization over time (and generally cumulatively), but they inevitably make us, well, \u201cus.\u201d It\u2019s important to know that we are not a one-dimensional entity but a three-dimensional that is made up of the whole of the sum of our parts. We are \u201cus\u201d due to a vast array of influences, experiences, personality, impactful events, genetics, moods. And THIS is why it is ALWAYS the individual (man or woman), not any system, method, art, style, technique, tactic. Those are the stable elements to the forever fluidity of that individual \u2013 and fluidity\u2026context \u2013 always reigns supreme. Most know this whether they are able to articulate it or not. Easy, at least we think. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As many seem to perpetually thinks it\u2019s the other way around (stage 1\/surface) and that the important thing is those things listed above, it\u2019s much rarer to find someone who knows it\u2019s always \u201cthe individual.\u201d (stage 2\/shallow) They know it through and through as their cumulative life experiences have consistently led them to that conclusion. Fewer understand what makes up those intangibles that make it the individual \u2013 what we term those \u201cperceptual filters.\u201d (stage 3\/mid-level). They grasp that we are shaped through a number of influences along the way that make us us and give us our understanding of things. Yet fewer are those who understand that, while the above may be true, the map is not the territory. Our experience is just that, even with the whole sphere of knowledge and perception we\u2019ve obtained over our lifetime from the various sources. Our perception is still flawed as our truth is not at all necessarily the full and complete one that exists in actuality. It is just our version of it. The way we filter it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And, because perception of reality is ALWAYS flawed and unreliable when lined-up alongside actual reality, there are certain caveats that come with our perceptual filters \u2013 the inevitable and irresistible \u201cflawed filtering.\u201d That\u2019s an important discrepancy to acknowledge as it allows us to manage and factor-in these issues with our perception of situations, scenarios, circumstances to more closely align the two when utilizing heuristics to make important decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That being said, what are some of those caveats? What skews our view of things? Alters assessment, analysis, dissection of important, risky, conflictual, dangerous, threatening situations? Why is it important? When we accept and acknowledge our limitations on the current state-of-things, our abilities and capabilities, our discrepancies with the actuality, any contextual lag \u2013 it gives us a greater chance on performing in the necessary manner to achieve whatever the desired result may be; survival, success, performance, best-case scenario, good-enough\u2026inevitably whatever is dictated by that circumstance. It\u2019s entirely one thing to find out what makes yourself tick \u2013 yet another to understand the limitations of that understanding so one can align with the current reality of things and make grounded decisions based on the incoming stimuli.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, again, we ask, what are some of those red flags?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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a. BIAS<\/strong>. Cognitive biases that are skewed by faulty and disconnected perceptual filters. There are many, including confirmation bias (pilfering information that backs an already-believed axiom), Dunning-Kruger (the simple road with minimal information is always the easiest to fathom), status-quo (denial), eternal-optimism (always looking on the bright side), eternal-pessimism (always looking on the dark side), the halo effect (gesture doesn\u2019t signify personality), anchoring (1st bit of pertinent info sets the table), hindsight (always 20-20, right, looking back\u2026crystal-ball narratives are always created post-event), group (I\u2019m in with them and they\u2019re all doing it, so\u2026), self-serving (my work when rewarded, their fault when blamed), and so-on-and-so-forth. Biases are vast and multi-functional and always context-appropriate; they cloud our judgment, period. (eg. You overrule or disregard valuable advice given to you by someone with better, clearer, or emotionally-detached perspective than you in a specific context because you da\u2019 man; even though your inner-alarm is going off, you side with your posse because they couldn\u2019t possibly steer you wrong\u2026could they; They look more like me, therefore, I relate more to them and will side with them)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

b. CONTEXT-MISDIAGNOSIS<\/strong>. You erred in your assessment of what was actually unfolding before even relying on conscious decision-making or heuristics. The context was not at all what you diagnosed and, therefore, either that conscious decision-making or heuristic-recall\/rolodex were never a given a chance to succeed. (eg. You cause a very unneeded scene when a gentleman was staring at your wife from across the room \u2013 when they went to grad-school together and hadn\u2019t seen each other for 20 years; You get involved in a lover\u2019s spat thinking the girl was in trouble and it turns out she is the aggressor and turns on you; That panic in the parking lot with screaming and running is for a movie)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

c. OVERCONFIDENCE. <\/strong>You over-estimated your ability and capability to get the job done. Ego. Cockiness. Pride. Either way, your belief in yourself in certain complex or difficult circumstances can be overblown or your view on achievable outcome extended past your ability to pull it off. (eg. You believe that, even though there are 4 of them, you\u2019ve beaten 4 in controlled-sparring class before so you should have no problem here either, regardless of their holding weapons; Since you\u2019ve spoken in front of family at Christmas, doing so in front of 300 strangers should be no different; Fake-it-until-I-make-it)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

d. UNDER-ESTIMATION. <\/strong>To some degree, the mirror-image of the above. While they often go hand-in-hand \u2013 they needn\u2019t. I can be grounded with ego and pride yet still under-estimate an opponent or situation. (eg. The common industry misjudgment of assuming that the boogeyman, stranger-danger, or the predator \u201coutside-the-gate\u201d is the one we predominantly need to prepare for when it\u2019s far more often true it\u2019s someone we know, trust, interact with, work with, or is a satellite to our life; She\u2019s young and inexperienced and a \u201cshe\u201d, I should have no trouble putting her in her place; I bet I could finish that project all by noon\u2026)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

e. TRANSFERABILITY. <\/strong>The unerring belief that because you have experience and exposure in a given area, it automatically transfers to every other relatable or offshoot area. (eg. Since you\u2019re a martial arts master, you also know about firearms, defensive-driving, 1st-Aid, and survivalism as a by-product because all things safety is clearly your lane; I had a like-situation once, I bet if I do the same thing here, the outcome should be the same; I\u2019ve dealt with people with his profile before, I\u2019ve got him figured-out before we even begin this; I can skate on ice, this roller-blading should be no different; It worked in Canada, it should work the same here in Costa Rica)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

f. LOCUS-OF-CONTROL\/INFLUENCE. <\/strong>Though our experience and exposure far greater, instincts more finely-honed from our perceptual filters, have handled similar situations with far more frequency, have already acknowledged any personal biases that could blind clarity \u2013 we listen to someone else for whatever reason. Our significant other who knows us best \u2013 sometimes to their and our detriment (read: their own biases.) Our boss who has more power and clout over us. Peer pressure from others \u201coutvoting\u201d you en masse. Someone else driving or paying the bill. An ally more uninhibited, risk-taking, reckless, na\u00efve, or oblivious than we are. Loved ones slow to react or unknowing of the dangers or having no familial protocols in-place for this sort of occurrence. A group of people with previously-thought similar goals and motives who display shades to the pure colors we originally thought. Tribalism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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These are some of the issues with personal perceptual-filter overreliance that can influence both conscious decision-making and heuristic-recall. They cloud our judgment and make that very perception designed to help us all blurry and foggy, taking away the big advantage we may have from the appropriate tools we may have for a given thing. It\u2019s imperative that these are understood prior to important decision-making as they act as blind-spots that take away our edges we have over potentially-diverse situations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While this is getting a little more into the deeper-end of the pool, the shallow can get us in trouble as it only partially-educates us. Gives us an unfocused perspective. Leaves out valuable information. Renders some otherwise valuable knowledge obsolete. And I\u2019m positive you can handle the deeper-water if it ups success on potentially-serious and impactful life decisions for you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Red flags to our concrete thinking that present glitches in the matrix As we\u2019ve discussed, heuristics are designed to speed-up the processing-analysis using a combination of perceptual filters we have discussed previously \u2013 experience, exposure or immersion, nature, nurture, age, gender, class, state, environment, culture, previously-training & education, by-proxy learning, et al. Perceptual filters not … Continue reading THE CAVEATS OF PERCEPTUAL FILTERS<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.mandirigmafma.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.mandirigmafma.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.mandirigmafma.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mandirigmafma.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mandirigmafma.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2447"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mandirigmafma.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2447\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2506,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mandirigmafma.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2447\/revisions\/2506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.mandirigmafma.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mandirigmafma.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mandirigmafma.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}