I’ve decided to help y’all who don’t believe “the owls are not (ever) what they seem to be” and post a little experiment on perception.
Actually here’s what happened… I was eating at a McDonalds (thing that doesn’t happen very often) one night, after going out with some friends, and saw a gorgeous picture. Tried to find one alike on the Internet, but couldn’t. Here’s the picture:
The first three words that came to my mind when I saw the pic were: hot, lonely, powerful.
So then I thought I’d show the picture to my friends, because I considered it to be far too gorgeous.
And then another thought came to mind… Why don’t I ask them say the first three words coming to their minds when they see the pic too?
Here’s what came out:
About ten men said bike.
Three men said Ipod.
Two men said cellphone.
As for the ladies, about 3 out of 11 said bike, and the rest of the words were dis and dat.
There were 32 men and 11 women, with ages between 20 and 45, involved in this wee experiment. Now I asked them on a forum and on some private messenger list, I know 11 women vs 32 men doesn’t say much, but for a general idea I think it works.
I wanted to prove it to myself that perception is totally cuckoo. That it’s based on more things than you’ll ever understand. Even if we have a common language and knowledge in some way, we’re really apart in lots of ways.
Lots of people thought of bike (as a common name for a motorcycle), some people thought of IPod, because the gas pump looks like one and has an IP on it. Some thought of a cell phone, because that’s what the gas pump reminded them of. And lots of them noticed the rainy weather. But other than that… They expressed totally different things. More emotional, more logical, more cuckoo, take it as you will.
So you should remember this test, if you will, next time you don’t understand why someone acts the way they do. Next time you wonder why you’re not understood. Next time you expect people to act in a way you think to be appropriate.
This test wasn’t so hard and it’s probably been done before, but hey… It just gives a simple idea on how things go.
I also asked the peeps to give me three words the second day after their first answer. Only two people have done so, saying other words on the second day (although it’s been stated that they can say the same words). That was to show how easily perception changes, according to moods and other imprevisible things. Of course sometimes perception can stay the same, but I’ve tried this second thing to show that you shouldn’t be surprised if something changes and you don’t understand. It’s a simple matter. And it can go like *poof*.
And one other thing. You should keep in mind that this test was taken only to give you an idea. Perception goes much, much further, and it’s far more complicated. But the main principle applies at any level. And there are much more complicated situations in life, based on perception. This one is very simple.
What are they thinking?
Here are the full results:
Boy 1 Harley, Davidson, GP
Boy 2: motorbike, ipod, blue
Boy 3: Cool, dark, dirty
Boy 4: harley, hiking, memory
Boy 5: Gun, bike, ipod
Boy 6: gas, sex, skin
Boy 7: Ipod, mobilephone, motorbike
Boy 8: classic, pop art, America
Boy 9: cellphone, motorbike, poor weather
Boy 10: whas yer name
Boy 11: passionate, luxury, life
Boy 12: Bike, wheel, sky
Boy 13: hot, sexy, sultry
Boy 14: bizare mysterious, cool
Boy 15: Fun, freedom, dreams
Boy 16: Gloomy, historic (nothing)
Boy 17: Bike, apocalypse, sky
Boy 18: (nothing)
Boy 19: power, control, class
Boy 20: motorcycle, gas, crisis
Boy 21: freedom, beauty, speed
Boy 22: Bike, small, blue
Boy 23: Bike, mountains, gadget
Boy 23, day two: Bike, rain, blue
Boy 24: Bike, mountain, empty
Boy 25: bike, dark, cloud
Boy 26: Passion, thrill, atmosphere
Boy 27: Heavy tanker, Horse power, long ride
Boy 28: Bike, pump, blue
Boy 29: petrol, motorbike, rain
Boy 30: Grey, Bike, Phone
Boy 31: Bike Wet Slide
Boy 32: runaway into bliss
Girl 1: Motor, rain, anvelope
Girl 2: Rustic, Serene, Wet.
Girl 3: Bike, cold, night
Girl 4: talk ride water
Girl 5: lone ranger, phone, Batman
Girl 6: Sexy, bike, blue
Girl 7: Bike, phone, landscape
Girl 8: Peaceful, cool, night
Girl 9: darkness, cloud,phone
Girl 10: bike, sky, book
Girl 10, day two: tyre, surreal, rocks
Girl 11: Blue dirty damp
“You are what you think you are…”
“Your perception is your reality.”
