Perception is Everything

If a rabbit does not see, hear, smell, or feel a bobcat coming, the rabbit will be the bobcat’s next meal.

I have no perception of the microbiome of subterranean ecosystems. Likewise, I am unfamiliar with the current pop song “Born to Die” by Lana Del Rey. These two facts do not mean that I will be anyone’s meal, but they indicate there are things that I can safely ignore.

What about more important things like who we marry, our occupation choice, our health, what we do to relax, or who we elect to represent us? Before making such decisions, how do we use our eyes, ears, and other senses to become aware of our potential mate, our future work, and our representatives?

Humans, with their large brains, need all their senses to gather information about their environment, which their brains then process. However, human senses are not infallible. Our eyes, ears, noses, tongues, and skin can deceive us. Additionally, there is the issue of whether we exercise our senses at all. With so much activity in our world, it is impossible to perceive everything that is happening. Who cares about microorganisms in caves?  Of necessity, our perceptions must be selective. When do we ignore sensory inputs, and how well do our senses operate?

The little decisions we make in our daily lives and the major ones we make occasionally are filtered by how we perceive the world. Some people have passive or inactive perceptual systems, while others have more active ones. Some mostly avoid sensory input, while others have their sensory input mediated by someone or something else (like a person with a guide dog or a lazy student using AI to get through school without studying).

The purpose of this article is to examine if and how we can misperceive the world, particularly as a prelude to making significant decisions. When we ignore possibilities and information connected with essential issues, we do a disservice to ourselves. As we will discuss, we cannot perceive everything, but shouldn’t we activate our critical sensory systems to make informed choices, such as those regarding our mate, occupation, religion, political orientation, children, and lifestyle? Do we perceive the world for ourselves, or do we allow others to define the world for us? We often discuss the importance of freedom of thought, but how can we be free thinkers when someone else distorts or filters our information? This is a question for everyone across the political spectrum.

Systems of Perception

There are essentially two ways to perceive the world. Perception mode 1 (PM 1) involves accepting and perceiving reality quickly and simply. The other way, perception mode 2 (PM 2), is a slower, more complex construction of reality through questioning and reflection. People may use both methods, depending on the context and level of development. This is a riff off Kahneman’s System 1 and 2 thinking. My focus is on perception, rather than the full complexity of decision-making and “thinking.”

Perception mode 1 is typical of the normal child. Children are like little sponges, perceiving more than adults think they do. Yet, they can be easily convinced to perceive the tooth fairy, Santa Claus, and other mythical figures, when in reality, there are “innocent” truthiness facades created by adults that cause children to misperceive reality. PM 1 is the usual way children perceive the world because they have limited experiences and lack the skills to question their perceptions. Of course, as most children grow, they quickly master the skills of skepticism. Many become hyper-skeptical (PM 2+) by the time they become teenagers. These cynical teenagers perceive virtually every aspect of existence as a sham or an illusion. Unfortunately, unchecked, PM 2+ leads to teen suicide or an apathetic approach to life.

PM 1 is not simply a childhood phase. Everyone uses PM 1. We use PM 1 when we believe our acceptance of a given reality is firmly grounded. An astrophysicist uses PM 1 when predicting the Moon’s orbit around the Earth. The astrophysicist has extensively studied the orbital mechanics of bodies in our Solar System and does not need to question the underlying equations and science.

The same PM 1 is used by bankers while evaluating loan applications, by drivers navigating the highways, and by soldiers in combat situations. Their actions are based on their PM 1. A person without collateral or a solid business plan is unlikely to receive a loan from the loan manager (who will be replaced by an AI). If drivers hear a siren from behind, they are likely to slow down and pull over to the side of the road. If an enemy soldier fires at a soldier or combat robot, the soldier or robot will perceive the gunfire and react as they have been trained or programmed to do.

A person uses perception mode 2 after discovering that a particular, important reality is more complex or not always what it appears to be. Most of us agree that there is a lot of deception and complexity in our social and physical universe. Most children perceive the world as flat while driving across a prairie. Most humans believed the Earth was flat until a few early thinkers, driven by a questioning PM 2, accumulated facts that proved the Earth was round.

No one is an expert in everything. Thus, we all accept the conclusions of trusted “experts” in areas for which we lack expertise. Most of our perceptions of medical, financial, religious, or social matters are determined by those we trust or learn from. However, our own experiences often shape many of our perceptions. If a person has an illness that is misdiagnosed or left unresolved, they might believe that modern medicine is flawed. Thus, their perception of conventional medicine is changed from unquestioning (PM 1) to questioning (PM 2). They might become more open-minded about homeopathy, naturopathy, herbal medicine, and other approaches. Children raised by Christian Scientist parents might convert from PM 1 to PM 2 after a family member died from a curable disease, and would in the future consider conventional medicine over prayer.

In the age of the internet, any gullible internet user is the target bunny for any con artist. A lonely, trusting PM 1 person with $10,000 is fair game for any 21st-century swindler.

A recent example of a PM 1 person is the late Omar Farang Zin, a motorcycle enthusiast riding through some rugged mountains in Romania. Aside from his passion for motorcycles, he loved bears. Either he perceived himself as invincible or that bears in the wild were docile. It was reported that he got off his bike to offer the bear some food. The bear approached Zin, and he was immediately attacked and dragged into the woods. The police found his dead, mauled body later that day.

Propaganda, Manipulation, and Perception Mode 1

One of the primary objectives of any individual or group seeking to dominate others is to influence their perception of the world. It could be “innocent” manipulation, like a parent creating the Santa Claus fantasy, or it could become deadly manipulative, like psychological operations (psyops) in the Russian-Ukrainian War.

Controlling personalities want their subjugated followers to perceive and accept their manipulated worldview unquestioningly, as PM 1. Suppose a dictator can cause a compliant follower to perceive the world through the dictator’s lens automatically. In that case, there is no need for complicated explanations if problems or anomalies arise in the subjugator’s constructed world. PM 1 followers do not perceive when the dictator is caught in a blatant lie or a contradiction. They might be nervously complacent, but in reality, they become like a rabbit that does not perceive the bobcat.

As previously indicated, PM 1 is not necessarily flawed or used only by foolish people. PM 1 is a valuable shortcut we all use. However, when PM 1 is used to subjugate or manipulate others for money or power, then it is very harmful for everyone. Manipulators learn the weaknesses of their human prey and, without showing their true intentions, exploit them without mercy or concern.

PM 1 manipulators can operate on any political, social, or economic group. This manipulation can arise from any person or group, including liberals, conservatives, moderates, scientists, ministers, union leaders, robber barons, and various cult leaders.

Examples of Controlling Perception

It is universal for humans to compete for hearts, minds, and money. To win, people need to control the perceptions of others. In a positive sense, most mothers try to frame the world for their children so that they grow up happy and well-adjusted. However, mothers do not rule the world. Typically, the relentless competition in business, politics, religion, and culture is limited only by the agreed-upon rules of civility and practice. Even with laws and regulations, many extremely committed PM 1 manipulators violate or stretch them beyond belief.

Accomplished puppet masters need their followers to fall into a lockstep perceptual framework regardless of the terrain or circumstance. Since their followers only perceive the fabricated world created by their master, inconsistencies, exceptions, and aberrations are not recognized in the manipulator’s narrative, and they become accepted as unquestioned “facts”. Cult members drink the figurative or literal cyanide-laced Kool-Aid because they do not perceive the danger, or they trust the narrative that they will soon arrive in the manipulator’s heaven.

A perfect example of the power of effective PM 1 propaganda is the transformation of Jesus Christ’s narrative from a peace-loving prophet into a gun-loving, Second Amendment fanatic. How is this possible? The only answer is the ability of the gun lobby to use PM 1 to alter or confirm the worldview of people who profess to be followers of Christ. The conversion of a peace-loving Christian into a locked and loaded Second Amendment pseudo-Christian can only be accomplished by skillful, devious manipulators who alter perceptions of the meaning of Christianity. Hunting is one thing, but coveting and buying an AR-15 and a $50 kit that turns it into an automatic killing weapon is antithetical to the Gospels. However, this does not stop faux Christians from hiding behind the fabricated image of Christ, with an AR-15 strapped on his back for protection.

Democrats were lulled into a false sense of security during the final years of the Biden presidency. They knew he was getting old, but like many presidents, he had handlers who controlled the public’s perception of him. The funny thing about misperceiving something is that people only see what they want to see. Democrats ignored his stiff, old-man gait and his speech patterns. They saw the man who beat Trump. Democrats used their PM 1 instead of their PM 2.

Trump’s war on America’s checks and balances, which are hardwired in the U.S. Constitution, will determine if America converts to an authoritarian form of government. Suppose enough Americans are stuck in PM 1 and do not perceive the danger of sliding into a dictatorship. In that case, the country will slide into the abyss of a Christian Nationalism like Putin’s Russia (Google it. Putin uses the Russian Orthodox Church to convince Russians that the Russian god is on his side.) Interestingly, the bloodthirsty Putin has attracted interest from Americans such as Pat Buchanan and Franklin Graham due to his stance on the “moral crisis in the West.”

This tells me that PERCEPTION IS EVERYTHING. If PM 1 allows Jesus to be converted into an AR-15 supporter of Christian Nationalism, Democrats to ignore Biden’s physical limitations, and Putin to become a hero of religious conservatives in America, anything is possible.

See this article from the Heritage Foundation: https://www.heritage.org/europe/commentary/how-putin-uses-russian-orthodoxy-grow-his-empire