Does it sometimes feel like you exist in a different world than everyone else? That you have these ideas about things that seem wrong or completely out of the blue? And people say to you, "What? where did you ever hear that?" or "How could you not know this?" or "Um, no, it's actually like such."
Where do we get wrong ideas from - especially ones that weren't specifically taught to us, but that we thought came from our own perceptions of life? Do they come from being too sheltered? From being unobservant? From reading the wrong books? From having a bad sense of perception?
Can a perspective be wrong?
And is it wrong to feel stupid for not knowing things that everyone else seems to think are obvious? Is this a flaw? Is it a fluke or is it your fault that you just never came across whatever thing it is that everyone else seems to know but you don't?
Is the world a little bit different for everyone?
2 comments:
Hmm, I think I know what sparked this post.
I think everyone encounters this to some degree, and with different issues. Now, I don't have as much pity for someone who doesn't know the name of the current president or the capital of the state they live in (certain things people should know just to be informed people), but when someone hasn't heard of a phrase or something . . . then I dunno. I guess if you expect someone to know something based on their interests it's more surprising/disappointing when they don't.
However, even when you encounter snide attitudes ("You don't know that? Ooookay - you're weird") don't let it get to you - it's probably not personal, and even if it is, it's not worth listening to and keeping you from asking questions about something you don't know.
(p.s. sorry :(.)
Apple - thanks for your comment. But don't worry, it's not just not knowing a phrase or a word. :) It's happened to me other times before where I've had an idea about something that seems to be inconsistent with other people's ideas about that thing or facts that people tell me about that thing, but then seems to be very consistent with my own experiences regarding that thing (I'm not speaking about any one thing in particular, but in general this has happened to me a few times). That's a much more complex issue and harder to reconcile than not knowing a phrase or something like that, although that happens to me a lot, too. :D
I suppose it's like...as people we experience things from only one point of view - our own. So if you experience something and form an opinion about it, you'll have a different idea about that thing than someone else, even if it goes against the facts of what that thing really is. That's where it gets difficult. It's like...well, this doesn't make much sense but it's like someone eating something very, very sweet - so sweet that to them it tastes sour - so they perceive that thing as being sour, but then everyone else is like, "What???? It's sweet!" And the person is like, "ummmm, I thought it was sour." That's a simple example, but it happens with more complicated things, too. Is this making any sense?
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