Life has been very interesting lately. Racial tension is high, political tension is high, we are all apart from many of our friends and some of our family, and we are spending a lot more time at home. These factors seem to have contributed to a rise in domestic violence, relationships falling apart, increases in certain crimes, toilet paper shortages, and an increase in depression.
It sounds bad, but sometimes you just need to turn your head. You could be sitting on the balcony in a luxury hotel room overlooking the ocean, but if your chair is facing the wrong way you are stuck looking at the air conditioning unit on top of the building next door. Just turn your head and enjoy the view damnit.
But turning your head doesn’t always help and putting off problems can make things worse. I often think of something called parallax error. Imagine looking at a clock on the wall. Not a digital clock but an old school clock with hands and a face. If the hands are set away from the face, meaning they are not laying flat on the face, then you may read the wrong time depending on the angle you view the clock from. Looking from below the clock may read 12:05, but looking from above it may read 12:10, even though looking straight on it actually reads 12:08. You don’t read the correct time unless you are looking at it straight on. We can apply this to situations as well.
We’ve all heard there are 3 sides to every story and we know we all impart bias when looking at external situations, particularly if those situations touch on something we feel strongly about. Our personal bias is like parallax error. We are looking at something from our side. It’s helpful to recognize that bias and try to approach a situation straight on to get a more accurate picture. However I don’t think we can arrive at an actual solution until we can see the situation from multiple positions.
Think back to the clock. If you are above the clock and see 12:10, then look straight on and see 12:08, you will want to set the clock back 2 minutes so your view is correct. The person below sees 12:05, then looks straight on and sees 12:08 and wants to set the clock forward 3 minutes so their view is correct. You both know the actual time but will “correct” the clock in opposing ways. You have the same goal.
Looking at a problem from as many angles as possible gives us the best shot at coming to a solution that lasts. Oh and don’t forget that time is an angle as well, and time compounds problems exponentially. Let’s say that the person below adjusts the clock ahead 3 minutes so they see 12:08. Later when the clock reads 12:45 straight on it’s really 12:42 but the person below sees 12:50. Their solution was invalid. A similar thing happens if the person above the clock makes an adjustment based on their perspective. They are both trying to manipulate the world to fit their view.
In this case the solution doesn’t even involve adjusting the hands on the clock. Sometimes the best solution is to worry about yourself and get a watch. Sometimes the best solution is to change your perspective. Other times the solution is to get a digital clock.
We will all encounter people that cannot see the world through any perspective but their own. People of this persuasion make finding viable solutions to our problems more difficult. Time has shown me that you can’t force people to change unless they truly want to. All I can say is be a good example. Be the change you want to see. Try viewing the world from different perspectives. Be willing to accept that you may be wrong sometimes. Try to understand the bias filters you have in your life.
If we are going to find solutions for racism, political differences, class disparity, religious tensions, staying at home with stir crazy children, and other big issues, we have to be willing to see through parallax error. Oh, and stock up on toilet paper because people are ridiculous sometimes.