In the third part of "The Wordsmiths" series, University of Louisiana Monroe freshman Graham Nunnelee analyzes how the differing meanings of words can cause different perceptions of reality.
Perception is defined as the process of becoming aware or conscious of a thing or things. The definition of reality is what is real rather than imagined or desired. So, according to these definitions, we must have perception for us to form a reality. The definition of perception does not specify that the things we are “aware” of must be real. Therefore, we can be deceived by our perception with imaginary ideas, assumptions, and biases that then create an intangible reality.
The podcast The Asymptotic Fidelity of Words created by The Liturgists discusses the existence, or nonexistence of color. This is a great example we can use to delve into this debate. In the podcast, The Liturgists say that when you look at an item or image, your eyes send signals to your brain and your brain then creates the color of that image. Because the color of an object is decided by your eyes alone, your perception of green can differ drastically from someone else’s. Personally I’m red-green colorblind, the reality that I perceive is objectively different than the reality that another person may perceive. Just as your eyes filter reality, so do your beliefs, past experiences, and prejudices, making every person’s reality different.
While the Liturgists used color to define existence and nonexistence, Gary M. Jaron uses unicorns as a different binary. Because the idea of unicorns exists in the minds of some people, Jaron states, “The problem is that the sentence, unicorns do not exist, is true, and the sentence, unicorns do exist, is also true.” So, unicorns do not exist in the physical sense; however, they most definitely exist in a metaphysical sense. This phenomenon expands what reality can be for every person.
The only true reality is our own perceived reality. Our perceptions allow us very small glimpses into a vast expanse of knowledge that is the known and unknown. However, the perceptions that we form are our personal reality, and those perceptions are real enough to us. In truth, it doesn’t matter what reality is and isn’t, it matters what we do with our perceptions.
Freshmen at the University of Louisiana Monroe Graham Nunnelee, Madilion Mouton, Madelyn McDade, Mattie Pratt, and Luke McManus worked together to analyze how differing meanings of words can create different perceptions of reality.
Students performed research under Vanelis Rivera at ULM, wrote the essays, and chose a narrator.