Appearances are deceptive

Growing up I used to watch television religiously. One day I saw Madhuri Dixit in a gorgeous dress; it was an unusual kind of dress, a suit tied with laces on the side, and she looked lovely. I thought it was beautiful and was very excited when I found a similar looking suit in my size. I begged my parents to buy it right away and they indulged me. It was perfect, I had found the dress in my size and I loved it. But when I wore it, I just didn’t feel the excitement, the dress was gorgeous but it looked awful on me. The next time I saw someone wearing a similar kind of dress on TV I didn’t find it beautiful.

I didn’t understand it right then that my perception of the image on TV had changed. I was ten; I didn’t realize that the dress Madhuri was wearing was not looking flattering, even on her. She was my favourite actress and no matter what kind of crazy outfit she wore she always looked good to me.

I realize now, that our perceptions rule over reality in just about every aspect of life. Our opinions and judgments are influenced by the images and appearances before us. And this is true in every single aspect of life.

A couple of months back ABC ran a documentary on just the same, on how our perception affects the simplest of decisions in life. They observed the behaviour of a test group of people and how their perception was influenced by imagery.

In one study, people were tested on likeability of Vodka. The test group was asked about their favorite vodka. Majority replied that they preferred Grey Goose, and some even responded that they can differentiate between Grey Goose and other brands of vodka. Six brands of vodka were used including Grey Goose which is an expensive brand of vodka. The test group was served with the six different brands of vodka, in glasses and asked to identify the vodka, and rate the different Vodka on likeability. The results were surprising; no one rated Grey Goose as the favourite, and no one identified Grey Goose correctly.

Though some had claimed that Grey Goose is their favorite, when consuming other brands they just could not differentiate Grey Goose from others. It was their perception that was telling them a particular brand was the best.

Though this was a study, but our day to day life is full of examples where we put on our coloured glasses and look at the world. Perhaps it is not humanly possible to dissociate our perceptions from the way we look at reality, but we could be, just a little open, to acknowledge that what we see may not be all that is there to see.