When you see blue, do you see the same thing that I see?

Or are we seeing different things, but both calling it ‘blue’?

*mind blown*

Remember the first time that question occurred to you? It was probably somewhere in middle school, and for many kids, it’s the first truly philosophical question they ever grapple with.

As adults it’s easy to roll our eyes and hand-wave it as nonsense or merely wordplay.

(Then again, adults became obsessed over this question in 2015 when an image of “the dress” took the Internet by storm)

But in many ways, it’s really the most fundamental question of human connection: Do we see the same thing the same way, or differently?

Getting out of the Ivory Tower

Philosophers have long debated the nature of reality, and whether it’s subjective – exists only insofar as I see it – or objective – exists unto itself, regardless of how I see it.

Where once I was a pretentious 19-year-old philosophy student who took these academic matters very seriously, today I’m much more interested in the practical applications of such questions. It really doesn’t matter whether reality is objective or subjective. What matters is how I navigate the world.

Do you and I see the same thing when we look at a cloth face mask?

When we see a poverty-stricken child on the other side of the world?

When we watch a trans athlete competing?

So much of the disagreement, anger, and outrage of the past decade is born out of the fundamental assumption that when two people look at the same thing, they see the same thing.

But that’s not how perception works.

Filters

Each of us has a perspective, a lens through which we see the world, born out of our unique set of experiences, beliefs, culture, upbringing, religion, ideology, DNA. Legendary communication expert Julian Treasure refers to these as ‘filters.’

Even the time of day can influence how you see something – judges are more likely to produce a ‘guilty’ verdict in the hour before lunch, when they are hungry, than in the hour immediately after lunch, when they are satiated.

My blue isn’t your blue. And what’s more, it can’t be.

Next time you’re about to disagree or argue, take a step back and get curious instead. What filters are affecting this person’s point-of-view? And what filters are affecting yours?