Have you ever made an error of judgment at some point in your life? Did you ever think about the mistakes you have made through misperceptions and wish that somehow you could change it? Well, I am sure you have, maybe even more than once in your lifetime. Often individuals make many errors of judgment without even realizing that they do. The reason they do not realize that they do is because they frequently do not pay attention to their error of judgment until they look back on it or rethink about it.
I have made many judgments of error throughout my life that I wish I could change or go back and fix, but one in particular is a misperception I have made recently. This misperception was the fact that I had a misunderstanding of my friends from Saudi Arabia that I met when I moved to Pittsburgh. I knew nothing about these friends of mine before they introduced themselves to me. Once they all introduced themselves all I knew was the fact that they came from Saudi Arabia and they came to America to Point Park University to learn English.
Each one of my friends had been here a few months before me because they were already at Point Park taking courses and learning English. I assumed something about them that was not true at all, and that was that Arabic individuals rarely associate with American individuals, they mainly associate with other Saudi Arabians. I was also told that they are not very friendly toward people that did not share the same culture.The reason I thought this was because I was told this many times before and I assumed the reason for that was because it was part of their beliefs.
I have recently learned that this is a judgment of error. Individuals from Saudi Arabia are friendly toward everyone they meet. My friends who came from Saudi Arabia came to America for a reason which is to go to school in Pittsburgh and learn how to speak English. In order to learn how things work in America and in order to learn our language, they must talk to the individuals from America.It only makes sense for them to associate with Americans so they can practice the English language and communicate.
If they did not speak to American, then they would not learn very much or as much as they could. It would be extremely difficult for them to live in America if they did not associate with the American citizens. My earlier self listened to other individuals instead of learning or finding out on my own. Also, because I did not find out for myself beforehand, I jumped to conclusions and assumed that is how they really are.
After learning that what I was told and what I assumed is not true at all, I have learned that instead of assuming and jumping to conclusions I should give whatever it is a chance and find out for myself whether what people say is true or not. I have also come to realize that there are ways to avoid misperceptions such as this one. One could avoid them by thinking through things before misjudging or becoming confused. One could also ask questions, which I did myself when I because friends with the Arabian individuals.Based on “The Four Idols” by Francis Bacon, I was guilty of the Idols of the Tribe. Bacon says “And the human understanding is like a false mirror, which, receiving rays irregularly, distorts and discolors the nature of things by mingling its own nature with it”, I believe he is saying that we as humans see things falsely and we misinterpret things in life just like a false mirror does (Bacon 582).
Humans often misinterpret things because they do not think clearly about whatever they are misunderstanding or confused about and therefore they do not realize that they are making an error of judgment.And I am one of the humans in the world that did not realize I was making an error of judgment because I was seeing things falsely instead of thinking clearly and realizing I was doing so. Bacon also explains that in the Idols of the Tribe, “On the contrary, all perceptions as well of the sense as of the mind are according to the measure of the individual and not according to the measure of the universe” (Bacon 582). I believe that he is saying that individuals sometimes see what they expect to see or that people are affected by what they want to believe.This is exactly what I did, I thought that the individuals I became friends with from Saudi Arabia were going to be unfriendly and not associate with me because that is what other people told me and in one way that was what I wanted to believe.
In another way I just did not remember to give them a chance before misinterpreting them and I did not want to believe that they were going to be the way everyone else told me. Sometimes individuals rely on other individuals opinions and thoughts rather than relying on their own.I realize now that it is important to figure out the facts before misjudging someone or something. Just because one or a few individuals tell you one thing, does not make it true. I believe that the mistake I made arose because I did not listen to my inner voice, if I listened to my inner voice I would not have made the misperception that I did and it could have been easily avoided.
On the other hand, sometimes my inner voice is not always heard and therefore it is good to listen to it when it is necessary.Emerson says “It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion”, I believe that I made a misperception because I listened to someone else’s opinion and many individuals listen to other people’s opinions before they decide for themselves and they jump to conclusions (Emerson 263). I listened to other individuals’ opinions when I was told those things about Arabians and it was not true at all. I also believe that the mistake I made arose because sometimes as individuals we forget that we cannot always listen to everyone around us and we sometimes, somehow become a person we are not.
I did not think clearly before judging my friends and thinking that they were not going to talk to me and that they were going to be unfriendly. I forgot to remind myself that I did not know these individuals from Saudi Arabia personally, so I cannot say whether it is true or not until I find out for myself. I was not being myself at all and Emerson says “To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart, is true for all men –that is genius” explains to me that I should have changed my thoughts and believed my own thoughts instead of someone else’s (Emerson 260).We all as individuals have made mistakes in our lives and will most likely make many. We will have many misperceptions that we wish we could go back and change but cannot.
Sometimes we have to deal with what happened and learn from it and remember that we must not let others control our thoughts and make us believe untrue things. Misperceptions are common but it is important to avoid them and learn to remember the importance of being yourself and listening to your own thoughts.
