Appearances are always deceiving

10/24/08 - Everyone knows the old maxim, "never judge a book by its cover," but how many can honestly say they put this advice into practice? There is not a single person on the face of the planet that hasn't been guilty of prejudice at some time or another, for one reason: the stereotype has proven to be true more than once. We try to be politically correct, but often rely on drastic experiences we've had to decide on what an appropriate response should be.

We don't do this for other, non-human aspects of our lives. For instance, if a dog viciously bit you, you're not going to be afraid of dogs the rest of your life, or, probably now more than ever, you don't assume the tap water you drink is always safe just because you haven't gotten sick from it before.

It just doesn't make sense to generalize such complex and ever-changing aspects of life, and yet we instinctually do it. We can even be guilty of doing it to ourselves, like if we mess up an important event in our lives: a test, a date, a job interview or whatever, and our entire self-esteem spirals downward. We feel we are generally worth less because of a singular experience, or several concerning the same topic.

But why? Why must we constantly and permanently generalize and objectify other people and strangers in our lives?

Rorschach inkblot tests and optical illusions have led us to believe that our brains do this generalization automatically. When the brain sees something it does not immediately recognize, it will "fill in the blanks" with readily available information.

For instance, if you see something out of the corner of your eye late at night when you're alone and vulnerable walking in an alley or other uninviting setting, you immediately think you see a mugger or other threat, because that's what you are afraid of seeing.

You expect to see it, so your brain registers anything you see as the very thing you fear. When it comes down to it, the brain is designed to overestimate a threat, because it is the logical thing to do. Better safe than sorry, right?

This is not limited to sight; for example, I am deathly afraid of spiders. So when I'm in bed, half dreaming and just about to fall asleep, a leg hair will lift off my skin, or the cover will catch a breeze and shift, and I will immediately think there is something deathly poisonous taking a stroll across my leg.

Rationally, I know the chances of a black widow or brown recluse running across my leg are about the same as getting hit by lightning, but when you're in that situation, rational thought goes out the bedroom window.

Rationally, we know not everyone with long hair is a hippie, and conversely we know not everyone in a suit and tie is a upstanding citizen, but passing them on the street, what immediately passes through your head?

The point is our assumptions and expectations shape our initial responses to reality, and we don't even realize it. Even now, I'm making gross generalizations about humanity as a whole, and if you're still reading this you haven't realized how contradictory this piece of writing has been in that respect.

Although prejudice is a great survival tactic in the African jungle, Australian bush or Siberian tundra, haven't we, in the cradle of Western "civilization," gotten to the point where prejudice actually limits our well-being rather than extends it?