Good Luck Perceiving

McMan's Depression and Bipolar Web

GOOD LUCK PERCEIVING

And you thought you had reality all figured out.

by John McManamy

THE FOLLOWING is based on a talk, which is in turn based on an article on nonlinear thinking here on mcmanweb. Without further ado ...

A lot of us think and perceive differently. We connect dots in very unusual ways and come up with amazingly creative ways of looking at situations. Often, this means solutions present themselves in an instant - as events unfold - so there is no crisis to begin with. No reason to freak out for us.

But this ability to think and perceive differently also works the other way for us. We can sniff out bad stuff well before it happens. Contrary to what many may believe, we don’t simply get excited over nothing.

Rather than look at people as normal vs crazy, I look at people as linear vs non-linear.

This is the way most people think most of the time:

This is the way a lot of people like me think a lot of the time:

You see 4. I see 28.

So what's four like? Depends. Everything may be okay. Or it could be a good reason to freak out. What's 28 like? Same thing. Depends. Could be okay. Perhaps reason to freak out. So, here we are. Same situation. Two completely different brains.

We are never going to see eye to eye. You're reacting to 4. I'm reacting to 28. How do you think that's going to work? So:

Do not judge.

If you perceived the same stuff the other person did, you might be freaking out even worse.

Unfortunately for us non-linear people, the linear people are in the majority. We have to conform to their world. Their world is totally stupid and makes no sense to me, but there you go - I have no choice but to try to fit in. As I like to joke: We're peanut butter people trying to fit into a tofu world governed by Vulcans.