The 411 on Perceptions

Alright hold up, look at this picture

What the hell ?

What is that dumb guy doing in the way of the truck ?

Wow, my hero...

Revolution starts with absolution brahhh !!!!

Fight for your rights !!

Uhmm, your kinda in our way dude ?

By the way, the picture above was the 'Unknown Rebel' who stood up against oppression in Tianamen Square ~ google it


On the above in red are all probably the different things that different individuals would say to this picture. This is caused solely by different perceptions.

Defined by our Human Communications textbook, it is an act of noticing, interpreting and organizing data about people, events, activities and situation. But psychologically speaking, is the process of attaining awareness or understanding of sensory information.

Its not really as simple as it seems it is; as there are actually a lot of components involved in the formation of perception. What one perceives is a result of interplays between past experiences, one’s culture and the interpretation of the perceived.

So you see, with someone from a different culture, someone with no past experience of being oppressed or anything as such, they would not understand the deed done by this individual and therefore, would perceive it as something stupid or not of importance.

On the other hand, if you were there at Tianamen Square, you would have understood it. Maybe this was what the guys from System of a Down were trying to convey to us in their song, Hypnotize.

To give you a better grasp on the issue of perception, observe this picture,




A little info on the picture. This picture was taken in 1994 during the Sudan famine. The picture shows a starved, deprived child crawling towards a United Nations food camp, located a kilometer away.

IMO, the vulture is stalking the child, waiting patiently for it to die so it can eat it. This picture, shocked the whole world. Kevin Carter was the photographer who took this picture. At that time, photographers were not allowed to touch their subjects as fear of the transmission of diseases. No one knows what had happened to this child.

In the same year, Kevin Carter won the Pulitzer Prize Awards for this picture.
3 months later, he committed suicide due to depression.

Touching? Your perception.

K.Reshan a/l Kalaarajan
B0801442