The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines perception, among others, as: intuitive recognition of (something), but I would like to add: by the use of our experience and knowledge. To illustrate this definition, the following story.
Our granddaughter is pregnant with her second child and had a sonar taken some time ago in which it was evident that the second child is female, and the other day she had an appointment with the doctor for a second sonar and intended taking her firstborn, Johann, aged about a month short of 3 years along as it was a Saturday and he could not attend the play group. The following conversation took place between father Hendrik and son Johann:
Hendrik: Johann, your mother is going to see the doctor who will look at your sister to see if she is doing well.
Johann: That's good, she can then sit on my lap when we come back.
Hendrik then had to explain to Johann that the doctor used sonar to inspect his sister and that she had to remain where she was for another ten weeks or so, but all of us find Johann's reaction hilarious, because we know what a sonar does, but Johann has never seen a sonar picture and has no idea of how it is taken!
We form perceptions about things, frequently with only partial understanding of the subject, should we not try to find out more about the subject? Do we learn anything from this?
Oupa
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