Perception

I like cold weather. I remember feeling slightly annoyed when my 7th grade science teacher said that cold is simply the lack of heat, the lack of energy. I wanted cold to be a force in and of itself but, sadly, he was correct. Unless we discover something new in the universe, cold will always be the lack of energy.

There is a short set of stairs at a friend’s house that leads from the garage to the rest of the house. The original stair rail is wooden but she added a metal rail on the other side. During the recent cold the comparative temperature of each was particularly noticeable. Ever wonder why things, like handrails, that are made of metal, or floor tiles, are colder than wood or carpet? They’re both the same temperature but one feels much colder than the other. The reason is simple. Yes, they’re both the same temperature but metal or tile conducts heat and wood or carpet is a poor conductor. When we touch metal or step on floor tile the heat of our hands or feet is drawn away from us. When we touch wood or step on carpet we don’t lose heat.

It’s a classic case of our perception creating reality. We perceive the metal handrail to be cold although it’s exactly the same temperature as the wooden one. We perceive the floor tile to be colder even though it is exactly the same temperature as the carpet. The ambient temperature is the same regardless.

When social media started becoming popular the goal was to increase, as quickly as possible, the number of people going to the site and interacting with it. They found the most effective method was to induce feelings of fear and outrage by their audience. The algorithms were designed to cause the most extreme and outrageous comments to be featured most prominently.

The result was predictable. Folks divided into camps politically and socially. An “us against them” mentality led to outright hostility. Dividing us against each other was socially disastrous but money poured into the tech companies who ran the sites. Companies like Facebook, Twitter, and such have become enormously wealthy.

At almost the same time cable “news” programs fed the hostility for the same reason. Day after day they cast the other side as demons and criminals. Folks tune in daily to find out what they should be outraged about. We are being manipulated so we will feel anger, fear, anxiety, whatever negative response will generate continued involvement. As long as it helps them make money they, evidently, don’t mind the damage it does.

Social media and cable news are very like the metal handrail, they suck the energy, the warmth out of those who touch it. We, all of us, have a collective responsibility to turn our backs on those who feed on our energy and redirect that energy towards healing our broken world. Unity and cooperation should be the goal for which we all strive.