Does a Fish Understand the Concept of Water?
If you were a deep-sea creature of some variety, you probably would have never spent any time out of the water. To you, the water is your world and everything outside of that is completely unknown; without conception.
We’ve gotten very adept at conceptualising the world around us and fitting our lived experiences into neat boxes of understanding. But truly, we know very little about the environment we live in. What is most fundamental to our existence is often the least visible to us.
We take for granted the many elements of our lives that have always seemingly existed, yet are little more than assumptions. The structure and norms of society are pervasive because we have never known anything different. We were born into the water.
For a fish, water is difficult to comprehend because it is totally immersive, without contrast. When we integrate deeply rooted concepts into our understanding of self, it is incredibly to even identify their existence in the first place, without stepping back and seeing ourselves from a different perspective.
Constantly challenging yourself to look through a different lens and question your assumptions allows us to notice the water we’re swimming in, but it can be a tool that is hard to implement.
By making time for introspection and to step back and observe the water, we prevent ourselves from drowning. Assume you’re oblivious.
We’ve gotten very adept at conceptualising the world around us and fitting our lived experiences into neat boxes of understanding. But truly, we know very little about the environment we live in. What is most fundamental to our existence is often the least visible to us.
We take for granted the many elements of our lives that have always seemingly existed, yet are little more than assumptions. The structure and norms of society are pervasive because we have never known anything different. We were born into the water.
For a fish, water is difficult to comprehend because it is totally immersive, without contrast. When we integrate deeply rooted concepts into our understanding of self, it is incredibly to even identify their existence in the first place, without stepping back and seeing ourselves from a different perspective.
Constantly challenging yourself to look through a different lens and question your assumptions allows us to notice the water we’re swimming in, but it can be a tool that is hard to implement.
By making time for introspection and to step back and observe the water, we prevent ourselves from drowning. Assume you’re oblivious.
