How the blue/white dress explains political viewpoints

Remember 2015, when gasoline prices were $2.49 a gallon, we had a biracial Black president, and we knew men could not give birth?

There was a major controversy that year over the color of a woman’s dress. You may recall it. This is the dress:

Everyone had an opinion, and everyone was certain the optical illusion was a) blue and gold or b) white and gold, or c) something entirely different. It was a social phenomenon, widely reported and ‘splained, such as by Wired magazine.

I have a purpose for bringing this up.

I am trying to show that humans perceive things differently and process information subjectively.

That applies to dress color, but not to math: 2+2=4. There is no getting around that.

You’ve heard the expression the glass is half full, or half empty. Both are factually correct. Measurably correct.

But, as to whether Brett Kavanaugh or Dr. Christine Blasey Ford was being truthful, that’s subjective. Neither had hard evidence.

Same thing a few days back with Cassidy Hutchinson, the former White House staffer with damaging information about Donald J. Trump. 

One of her key anecdotes, about an altercation in a presidential limo (which she admitted was second-hand) is being challenged by the Secret Service, which will get its turn to appear before the House Jan. 6 committee.

There is an important line in the Wired piece:

“So when context varies, so will people’s visual perception.”

I will rewrite it this way: “So when content varies, so will people’s political perception.”

What do I mean?

If you are right of center, you believed Kavanaugh.

If you are left of center, you believed Ford.

If you are left of center, you believed Hutchinson.

If you are right of center, you disbelieved Hutchinson.

It’s not your fault. It’s not deliberate.

The way we see things, our perception, is deeply ingrained. It is the distillation of our life experiences, sometimes shaped by race, religion, gender, or where we live.

Most people won’t make the effort to step out of their silo to be open to differing points of view. And that is one cause of the deep fractures in our society.