What we see, and what we think we see, are two different things. The fact that the brain makes stuff up in visual perception is a reality that I never tire of exploring. I am convinced that if we ground our understanding of ourselves in the actual basics of perception, we could take a load of stress off everyone. Ship of Fools was written for a reason.
Our visual perception can be defined by how extraordinarily limited it is. It is only in the centre of our sight that visual acuity is even possible. This is because information is processed by very few cones. At the periphery of vision, it becomes impossible to detect fine detail, so the brain fills in what is not seen. How amazing is that? At a very basic level of perception our brain adds what we do not see for things to appear stable and coherent. This is an amazing feature but with the mind filling in details……how wrong can communication go for creatures that make stuff up, just look around you and within your own life. Appreciating the limitation of our perception may be a valuable first step toward self-understanding and graciousness in our communication with others.