Rorschach Thinking

You know those funny blobs you first encountered in high school, weird black on white blotches which you were asked to label. “I think that looks like a crow,” you might say, while your best friend would reply, “Don’t be silly, it looks exactly like Abraham Lincoln!”

Hermann Rorschach didn’t likely invent the notion of associating inkblots with personality or ideas, but he was the first to formalize the discipline which is still taught and used, although not without some controversy.

What is without doubt is that all of us, all the time, see the exact same thing and interpret it in entirely different ways. Sometimes diametrically opposed. Particularly in the last eight years or so, with the advent of “alternative truth”, even the tangible and the generally obvious is now fair game for calling it whatever you like. “Jewish Space Lasers” exist in reality, and in fact, at least in the minds of some. Maybe Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny really exist.

Paul Simon said it well in the Simon and Garfunkel tune The Boxer: “Still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.” We hear what we want to hear, we see what we want to see.

This has implications for us both on the intake and the output side.

To avoid having our heads full of too much bogus information, we need to develop BS filters. The civil legal test, “a balance of probabilities” is a good place to start, with the criminal legal test of “beyond a reasonable doubt” applied to critical stuff. If you don’t want to think like a lawyer, well, think like the engineer who designs the bridge to which you will entrust your life. A little skepticism and double-checking will go a long way.

On the output side, we always have to keep in mind that what the hearer hears is not necessarily what you thought you were saying. This is why good teachers will present things in several different ways, audibly, visually, with words, with examples, and in the best of all worlds, with hands-on opportunities for the students to actually work with the new concepts.

This is why it’s so important that we read and re-read messages before we hit “send”, ensuring that our messages are clear and obvious. When you’re speaking from the platform, this is why you need to be watching those faces and those eyes so very carefully. Even one puzzled look or troubled expression is an important cue that you need to slow down and recalculate. Before letters and papers are sent out, another set of eyes will go a long way to ensuring your message is received as intended.

At least, that’s how I see it!