Immutable Definitions

In modernity’s schools, there is a problem with definitions. All knowledge of any object is given through definitions before we come in touch with the object itself.

We have established within ourselves what the object is before we perceive the object, and go through due processes of inferencing, deducing, comparing to establish knowledge about the object.

This has serious implications. Our reality is driven by the definitions we have been fed; as for us the definitions are immutable. We view the object through the prism of the definition; try and fit the object into the rigid definition. As an example, our view of people are influenced by what we hear of them than what we perceive.

Another example is while segmenting customers, we (force) fit them into previously established broad buckets; rather than engaging with them before coming up with the classifications and bucketing them.

Our blind faith on definitions is not based on the reliability of our teachers either; for they are secondary sources. From our perspective, definitions fed to us are from unknown sources — mere rumours. 2 decades full of learning definitions from unknown sources is possibly the reason why we are so comfortable with believing random information fed to us in chat groups, web portals and magazines. Definitions before perception and analysis is possibly the reason too for many of our biases.

Let perceptions, inferences, comparisons, and other analysis lead; while letting definitions mutate to their results.