What I Would Like To Say To My Granddaughters

I don't get to see my granddaughters these days.  But if I could have a serious conversation with them, there are a few things I would want to say to them.  Here they are:

I love you.  I have loved you since your were born and I will not quit loving you.
Remember the reality of the times we have had together.
Remember that "opinions" are not the same thing as data, as facts.

Then I would like to expound on the last statement a bit.
Reality:  when you visited us you were in our house.
Opinion:  it was a good house.  it was a bad house.
  Distinguish between the FACT:  we lived in a house and the OPINION: it was a good or bad or something else house.

Reality:  We drove you around in a minivan, and then in a small car.
Opinion:  The minivan was a good minivan, or an evil minivan, or an ugly minivan.
Opinion:  You liked the minivan, or you hated the minivan, or you thought the minivan was the wrong color or the right color.

I want all my relatives, all my friends, and even all my enemies to learn to think critically.  To distinguish between fact (objective, you-can-measure-it, take-a-picture-t-it, confirm-it data) and opinion and perception.  I would especially like that for people who make a difference.

Perhaps the most astute, competent boss I every had used to say:  "Perception is all."

That's about the only thing I disagreed with her about.  Perception may be "all" when it comes to people making decisions that affect the rest of us, but perception may perceive incorrectly.   If a person sees a bull elk and says, "That's a nice cow," and then tries to milk the bull elk, surprising events are coming.  The bull elk will be a real bull elk, and not a gentle milk cow.  Perception may be real, but the bull elk is even more real.

The same thing is true when we label another human person.  We can take one dimension of a person, and say "She is beautiful" and not capture the essence of that person at all.  We simply have a perception.  We don't know the fact:  she is human.  We don't know the fact:  she is five feet, three inches in height.  We don't know the fact:  she manages to pay her bills on time every month.  Truly, we don't know any facts if all we know is your perception, "She is beautiful."  Someone from a different background might say, "She is too skinny.  She is ugly."

It is important to learn to think using data, speaking to data, and accurately labeling our opinions just that:  opinions.

What do you think?  Leave a comment below and let us know.