Friday, October 4th, 2013
"The Danger of a Single Story"
It is not enough to know a story from only one perspective. We have to look for all possible perspectives to understand an issue at its core. Had we only one perspective, we would only have one window through which to observe and examine and evaluate an issue. This can lead to a higher possibility of misinterpretation, as out view would only be under one strong bias.By looking for many stories, instead of relying on only one, we find ourselves less vulnerable to gullibility, to a strong and dominant inclination.
Let's consider a common scenario. Let's imagine that Anna and Lisa got in an argument, and that the argument resulted in a fist fight. This fight gets reported to the principal. If the principal looks at the issue from only one perspective, he will not be able to get a complete view of the whole event. If the principal looked at it from only Anna's or Lisa's perspective, he would only have heard one side of the event, one story, one character's position in the story, and therefore he will have an incomplete knowledge. If he listened to only witnesses' stories, he still would not have the entire story because he lacks the thoughts of the main characters Lisa and Anna, the one who participated in the plot and action. The principal has to aim to the entire event, to the entire scope, to know all the stories within the big story. He has to aim to understand all the relevant components of the story.
The danger of a single story is that a single story is not enough. A single story does not become the whole story. It is important to keep in mind that although one story helps in getting a better idea of what happened, a single story alone cannot be relied upon entirely. We all have to aim to know the most stories possible to acquire a more comprehensive and complete knowledge. It is like a puzzle. One piece is not enough to reveal the entire picture. But a piece is a step, a part, essential to complete the puzzle. Instead of being satisfied with only one story, we should aim to collect the stories that we can.
The danger of a single story is that a single story is not enough. A single story does not become the whole story. It is important to keep in mind that although one story helps in getting a better idea of what happened, a single story alone cannot be relied upon entirely. We all have to aim to know the most stories possible to acquire a more comprehensive and complete knowledge. It is like a puzzle. One piece is not enough to reveal the entire picture. But a piece is a step, a part, essential to complete the puzzle. Instead of being satisfied with only one story, we should aim to collect the stories that we can.
No comments:
Post a Comment