Perception and Reality in Race Relations

Perception is what we subjectively see while reality is what we subjectively accept as true! Changing perception often leads to changes in perceived reality. We are not talking about physical properties of tangible objects but what those objects mean to us. Race and discrimination are about what we subjectively see in others without having enough outside anchors to make an accurate reflection of ourselves in context to others. 

When introduced to new stimuli through people who are different than you the brain uses the most previously used neural networks to asses that stimuli and produce a reaction.  As we use certain networks we strengthen those networks so that information, or lighting up the network, continues to prefer those networks to understand the stimuli. 

Thus when we learn a new job or skill we are creating additional networks and the more we practice that skill (i.e. throwing a baseball) the better we get at it. Discrimination is the same thing. The more we tell ourselves that others are dangerous, lower than, or in some way defunct the more are unable to see the alternatives to those distorted beliefs. 

That is why to understand a group's beliefs you have to understand their language. This is one reason why discrimination is often learned and why some groups are more discriminatory than others. Let me give you a real example. A group of friends that have not changed their social networks since high school have few alternative perspectives about others and share these distorted beliefs among each other.

Everything they think and see about minorities has no real connection to those people. It is something they saw on tv, in the news, or say among their friends. It is distant from them. Now if they use the word "nigga" to describe Black people, "terrorists" to describe Muslims, and "Spic" to describe Hispanics they will teach each other and their children to be bigots and racists (It should be noted that all races, religions or identity based groups can engage in the same types of story creation behaviors). 

Let's say that they have never met or associated themselves with different types of people and in turn they continuously reconfirm their own distorted identity through the terminology they use about themselves and others. Their biased neural networks are very strong and thus whenever they have an emotional charge the first things that comes to mind are these deeply embedded biased images and thoughts. 

Perception starts to become reality.

Thus, when an entire group has come to accept those distorted beliefs they can easily accept the subjective perception as reality. Once they begin to confirm each other's beliefs they are unable to develop new neural networks or foster an environment where healthier behaviors can be exhibited or accepted by the group. Eventually the group loses its objective reality and in turn their beliefs become increasingly distorted.

The more they engage in selective acceptance of some information while filtering others they will inherently feel more justified in using illegal and aggressive tactics.  If they are supported by public officials and a wider network of friends through turning a blind eye to such behaviors then the more likely distorted hate type thinking will become embedded and accepted in the community. 

Its not the one who stands up against poor behavior that is the weakest it is those who must strictly adhere to the distorted values of their social group for fear of being rejected. 

This is one reason why we should not sweep things under the carpet when they occur in our community. Racism and bigotry quickly catches on and become projected into our systems. Our society is currently in the process of challenging our perception of race/religion and thus will go through some stressful times as new neural networks among our public officials are developed. 

Racism an discrimination are learned and taught. We teach our kids, we fail to hold perpetrators of hate crimes accountable, we laugh and sneer when someone calls us out for bad behavior. We must then come to ask ourselves at what point will we end the cycle of hate and aggression? That won't happen unless the parties get the help they need or are forced to interact with others of different backgrounds to create new neural networks. 

The neural networks that allow for universalized justice and civility can be enhanced through practice.

Our justice system has an obligation to fight against hate crimes and in many cases they do exactly that; yet all too often perception and reality are distorted. Sometimes they don't go far enough and come to accept those distorted beliefs as under the bar of legal enforcement. That is also a subjective choice. Universalizing the justice system means creating new ways of thinking (i.e. neural networks) that see individuals as equals under the law and in our social networks. 

Republicans and Democrats Compromise to Open Schools

 I read the article, 

State: Michigan plateau in COVID-19 cases extends to Detroit as suburbs remain high

We are returning our kids back to school during a pandemic and there are swarms of unknowns. In an effort to minimize disruption leaders from both parties are coming up with a plan on how schools will operate.

Because there are so many ???  there will some risks no matter what.P together aga few guidelines can be helpful for finding a path forward.

Any plan will need flexibility. Some parents maybe afraid to send their kids to school while others must return back to work and need someplace for the kids to go. 

What is important is that leaders are getting together and working together to resolve issues. While the plan may not be perfect it does offer a framework for going forward and that is what is needed. 

What I Learned from Being Mocked by a Politician?

Its interesting as I never thought myself really worthy of much attention or important enough to draw the disdain of a lawmaker.  Yet when I'm mocked by a fairly powerful politician I begin to rethink my position in life. I'm a little unique I guess for my home community. A Muslim sounding name, Black children, highly educated, physically active and I engage in a lot of activities, research, and writing. The way others see me is not really the way I see myself and I think those superficial differences are difficult for some people to truly understand or accept. 

It doesn't really matter the politician or his name because it isn't about damaging reputations; as each person is entitled to their good name. I don't want to be the type of person who tries to damage people for their ignorance but instead try and raise their level of understanding. I have no fear of calling out that person but it may be unfair to judge a persons full political career by a single act. 

It took me a minute to grasp the deeper meaning of what was being said about my parents and what being insinuated about me and this person's perceived belief that I needed charity. I taught communication for  years so I am pretty good at picking up tone, emphasis, tempo, body posture, and facial expressions to determine how the sentence structure and verb direction create a target.  In hindsight, I didn't misinterpret. 

I'm not a rich man and sometimes struggle like others but no one would consider me as needing charity so there is some type of perceptual disconnect in his head. I guess that is what bias looks like when the reality and the perception are far off because the brain is processing information incorrectly due to embedded distorted beliefs.  

It was just an odd conversation all around. I wasn't upset. I just thought to myself, "He is making an awful lot of assumptions about things he couldn't possibly know about". I'm not impervious to the size of the town and how interrelated people actually are so Its possible he was swept up in the racially and religiously based character assassination.  

I'm also not unaware of his deep seated religious convictions and controversy when in office. Sometimes our religion inspires us to be more open minded, more empathetic, and less judgmental. Other times it may push us to quickly judge and block out alternative information. 

I have been judged many times for things people misinterpret; it sort of became a way of life. What started as a dissertation experiment eventually changed my life and opened a world almost no one on the planet can claim to have experienced. How quickly the perception of the same person can be switched from "All American" to well...to something a little less than that. 

In my mind I did the American thing and explored my environment in a bold way that lead to new insight and knowledge. It was this behavior we should encourage because I can now put those discoveries to good use to make my country and the world a better place. 

Eventually I will explain most of my story; save that which is most prudent to maintain private. Its not what people think. Kind of the opposite actually but it was definitely an experience I can teach other people; even this politician.  I didn't walk a mile in one man's shoes before making a judgement...I just kept walking, and walking and walking until I finished my doctoral degree; then I changed part of my name to mark an era. 

I'm outside the bell curve because I have a genius IQ based on multiple assessments and professional evaluation. It's weird because I forget things all the time and am a terrible speller. Very high fluid and creative intelligence. I'm also very open to new experiences and could live with other races and people just for the joy of it. I love to help kids and people in need. On top of that, I'm an explorer who engages in scientific discoveries, finding ships, diving and many activities that most people would shy from. 

As complex as it sounds I'm also an entrepreneur with a number of failed businesses but seem to found one that tests the capacity to micro manufacturing in the U.S.  From time to time I do a little art and play a little music but I never pushed any of these talents to be very good. So I have a well rounded skill set and abilities. that come with intense curiosities.

My biggest problem is that I'm sensitive, intuitive and empathetic. I put myself in harm's way more than once to help people that most people would have been too frightened to even look down in that direction. I can only say.....its sort of a fault....a tragic gift. So when a big politician mocks me for what it seems like protecting my family and enforcing my boundaries against what appears to be hate driven crimes I have to scratch my head and pause. I think, "Does this person understand the ramifications of what they are doing?"

I suspect they are acting without thinking fully or having all of the information. I'm always open to the possibility of misinterpretation.

Of course I won't likely receive an apology. I wonder if this politician feels that my perceived differences and choice in life mean civility is not something afforded to people like me. Maybe in his mind I am very important and sort of pin pricked his conscious and emotions. I'm not truly sure what the right answer is because it depends on what is going on in that persons head and what social networks they obtain their information from. 

Yet I was debating whether or not I wanted to go into politics or not. I am becoming increasingly aware that perhaps some of the people we have elected are more showman than statesman. When I look at how well this politician has done I become increasingly aware that being "connected" can be very lucrative and helpful to ones business. I don't think that is going to be helpful for a polo mallet business so maybe I would be a very genuine candidate who is focused on his country more than raising my personal and financial status.

Having a high IQ with high creativity can be sort of time consuming that distracts me from "normal" life. While I make my way through my day I often make models in my head of how things work, why they work, and how to improve current systems. That leads to some really great ideas as the relate to an economic system, racism and inequality, foreign policy, educational reform, military development, bringing back manufacturing and much more. I think my ideas might have some merit and seem to be at least as good as some of the things that have been proposed to Congress. Some might fizzle out and some could be explored more. 

You can read a little more about Adaptive Leadership and Cognitive Differentiation

Then I think about how people may really attack me because of my perceived racial and religious differences; civility seems to be lacking in modern day politics. It also might mean the best people are not coming forward. Being sensitive has its drawbacks. Yet over the past few years I've learned that people judge just to judge. Many people don't have enough insight into another person or themselves to really make any sort of accurate judgement about another. Sometimes they project their inner insecurities to make themselves feel better better for a short time. Its kind of like the pleasure you get when you eat your favorite candy even though you know its not good for you. 

Of course there are some moral reasons to run for office. I had a lifetime of experiences that almost no one can claim in exactly the same way. There are people who had bits and pieces but no one had the complete mix like I have. So I guess I would like to give some voice to the voiceless. Talk for the abused, orphans, disenfranchised, religious rights, the poor, and the general downtrodden. I have been on the receiving end of religious discrimination and know the importance of having religious values in ones life. I want to protect the independence of religion and the right for people to worship as they see fit. Jesus and other religious figures teach us about life and the need to embrace each other with open arms so their message is still relevant.

The kid I was trying to protect from racial and religious based bullying has 160 IQ. Being a genius is rare and uncovering a Black genius with current methods is even more rare. Right now with protests and other issues of racial equality it would be helpful if our politicians consider the need to raise strong and healthy Black leaders for tomorrow instead of being part of the problem. While I can say he is the only diagnosed Black genius I know, I suspect there is another who has been pulling hard core philosophy, that even many of our politicians haven't read, off of the shelf since he was 7 years old. That one was thinking of being an engineer in the military. There are traits that come with being outside the bell curve. It would be nice if we open our hearts and our minds to do what is best for our country. I think these kids deserve a supportive environment. 

My path in life and questioning the obvious have led me to be an evidence based decision maker capable of long-term strategic thinking that can lead to better legislation. 

For example from experience I think the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 could use a little tweak to maintain effectiveness. It states......

“(1) OFFENSES INVOLVING ACTUAL OR PERCEIVED RACE, COLOR, RELIGION, OR NATIONAL ORIGIN.—Whoever, whether or not acting under color of law, willfully causes bodily injury to any person or, through the use of fire, a firearm, a dangerous weapon, or an explosive or incendiary device, attempts to cause bodily injury to any person, because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, or national origin of any person

What about if they didn't pick up a weapon but still engaged in other race/religious based crimes such as theft, encouraging violence, false police reports, misconduct by police officer with close associations to the perpetrators, public humiliation, putting children in harms way, etc...  It would be even more important if they stated their religious biased intentions in public as to why they were trying to harm my family. While I am able to handle my own there were some places I avoided for a while because of the fear that others couldn't control their rage under the influence of liquor. You need to know some of the members of this group. My amendment might include, "Intended emotional or physical harm" to ensure those that try to hurt others but aren't fully successful in ending a life are held accountable. 

I think I have a lot to learn about what it means to be a politician and I do appreciate the help in solidifying a few things for me. I don't know if I have the innate characteristics to be successful there but I think we might need some fresh values and ideas.  For now I will just continue to share some of the things I'm learning in life. 

Little Happy Trees! 😳😂 The purpose of art.

In advertising art has its place. It doesnt mean it needs to be the fine art of the Renaissance but it should be an expression of a feeling or emotion. 

In advertising we can motivate by logic or we can appeal by the emotion. The far majority of people don't look at the message depth and more focused on surface appeal. 

Here is something I made for a fundraising project. 

Video on the UAE - Israel Peace Deal

 This is a pretty good video and explanation of the peach deal between UAE and Israel. I'm curious and wondering how the two countries will engage in trade deals. This could be a stepping stone to other peace deals. 

Peace Deal between Israel and UAE-A Few Thoughts

 I'm reading the article, "Irael and UAE strike historic deal to normalise relations" in BBC discussing the peace deal between Israel and the UAE. The conflict has gone on a long time and a lot of lives were lost, people were hurt, and the adherents of two religions pitted against each other. My hope and prayers are for the people of both sides. We must put this to rest so that people can move on in their lives. 

I'm sure this is not the deal that ends all deals. It is just a start. Yet if the parties are willing to truly work with each other and have an open mind they may be able to start working and looking toward long-term resolution. 

I can't say what the right answer is as it will need to be worked out during negotiations. Both sides feel very justified in their beliefs and answers. 

Getting two large anchor societies working together will likely have some influence in the region.

The fear is that people are raging on each other, people's lives are ruined, children are dying and proxy wars have moved across the globe. 

No simple solutions here. 

The parties will need to do their work and work hard to share perspectives. We can only hope and pray that cooler and more rational minds take hold and people want to resolve these tangled issues. That is not saying one side is more guilty than the other....it doesn't even factor into this as both have their grips. The details will come together if an earnest and honest discussion starts. Fingers crossed. 

Developing High Capacity Students with Entrepreneurial Cognition for Product Transformation in Higher Education

 

I have an interest in highly skilled adults and children as I feel their abilities have been underutilized in a way that is a wasted resource. Some of my works are to support their development for the advancement of our nation and for the full expressive lives many of the members of this select group should have an opportunity to live. If their development leads to higher national performance it is a win-win situation for business, the country, and the individuals. Some of the profits from my small business are used to support these individuals the best I can but it isn't much. Its just a drop in a larger bucket but I have probably 40 more years of life so hopefully I can continue to contribute in some way. 

In the past few years I developed a way to customize online higher education using artificial intelligence to create competency focused degree outcomes that would work wonders by allowing people to fully master their abilities beyond the traditional classroom (Others participated so it wasn't all me but the basic idea is what I came up with). There has been some interest in the methodology but as of yet it hasn't been fully implemented through its three major stages. There are still lots of unanswered questions on how it would work in practical form but these are fairly straightforward.  What I can say is it would allow people to study decisions in real time and open up new discoveries to the student based on previous mastered competencies. 

Of course these are market driven competencies based on an systematic analysis of market needs. 

What I can say is that finding and enhancing people with exceptional cognitive and creative abilities is helpful for society and specifically for those businesses that need new products, strategies and ideas. Businesses of the near future will likely focus more on their competitive and innovative strategies and people with those abilities. That doesn't happen in our traditional education system and we haven't done very well finding and selecting those individuals with the highest potential to master their environment. 

The Study:

I'm reading a study title entitled, "Demystifying the Genius of Entrepreneurship: How Design Cognition Can Help Create the Next Generation of Entrepreneurs." It discusses new ways of thinking about business curriculum and how new ways of thinking utilizing cognitive acts such as design-cognition research paradigm-framing, analogical reasoning, abductive reasoning, and mental simulation-to opportunity creation (Garbuio, Dong, Lin, Tschang, & Lovallo, 2018).

That all sounds scientific. Layman's version is we need to teach new ways of thinking to find and exploit marketplace opportunities.

The people most likely to have the innate abilities to do this are the cognitive and creative endowed individuals that can select patterns and fill holes of ambiguous information. They can come from any background and any demographic. It is a natural adaptation to our species and allows for people to think about things in ways that standard modes don't allow. Some of that thinking style can be used in curriculum to not only enhance this population but also to foster some of these abilities in others.

One of the truest signs of intelligence is not IQ and EQ but also the creative divergent type of thinking that solves problems. In the business world is all about problems. When people have exceptional capacities they can understand patterns, discover the blank spots that are undefined, and then go into using their creative abilities to define them. Most of us would not see the possibilities, wouldn't have the ability to solve the problem, and would not be able to create new markets.

I can agree with the authors that developing tools to help people see new opportunities and create them has more long-term value than solving problems in a defined and specific way. Each can work together as cognitive ability helps us find a pattern and understand while our creative type brains find possible solutions to help explain the explainable. we then must use tools like the scientific method to show whether such hypothesis have empirical merit or not. We thus have multiple sort of mental processes going on that can be further studied and applied to business curriculum.

In my experience, standard education is very linear and doesn't focus enough on the novel. Entrepreneurship is a way of thinking so finding market openings can be trained. That creative and scientific domain can be infused and introduced within the curriculum in a way that allows one type of thinker to solve the problem one way and an advanced capacity thinker to move into novelty through exploration of different market problems and solutions. When it comes to highly gifted individuals the most obvious answer isn't often the full answer. 

Garbuio, M., Dong, A., Lin, N., Tschang, T., & Lovallo, D. (2018). Demystifying the Genius of Entrepreneurship: How Design Cognition Can Help Create the Next Generation of Entrepreneurs. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 17(1), 41.