To Understand

There are so many things that we are great at defining but we lack the understanding to it.

Perspicacious ~ having a ready insight into and understanding of things.

Having read that, do you really know what perspicacious means? How would you use it in a sentence? What are the contexts in which you can use it?

What I have provided is merely the definition of it.

Your knowledge of the definition of something does not imply you understand it.

Photo by Romain Vignes on Unsplash

Understanding something requires context. Understanding has many layers to it. If you and I read a book, we may not even take the same things away from it. What I understand is also subject to the biases I have and the context I come from. So almost nobody’s understanding of anything is complete.

Truly understanding something is much more than being able to define it.

It takes time, it takes effort and it also takes the willingness to listen to others’ voices even those that we do not want to listen to.

First of all, we are in our own reality bubble and we want that to be real. Second of all understanding someone else’s context requires effort and patience, neither of which we are willing to expend. Thirdly, once you have acquired that context, it forces you to reconsider your own reality.

Defining something without nuance is so much easier.

The trouble is that these are things that cause divisions among us. The absence of nuance makes things more straightforward but it also takes us further away from the truth. I think all of us would agree that almost nothing in this world is unidimensional. But at the same time, we are unwilling to see the other dimensions.

Recently, I have been listening to a podcast called Empire by William Dalrymple and Anita Anand. It has been eye-opening to hear how the Indian subjugation and independence struggle unfolded. There were so many layers, so many simultaneous philosophies and conflicts. It was nothing like the chronological sequence of events that we are taught in school. Further, listening to it only made me more aware of how little I know.

We need to strive for more nuance in almost every facet of our lives. Understand, not just define.