Blogger Perceptions

       I have always wondered about blogger perceptions. We deal in an almost one dimension medium. Sometimes we add photos and some bloggers use mainly photos. But how close are we to the "real meal deal" in the blog world. 


      When I was teaching I would ask the kids what I did when I first came into the classroom for each class. I explained that I took a look at each individual student before I started my class. I told them that I wanted to see if anyone came in upset. I wanted to identify that situation and try to settle it rather than wait part way through class when everything boiled over. So in this situation perception was everything. I could observe actions, sounds , body language and other student reaction. I could also observe some sequence.


      When we blog , we are limited to the written word alone. Some writers express themselves extremely well and give us a good picture. But we are missing a couple more modes of perception. It would be nice the hear the bloggers spoken word. It would be beneficial to see the body and the body language. We certainly communicate through body motion. I have stamped my feet or banged my fist down a time or two. So how close do we get to the complete picture of the blogger we read or follow?


      Sometimes I read about bloggers who meet a fellow blogger. They are always excited to meet the blogger in person. They usually report a very positive experience. I've only met one blogger in person. It was a super experience. She was older than I thought because I was going by a picture on the blog. However the person I met was exactly who I knew on the blog. The surprise was her partner. I had pictured him very much as a follower. He was no follower and was an impressive character as he held strongly supported views.


      So I was just wondering how we saw things on our blogs. Do we get it right or does it matter.


      What ever the perception is out in the blog world, I like the blogger as is on the blog. That is the real person in the blog world and that's all that matters.  

Face to Face with my Face

       Now I look in the mirror once or twice a day to check and see if I'm still here and that no parts have fallen off. Fortunately our features change so slowly that we are fooled into thinking that few changes have taken place and the face we see is the one we always had.

      Every once in a while something happens that brings a striking end to the idea that we still look the same. We can look  at old photographs but even then we still have in our head that tht's what we still look like. We c an meet old class mates and they don't know us.

     In one Innuit community that I lived in for two years I was called "Ehunga." I knew that they called me "Ehunga" and gradually I discovered that it meant "Crooked Mouth." This disturbed me quite a bit because I have always prided myself in being honest. One day I got up enough nerve and asked why I was called "Crooked Mouth." They instantly used their hands to demonstrate that my mouth slanted upward from left to right. Was I relieved! At least I was honest! I also had a major lower  jaw protrusion. These issues were what I was born with.

       When I needed some major dental work they did surgery to repair the jaw issue. There were some complications with the surgery and some nerve damage resulted. I don't have much feeling on the lower left side of my face. Aging has resulted in some more sagging of muscles on the left side. All these years I have been looking in the mirror and have not noticed much change. I guess things my eyes were seeing didn't get to my brain.

      What brings about this major discovery that everybody else is aware of? Well, when I went on Skype the other day I saw myself on video for an hour and a half. I haven't been on video for a while. I was able to watch myself talk, smile and laugh. I was able to see these facial features that aren't always obvious when looking in a mirror. You usually don't talk or smile when you look at yourself in the mirror.

      So I came face to face with myself while watching video. It was interesting, amusing and provocative. I was able to think about how we see. It's the brain that does the seeing. Sometimes our head really influences how we see.

      Now if I had the technical expertise I would show you pictures for examples of what I mean. On the other hand consider yourselves lucky!

     So some people see great beauty in a certain art piece and others consider it downright unappealing.