There was a debate [1] between myself and a certain "sleepless-in-singapore" on the blog of the CEO of NTUC Income [2].
I have written a comment about telling of facts and I find it meaningful to re-produce it here. For example, if there is a scenario with the following passage:
"A mother ask her boy to go to the market to buy a fruit that cost $1. The boy, with $1 on hand, went to the market and bought the last orange for $1, sold it to an pleading old man for $2 and bought an apple for $2."
True facts but not the whole truth:
a) Boy bought a $2 fruit instead of a $1 fruit
- This statement put the boy as a dis-obedient child
b) Boy sold orange at the market
- The boy was supposed to buy fruits and not sell fruits. The statement suggested that the boy was doing illegal business
c) Boy earned $1 from the old man
- Again the statement protrays the boy as an unscrupulous and greedy person
The scenario tells us that in any situation, we should be looking at all angles towards the situation. We should understand any situation, not from our point of view, but from the involved parties' standpoints.
Remember, every coin has 2 sides to it, until proven otherwise. Likewise, a cup with water in it at the mid-point, is seen by some as a cup with half-filled water (positive opinions) but is seen by some as a cup with half-empty water (negative opinions).
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Strange your title is. Even if one acknowledges a glass filled to the mid section is valid as both half empty and half full, one still need to decide for himself/herself if it is half full or half empty. Knowing is not enough, make a stand one should.
Dear pacific202,
Words are powerful. Imagine if someone is thirsty and needs a sip of water (to quench thirst of course). If he/she takes a half-filled cup to you and said, "Please fill up the cup!".
Without a doubt and without much thinking, you would have filled it up! Only when you are in the very pensive and thinking mood will you be able to see that he/she does not need any more (water) than what is inside the cup!
The (un-whole) ttuth came about because the topic is we must be strong and clear-minded enough to see beyond words and surfaces in any situation. What we see or what was presented to us can be the truth but it may not tell us the whole story.
Like the 'cup' theory, someone may want to divert your attention away from the other side of the story and therefore, instead of waiting for you to find out, he/she volunteered some portions of the truth - enough to put off most people.
Is such thing happening in the real world? Yes of course! You see it everyday in the newspaper!
"The turth but not the whole truth!"
Post a Comment