The ability to be a reliable and effective observer varies widely among people and is a major factor in decision making. Distortions of many kinds are common. We are taught there is a reality “out there” and science is discovering more about it all the time. Unexpected occurrences are explained away as our not understanding, our not being trained or our not being informed. The idea that change is a constant phenomenon that regularly produces unexpected occurrences is too often ignored.
When we accept others feedback on what they observed as valid, we overlook that they may not have seen everything of significance. They may also not be qualified to make accurate observations or they may distort what they see to fit their own agendas. We also risk ignoring that the means used for observing may not tell the whole story. By way of example, the naked eye doesn’t see what the microscope sees and the microscope doesn’t see what the electron microscope sees.
An observation can be thought of as like a photograph. With good focus we get a clear picture and with poor focus we get a fuzzy one. There are several factors that can make our picture of a situation fuzzy. Instead of raw data (what’s actually observed) being reported, meanings (interpretations) are reported and treated as facts. The observer overlooks or conceals some (or much) of what’s present as not relevant because of the question or questions from which the gathered observations are made. The intent of the observer to “look good” can also lead to either optimistic or pessimistic interpretations.
Not knowing that everyone has their own reality can conceal that the question or questions we observe from is different than the question or questions the people we report to observe from. Blindness to some aspects of a situation can lead to omissions of information the observer is unaware of (the engineer may miss accounting data, the accountant sales data, the golf pro environmental data, and more). Given the many sources of distortion that produce fuzzy pictures of what's actually present, it’s amazing how many excellent decisions are made everyday.
It should not be overlooked that declarative as well as physical phenomena affect virtually every decision. Declarative phenomena (policies, procedures, laws and rituals for example) unlike physical phenomena (buildings, roads, equipment, etc) can be unstable and change with little or no notice.
