A Different View of Perception

First shown January 24, 2025

“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” –       

The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Over the next several weeks, we will be sharing some of our earlier blogs. For us, these blogs contain essential concepts and principles that are important to continue to explore.

Our plan is to present these blogs a second time beginning with a few reflective questions. These questions along with your experiences created through your learning journey will allow you to examine the blogs with 'new' eyes.

What are you finding to be essential in sharing your Self with the Players on your team? With their Parents? With the Game?

What do you see when you look beyond what meets your eye that connects you with the most important aspects of this game in a deeper, more meaningful way?

What is essential to your being aware of what the people and the game are sharing with you?

“The Rashomon Effect”

This example of visual perception was named after a 1950 Japanese movie, Rashomon, produced by Akira Kurosawa. The movie tells the story of people who have witnessed the same event and have expressed different stories. The Rashomon Effect may occur for example if the police have a problem with witnesses who saw a speeding car leaving the scene of an accident and are each describing the car being of different colors, different brands, and different models - each of them responding as honestly and as accurately as possible.

In Rashomon, a murder is described in four contradictory ways by four witnesses; a priest, a woodcutter, a commoner, and the spirit of the husband of a noblewoman who had been raped. Her samurai husband had been murdered or had committed suicide. A thief had been arrested.  

Kurosawa gives us four versions of the same series of events through the eyes of the four witnesses, each giving markedly different descriptions from the others. We are shown different perspectives and points of view of the same incident -  an example of Visual Perception.

Rashomon did very well in the theaters in 1950 and it keeps being shown on TV. Also countless movies and television shows have copied the Rashomon concept of differing perceptions of witnesses into one of their productions, e.g. Gunsmoke.

Sports Example

The baseball season for your young players will start next week. You and your assistant coach, Karen, have to decide who will play which position. Gini and Rosa will be your shortstop and second baseman. 

Setting 1:

You and your assistant  coach are watching them practice at each position.

You: I like Gini at short and Rosa at second. They field grounders about the same and I think Gini has a better arm from deep short.

Karen: I agree. Let’s do it that way. Just remember that Rosa’s mother, Angela, keeps reminding us that she played shortstop and she wants Rosa to play at that position.

You: Let me talk to her. Just back me up.

Setting 2:

You and Karen are joined by Angela, Rosa’s mother, as you are watching the practice.

Angela: Hi, those girls in the infield sure look good. Have you decided who’s going  to play where? Linda and Barb look good at third and first.

You: Yeah, we like them there. Karen and I really like how Rosa and Gina work together. Rosa is so quick covering second and backing up first. And she makes a great pivot and quick release on the double play. And Gina does work well with her. They’re going to make a great team out there.

You are giving Angela a different perception of her daughter playing the game. This is a positive, doable role that Rosa is ready to accept. It will recall Angela’s thoughts and feelings when she interacted with a second baseman - how they worked together.