Models

Our minds are confronted with millions of stimuli every moment.   Thousands of discreet objects are caught by our senses, and judged immediately.   Most are judged so quickly as unimportant that we rarely remember even seeing, hearing or feeling them.  Our minds have become very good at taking a "snapshot" of reality and then categorizing, labeling, sorting them based on our models.

Models are the small representations of what we experience in the world.   Like a snow-globe, they are miniaturized, abstracts of larger experiences.   For example, the model child, the model girl, the model boy, the model bad driver, the model house, the model car, the model relationship.   These models are made by us to represent our reality.   There is nothing wrong with having them. until they interfere with our relationships.

If I see a beautiful woman and my mind automatically applied the model of "beautiful woman" to her, I may instantly ascribe to her characteristics that she may not possess.   If that model for beautiful woman includes the assumptions that she cannot be intelligent because she is beautiful, or that she must have been pampered throughout her whole life and therefore would be quite shallow, it would be a grave disservice to both of us.  I would pass these feelings on to her if I talked with her and she, being aware of my reservations, would become guarded or uncomfortable around me.   We would both loose out in getting to know one another for who we are.

On the other hand, people see me and they have models in their head where I would be placed.   Depending on that model, I could be a model geek, a model artist, a model "new age nut", or a model Bible-thumper.   Who knows.   If they talked with me, I may feel that they are not comfortable, or I would feel ill-at-ease and that would make them feel the same way.   Again, we would both loose out on getting to know the other.

Model are necessary.   We need to put things in boxes, labels or cubby-holes because we would not be able to process this world without that.   However, knowing when to discard those models is the trick.