The back of our eyes are lined with specialized photoreceptor cells.  These cells convert light to electrical signals that pass through the optic nerve to the brain, and our brain interprets these electrical signals.  Thus it is that we can see.

Right at the location where the optic nerve attaches to the eye, there are no photoreceptor cells.  This causes a blind spot.  Since we have two eyes and since the blind spots don’t overlap, you can only notice the blind spot when one eye is shut.  Even then, the blind spot often goes unnoticed because we mentally “fill in” the blind spot with what we expect would be there.  We see what we expect to see.

A fable (I apologize for not knowing its origin):

A young man became restless and decided to find another, far-away town in which to live.  As the traveler neared a promising town, he encountered an old man who lived there.  The traveler said that he was looking for a new place to live, and asked what kind of people lived in the old man’s town.  The old man asked in return what kind of people lived in the traveler’s prior town.  The traveler said that his townspeople were selfish and hateful.  The old man told the traveler that he should pass this town by and keep searching, for he would find many selfish and hateful people in this town as well.  The traveler thanked the old man for the candid warning, and he passed that town by.

Very soon the old man encountered another young traveler, likewise searching for a new place to live.  Again the old man asked what kind of people lived in the second traveler’s town.  The second traveler said that his townspeople were thoughtful and kind.  The old man told the traveler that he should stay a while, for he would find many thoughtful and kind people in this town as well.

We see what we expect to see.  When we look for the best in others, we find it.

(Lance Kaczorowski is an engineer by vocation, a pupil of building multicultural bridges by avocation, and finds our youth to be a special source of hope for our future.)