We all know that our perception of the world is molded by many things. Our environment. Our family. Our history. Our friends. Our lives. Not as obviously, our perception on life is molded by how we take in the information around us.

I have worn glasses since I was 6 years old. It has been a constant part of my life for over 30 years. I have never thought my perception of the world was different because of it. Earlier this year I had Lasek/PRK laser surgery to try and correct my vision. During the week long healing process I realized that a certain level of sharpness and clarity on how I “see” things has always been a little bent by the plastic I viewed things through. I never really realized how clear things could be without them. As the healing progressed I realized the correction had brought my eyesight back to decent but not to 20/20 normal.

I am not bitter about having to go back into glasses or that I will be having enhancement surgery this Friday to try and bring me to 20/20 this time. It has just brought into sharp relief how my perception of the world is definitely filtered behind the protection of my glasses. It’s kind of like the aged person who turns off his hearing aid to not hear a conversation they dislike. They use the technology to filter their perception to their liking. In many ways this goes back to Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. Your perceptions of the shadows on the wall are real because you don’t know that anything else exists. Only until you leave the cave and truth is revealed do you realize that you have been watching shadows all along.

I feel we also do the same thing with the gadgets that surround us. Cell phones help us to talk to the people we wish to talk to when we want to. PDAs help us make appointments we keep for things to discuss. Cameras help us remember the times together. But all of these things mold our perception on how to talk, meet with, and remember the people around us.

Technology has helped bring people together but it has also changed the way we view people. Maybe an adoption of simpler methods is needed to preserve a pure perspective on our lives? On the other hand, there are people who want to dive head first into altered perceptions brought about by technology and I applaud them. For me, I think I need a little less tech and more hugs.