I like to think I have at least an average ability to read people and their emotions and expressions. And as a result I think I have at least an average chance of understanding the people I meet to a more extensive degree. Trying to figure people out, learning the motives behind what they do, and how their principles and morals got to be the way they are, can kind of become your own sociological game. Maybe it comes from doing too many puzzles and games of Carmen Sandiego as a child.
But it always seems like whenever I get to the point of knowing someone the most, down to the point where I can nearly predict what they're going to say next, I overhear a comment, or read a blog entry, or hear a past story that sheds light on an entirely new side of them. And it completely invalidates most of my perception of the person. It's frustrating. No matter how much I think I know a person, there's always a part of them I'll never know.
That's a bit comforting, too, though. I wouldn't particularly like the idea that someone knows absolutely everything about me. Besides being a bit unnerving, it would take some of the spontaneity and fun out of your… existence…
Wasn't there some sort of theory relating to that? That there are three parts of the perception of a person: what others know about you, what you know about yourself, and what no one, not even you, knows about yourself. Which, theoretically, would mean that there will be things that you are constantly learning about yourself throughout your life. That's no surprise. But it also would mean that even on your deathbed, there will be things about yourself that you will never know existed. I'm not sure how that works, exactly. Do they (and by "they", I mean those proverbial scientists who govern all ambiguous theories) mean you'll never discover things you never experienced ("hey, who knew I liked squirrel hunting?")? That seems a bit obvious. If you've never TRIED bungee jumping or sumo wrestling, of course you're not going to realize those hypothetical, situational aspects of youself. Or do they mean deeper things, like an subtle personality disorder or characteristic tendency? Either way, I think it's interesting.
This is where psychology classes could prove useful.
