You Cannot See This, Even With Your Eyes Open

You say, “I saw it with my own eyes.” But what if your brain is lying to you? If you do not have a word for something, does that thing truly exist for you?

I want to ask you this honestly: Have you ever failed to see something, not because you were not paying attention, but because you did not have a word for it? Probably not. Because nobody teaches us this. I learned it late too, and since that day, the way I look at the world has changed.

What If Language Opens The Category First?

There is a Himba tribe in Africa. In their language, there is no word for “blue.” When they look at the sky, do you know what they see? A different shade of green. None of them call it “blue,” because their brains have not opened that category yet.

Researchers show them something like this: a circle on a screen, with 11 green squares and one clearly blue square in the middle. They ask them, “Find the one that is different.” What they see is this: all of them fall into the “green” category.

You noticed that blue square instantly. For them, it is much harder. Their eyes work perfectly, but their brains do not have that category.

The Himba Tribe And The Color Blue

The Himba spend more time trying to see blue. Their eyes are fine, but they do not have the word. But here is what they can do. They notice the subtle differences between greens much faster. In their language, there are 12 different names for shades of green.

Yes, you read that correctly. They instantly see green nuances that we cannot see. Because they have the words for them. So maybe we are the blind ones too, just in a different place.

What Are You Not Seeing Right Now?

Now think about this: What is standing right in front of your eyes right now, but passing by as just “another shade” because your language does not have a word for it?

Which emotion, which relationship dynamic, which thought pattern are you unable to see simply because you do not know its name?

The limit of your reality is not the limit of your eyes. It is the limit of your language. When you learn a new word, you actually start seeing something new. That is why reading and learning are so valuable: they open new categories for you. Things that once passed by like fog suddenly become crystal clear.

A New Concept Is A New Eye

In short: You have a brain that can biologically care about around 150 people, you live inside a system that is mathematically very hard to win, and on top of all that, you cannot see half of the universe because you do not know the words for it. That is already heavy enough.

So stopping yourself from learning is the greatest luxury. A new concept means a new eye. And you still do not know how many eyes you have yet.