Great article. Thank you for posting it. About the Coffer Illusion, note that the so-called squares are really rectangles. I saw the circles after about 30 seconds of looking, by using the eye that did not have a contact lens in it (long story) so the whole image looked a bit blurry. I saw the circles in the blur, overlapping the rectangles. About bias - bias is natural. Many biases are healthy and even necessary. Bias against murderers, for example. Prejudice is the word for biases that have not been learned by a proper prior evaluation. Unlike biases, prejudices are always bad. About the current situation with Muslim Supremacism in general and Palestinians in particular, being biased against Muslim Supremacists who want you to covert or die is necessary if you do not wish to convert or die. Sadly, too many (probably most) Palestinians have been educated to believe the supremacist ideology. I also know personally not a few Arab Israelis and Arab Americans who are not religious supremacists and just want to get along. The Israeli Rabbi who ignores the existence of Muslim supremacism is definitely not seeing the circles, as per your terms. Those who don’t see the Muslims who fight their supremacist coreligionists are in their own way also not seeing the circles. Each group sees only what seems predominant to them, without seeing how life involves many overlapping complexities. My opinion - education about the nature and importance of civil society and human rights has been overlooked by the free world at our great expense. It’s past time to fix that.
There is much that has been overlooked by the free world and I hope that things will change as people understand that Muslim supremacism is a thing to be feared and fought around the world.
Thanks for your comment that expands on what I have written.
An optical illusion is the perfect metaphor. Although I grew up in a liberal household in America, when I made Aliya 35 years ago, I understood that the same rules do not apply. Unfortunately, they never wanted a 2 state solution. They only wanted the final solution. I’m not very political, but it is clear that your move to the right is logical.
Great article! Before Oct 7 I was left leaning, and still am in many issues, but the response from the left towards Israel and Hamas, shocked me! But it also woke me up to start looking more deeply into other issues that the left supported. Certain terminology and catch phrases often used and accepted by me now came under deeper scrutiny.
I realized my own naïveté gave these catch phrases much more innocent meanings than what they really represented. When the NYT said trans youth were being denied healthcare I was horrified as I took that literally; not as referring only to doing invasive life-altering surgery etc on children (which needs way more research)and on it goes. Some BLM issues took on a deeper darker meaning than I had understood etc
Reading your article has made it very clear for me. My view of the world and personality only let me see squares but now I am seeing the circles too! Things that I saw as basic kindness, I am now seeing in a different and not so innocent light.
As soon as you pointed out the circles that is what I could easily see! So another lesson for myself is that some of us can too easily be made to understand a point of view as correct, just by being told some “fact” or other! The lesson I have learned is that I need to look harder to find both the square and circle in every idea put forward and then decide where I stand.
Darn it, can't NOT see those circles! I swear they weren't there beforehand, ha ,ha. Glad you've moved over to the 'right' side...
"I swear they weren't there beforehand," LOL
You're glad I moved right. My longtime friends and family, not so much.
I’m sorry. That must be difficult.
Agree with you completely on turning right. Being a leftie in Israel is akin to a death wish
Still see no circles though 😁
Very strong Sheri. As usual.
thank you
This is excellent. Thank you for writing/sharing it.
glad you found it interesting
absolutely brilliant illusion. Article was brilliant as well. Thank you. I’m a believer 😊
thanks
What an interesting way to open up infinite possibilities for “seeing!”
Thank you, Sheri Oz, for looking beyond into an examination of beliefs.
I ask antisemites to look at their inherited prejudices, perhaps never examined but still acted upon.
Do you have any luck when you ask them to do that?
Great article. Thank you for posting it. About the Coffer Illusion, note that the so-called squares are really rectangles. I saw the circles after about 30 seconds of looking, by using the eye that did not have a contact lens in it (long story) so the whole image looked a bit blurry. I saw the circles in the blur, overlapping the rectangles. About bias - bias is natural. Many biases are healthy and even necessary. Bias against murderers, for example. Prejudice is the word for biases that have not been learned by a proper prior evaluation. Unlike biases, prejudices are always bad. About the current situation with Muslim Supremacism in general and Palestinians in particular, being biased against Muslim Supremacists who want you to covert or die is necessary if you do not wish to convert or die. Sadly, too many (probably most) Palestinians have been educated to believe the supremacist ideology. I also know personally not a few Arab Israelis and Arab Americans who are not religious supremacists and just want to get along. The Israeli Rabbi who ignores the existence of Muslim supremacism is definitely not seeing the circles, as per your terms. Those who don’t see the Muslims who fight their supremacist coreligionists are in their own way also not seeing the circles. Each group sees only what seems predominant to them, without seeing how life involves many overlapping complexities. My opinion - education about the nature and importance of civil society and human rights has been overlooked by the free world at our great expense. It’s past time to fix that.
There is much that has been overlooked by the free world and I hope that things will change as people understand that Muslim supremacism is a thing to be feared and fought around the world.
Thanks for your comment that expands on what I have written.
You’re very welcome!
BTW -- you're right that they are rectangles, but that takes so long to write.
Excellent essay. Thank you.
Thanks, Donna
An optical illusion is the perfect metaphor. Although I grew up in a liberal household in America, when I made Aliya 35 years ago, I understood that the same rules do not apply. Unfortunately, they never wanted a 2 state solution. They only wanted the final solution. I’m not very political, but it is clear that your move to the right is logical.
Seems logical to me, :)
Great article! Before Oct 7 I was left leaning, and still am in many issues, but the response from the left towards Israel and Hamas, shocked me! But it also woke me up to start looking more deeply into other issues that the left supported. Certain terminology and catch phrases often used and accepted by me now came under deeper scrutiny.
I realized my own naïveté gave these catch phrases much more innocent meanings than what they really represented. When the NYT said trans youth were being denied healthcare I was horrified as I took that literally; not as referring only to doing invasive life-altering surgery etc on children (which needs way more research)and on it goes. Some BLM issues took on a deeper darker meaning than I had understood etc
Reading your article has made it very clear for me. My view of the world and personality only let me see squares but now I am seeing the circles too! Things that I saw as basic kindness, I am now seeing in a different and not so innocent light.
As soon as you pointed out the circles that is what I could easily see! So another lesson for myself is that some of us can too easily be made to understand a point of view as correct, just by being told some “fact” or other! The lesson I have learned is that I need to look harder to find both the square and circle in every idea put forward and then decide where I stand.