Just woke up and this idea hit me... Why is it that whatever I think is obvious turns out to be something else or swerves in that direction at least.

What seems obvious often hides deeper truths.

Our world thrives on overlooked details and hidden complexities.

Embrace curiosity and keep questioning the apparent.

This mindset uncovers insights that surprise and inspire.

It's all because of our mind and how it's hardwired.. Simple, fast, repetitive wins over the complications and other not so obvious facts staring back at us.

Our minds love shortcuts, but these can mask a deeper understanding. That's where psychology and philosophy come in. They remind us there's more beneath the surface.

Did I just say psychology and philosophy? I guess I did, was that not obvious I was going there?

I just love the saying that goes along the lines of 

" What you think you know is just the first layer, there's more where that came from..

layers and layers if you care to dig deeper than the surface."

Let's start. 

What does obvious mean?

It is not what you or we think it is..obviously. 

When we hear the word "obvious," we often assume it means something everyone agrees upon or sees clearly. But is that really the case?

What one person views as apparent might be a mystery to someone else.

Depending on where you are or who you're with, what seems obvious can change. In one culture, a gesture or tradition might be well-known and straightforward, but completely unknown in another.

 Context Matters:

Think about sports. In the US, it's obvious that "football" involves helmets and touchdowns. But in most of the world, "football" means soccer... the one we all know

Cultural Differences:

Consider personal space. What's obvious in one culture isn't in another

So context and culture are not friends with obviousness. 

What about the games our minds play with us all the time? 

That's where cognitive comes in.

Something called the Confirmation bias and the Dunning-Kruger effect the first makes us come up with made up facts in our mind to support our assumption or the "obvious'. The second one is when we overestimate our knowledge while inn fact we don't have that arsenal of information.. and when we find evidence to prove otherwise we ignore it.

Then add to that the illusion of simplicity. Then theres the complexities of science that we rarely take note of... all we know are the final equations of scientists and mathematicians, but what lies beneath those simplified user friendly findings and equations is a behemoth of knowledge and research, sweat and blood. But do we care about that? rarely comes to ones mind.

Now comes philosophy my favorite these days..what did the greats have to say on this subject?

Let's take Socrates fro example.. and what a fine example indeed!

He never took anything face value, meaning whatever you presented to him or the world handed him he would always question it. The method is actually called the Socrates method. This is how it goes;

Ask questions to understand.

Challenge assumptions.

Seek truth through dialogue.

So in other words we should be curious... I agree.

Then there's the later Critical thinking toolbox:

Question assumptions, seek multiple perspectives, analyze consequences, Keep asking why?

Be a lifelong student of curiosity. Learn from mistakes don't just diss them off and say it happens.

So you see, the obvious isn't what it is ( wink )