Do we see the world as it is, or as we are?

Most of us operate on the quiet assumption that our eyes are perfect windows to the world. We believe we see an objective, unfiltered reality. But what if that assumption is wrong? What if our perception is less like a photograph and more like a painting—an active, creative process of interpretation, shaped by the unique landscape of our own minds? This, right here, is the foundational secret of a Perceptionist. It’s the art of seeing what isn’t there.

Your Brain as a Co-Director

Think of your brain not as a passive camera recording events, but as a busy film director sitting in an editing bay. Billions of bits of sensory information flood in every second—sights, sounds, feelings—far too much to process. The director’s job is to cut through the noise, select the important shots, and assemble them into a coherent story.

This “director” has a particular style, honed by millions of years of evolution. It loves to create patterns, fill in gaps, and make assumptions to save time and energy. Have you ever noticed that after you buy a new car, you suddenly see that same model everywhere? That’s not because there are more of them on the road; it’s the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon, or frequency illusion. Your brain’s director, having decided this car is now important, starts highlighting it in your reality.

A Perceptionist learns to work with this director. We understand its habits, its shortcuts, and its biases. The most elegant moments of impossibility are not created by breaking the laws of physics, but by collaborating with the laws of perception.

Mental Models: Your Personal Reality Filter

We don’t just have a director; we have a script. Each of us navigates the world with a unique set of “mental models”—cognitive frameworks built from our experiences, beliefs, and expectations. These models act as filters, determining what we pay attention to and what we dismiss as irrelevant noise.

I once saw two people witness a near-miss traffic incident. A car swerved at the last second, avoiding a collision. One person, who held a mental model of the world as a dangerous place, saw only recklessness and the looming threat of an accident. They were shaken and angry. The other, whose model was one of optimism, saw only the incredible skill of the driver and the good fortune of the outcome. They were exhilarated. Same event, two completely different realities.

Understanding these filters is key. When I engage with someone in a performance, I am not trying to read their mind in a mystical sense. I am trying to understand their mental model. What do they expect to happen? What do they value? By aligning an experience with their unique way of seeing the world, I can create a moment that feels not just impossible, but deeply, uncannily personal.

The Art of Noticing

If our brains are wired to filter reality and follow scripts, how do we ever see something new? The answer lies in the conscious, deliberate act of noticing. It’s a skill, and like any skill, it can be trained.

It reminds me of Sherlock Holmes’s famous clue in “The Adventure of Silver Blaze”—the curious incident of the dog in the night-time. The crucial clue was what the dog didn’t do. It didn’t bark. The absence of an expected event was the key that unlocked the entire mystery.

This is the practical, day-to-day work of a Perceptionist: learning to see the gaps. It’s about listening for the things that are not said in a conversation, noticing the choice someone doesn’t make, or seeing the assumption that underpins an entire belief system. It is a quiet, patient art. It is the art of seeing what isn’t there, and then using that space to create a moment of elegant wonder.

A New Way of Looking

The world is not a fixed, static thing that we passively observe. Reality is a collaboration between the universe outside us and the universe within our minds. This isn’t a limitation; it’s an invitation. It means we are all co-creators of our own experience.

Understanding this gives you a certain power. It allows you to question your own filters, to notice your own assumptions, and to appreciate the profound and often elegant ways your mind constructs your world. So, let me leave you with a question to ponder.

What might you be able to see if you started looking for what isn’t there?

Internal Links: Beyond Belief: What It Takes to Create a Shared Mystery, The Myth of Everything and Nothing: Crafting Meaning from Chaos

External Link: A great primer on cognitive biases from Simply Psychology