WYSIATI(c)

“What you see is all there is” ©

Probably, many of you have already read Kahneman’s “Thinking fast and slow” book. Personally, I read it very slowly, as it is really uncomfortable to feel all those biases, relate to them and not lose trust in your own abilities and perspectives.

A couple of weeks ago I took the kids to the Illusions Museum (London Twist Museum), and it was really fascinating to observe all those optical tricks and illusions. In one of the rooms, only yellow light was on and in this light, you cannot recognize red color for example. When the white light was turned on you can tell what the actual (from your perspective, of course) colors are, and the spectrum is much wider. The same thing happens with WYSIATI cognitive bias: if we live in a “yellow light” reality we might be missing the fact that tomatoes are red, or green. And if we turn another light on our perception of reality might change dramatically.

Similarly, the same story can happen during a coaching session (and I have experienced that literally this week): when we look at the situation from one angle and in one type of light we might feel stuck and going in emotional whirlwind, and just one question might turn the white light on and you will notice different options and details that were always there but somehow were overlooked and this will change the perspective completely. And “all there is” expands a bit.