Optical illusions like the Necker cube http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necker_cube are examples of how our brains try make meaning in the face of ambiguous data. It's impossible for us to see both perspectives at the same time.
We spend most of our time attempting to make meaning out of what's going on in the world and ourselves. We make maps of the world in our heads, to help us navigate our way "out there". Rules of thumb, such as the perspective information that lets us judge distance and size, get us through the day without having to learn everything all over again. When new information doesn't fit our map, we discard it or dismiss it as wrong. The Necker cube confuses us once we are aware that there are two perspectives, because it doesn't fit in our present map.
The same illusions beset us when we look at the past and the future. Our memory and our imagination both use our present map of the world to make sense. And inevitably they are wrong.
Yesterday every commentator predicted that "America will never be the same again" - that the future had irrevocably changed because of Obama's election. I remembered hearing the same words about Great Britain and the British people after the death of Princess Diana in 1997. The truth is, Britain and Britons didn't change. After an uncharacteristic period of national hysteria, Britain went back to business as usual.
Unfortunately, once we get to it, the future tends to feel more mundane than we imagined - because humans adapt so well, using those maps of the world. Yesterday's events were momentous. I wonder how long it will take after Barack Obama's inauguration, for us to get used to the idea of a black president of the US, to assimilate it into our same old same old.
Given the weight of expectation on him, it's only a matter of time until Obama gets bracketed as just another politician - because we will fit this into our present map of the world.
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