The Error of Reality Permanence

We go through life under the weight of countless assumptions. From the current state of the economy to the location of your favorite t-shirt, our lives are buried under or perhaps supported somewhat tenuously by millions of little statements about the world. These statements can be based on something we’ve seen or heard, IRL or online, something we’ve worked out in our minds over the years based on experience bought and paid for with time, money, or pain. Collectively, this multitude of data points from which we decide, act, and feel can be described as our worldview; our picture of the world, painted by decades of lived experience; the matte painting — the backdrop of our skull-sized kingdoms. These beautiful pictures serve as the source of human creativity and imagination but are also the source of most, if not all, human misery and stupidity. Nearly every mistake an individual or business can make is fundamentally a misapprehension about the nature of reality, other people, the market, or the world. In computer science, we’d refer to this as a lousy cache invalidation strategy; in life, I like to call it the fundamental error of reality permanence.

Reality is inherently impermanent. Change, as they say, is the only constant. Assumptions based on observations one day may be perfectly valid and false the next. There is no shortage of anti-patterns and unhealthy ways of thinking one can attribute, which fall squarely into the category of reality permanence errors. For instance, assuming that a product or service will always be in demand because it has been successful in the past, without considering the changing needs and desires of the market or shifts in the technological landscape, is a classic example of the reality of permanence error. Similarly, there’s a saying that the most dangerous phrase in business is “We’ve always done it this way.” If you go through life or business with a set of assumptions that you do not regularly examine very closely, you’ll miss the sad fact that the reality upon which you based those assumptions no longer exists.

In medicine, it was thought for decades that ulcers were caused by stress and diet, but it turned out to be a bacterial infection. In technology, there’s no shortage of companies you can point to who based their business strategy on a misapprehension about consumer preference — Kodak and Blockbuster definitely come to mind. The music industry was sideswiped not once but many times over the years by the likes of Napster, iTunes, and Spotify because, in a nutshell, they assumed that which was would continue to be. When your strategy for navigating the world is built upon a misinformed worldview, you’re dead in the water.

How do you navigate the impermanence of reality? Develop a recognition that assumptions are just that: assumptions. The fewer things you assume to be the capital “T” Truth about the world, the less likely you are to be blindsided when it turns out your truth was just a temporary placeholder for understanding. It takes conscious and constant effort to do this. We are hard-wired to form beliefs, ossify our understanding of the world into truths, and make the impermanent permanent in our minds. This nearly encompasses the process of gaining experience. However, beliefs allow the mind to stop functioning and processing new perspectives. Instead of “I believe” try, “I think”.

Cultivate a healthy skepticism of your own beliefs. Actively seek out and question the assumptions upon which you base your decisions and remain open to the very likely possibility that they may no longer hold. It takes humility to admit when you are wrong. Still, it can be a superpower that allows you to maintain an agile epistemological posture rather than firmly planting your feet on the bow of a sinking ship.

Actively seek out perspectives that differ from your own. Engage in conversations with people who hold wildly opposing views and try to understand them. You will either walk away with the satisfaction of knowing you’re right or, if you pay close enough attention, you may learn something. It’s difficult to keep an open mind and maintain a genuine curiosity about the world, the market, and others, but it can be the difference between sinking or swimming. John Maynard Keynes put it beautifully: “When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?”

Finally, acknowledge that life is uncertain, reality is impermanent, and accept that our understanding of the world around us will always be incomplete. We have a choice not to, but you’ll find that much more happiness knowledge may come to you by embracing the fact that the assumptions we make and the artifice we create in our minds to abstract the world around us into something comprehensible is transitory and, like the stock market, the weather, or public opinion, subject to change.

The error of reality permanence is a perfectly natural, albeit flawed, aspect of the human experience. It’s difficult but worthwhile to challenge our assumptions, seek out opposing perspectives, and accept the fluidity of the world around us. Clinging to absolutes hinders our ability to navigate change successfully. Writer and activist Rebecca Solnit summarizes the idea of reality permanence more gracefully than I could ever hope to.

“Nothing is ever so good that it can’t stand a little revision, and nothing is ever so impossible and broken down that a try at fixing it is out of the question.”