Perspective
A tool to understand reality
The Engine
At any moment there’s an internal character arc playing inside us which we claim is the reality. There’s environment which is evolving and developing on its own while giving you an impression you have some control. In this environment there’s constant stimuli and response, an act of eternal dance representing oneness. The “I” operates in the response part of the equation where we are always found giving responses to the stimuli in the environment.
We usually think about perspective in a reactionary fashion, it’s usually about an event that has happened. The outcome is already known, the variable is the main question - why!
The Hope
Once you understand by reflection that control is a myth, you start to enquire why? Now that’s the most powerful question which uncovers the actual nature of reality. A very useful tool to get the answer why is Perspective.
Since you don’t have any control, you know one thing - my “I” is not the reality. So now you need to collect more data from the environment on why certain things happened to get the result. Perspective gives you a quick insight for any variable for any given direction.
Perspective allows you to respond to the stimuli in a more understanding place than your immediate ego positioned response, one might even say it allows you to have the most calculated response.
The Game
To understand perspective we will start with a game. It’s a thought experiment game.
Here there is: Actor, Situation, Result.
Non-Mathematical Approach
For those who prefer simple language, here’s how to play:
Actor = The person whose perspective you’re trying to understand. This could be you or someone else.
What’s going on inside them? (beliefs, emotions, past experiences)
What can you actually see? (their actions, words, body language)
Situation = Everything happening around this event. This is the most important part.
Break down what’s actually happening into pieces
For each piece, ask: What could this mean? What direction is it pointing?
Use your intellect to get to the core of the problem using first principles
Once you’ve broken it down, you have your foundation
Think of each piece like an arrow:
Where is it pointing? (Is the person moving towards anger or sadness? Towards you or away?)
How strong is it? (A little annoyed or completely furious?)
How sure are you? (Since you can never know exactly what someone is thinking, estimate a range)
Example: Someone seems “angry”
Pointing where? Towards confrontation or withdrawal?
How strong? Mildly irritated (3/10) or ready to explode (9/10)?
How sure? You might think somewhere between 6-8, not exactly 7
Result = What actually happened, or what could happen
What you observed
What else was possible
Mathematical Framework
For those comfortable with formal thinking, here’s the same game:
Think of it as an equation:
f(A, S) → R
Where:
A (Actor) = The character for whom you want to evaluate the perspective - it could be yourself or someone else.
Internal state: A_internal (beliefs, emotions, past experiences)
Observable behavior: A_observable (actions, words, body language)
S (Situation) = The environment and its variables. This is the most important analytical part.
Environmental variables: S_env = {v₁, v₂, v₃, ... vₙ}
Each variable is a vector with direction and magnitude
For creating a proper mathematical representation against which you can run simulation, you need to use your intellect to get to the core of the problem in this situation using first principles.
Once variables are deduced you have set the foundation.
R (Result) = The outcome that already has happened or to calculate possible variations of reality.
Observed outcome: R_actual
Possible outcomes: R_possible = {r₁, r₂, r₃, ... rₘ}
The Vector Nature:
Think of variables like vectors. Each variable has a direction and magnitude. Since you can never know what exactly a person might be thinking, there would be variations - you’re mapping the bounded range of possibilities.
For any variable v:
Direction: The tendency or orientation of the variable
Magnitude: The intensity or strength
Uncertainty: σ (sigma) - the bounded range of possibilities
Example: If someone is “angry” →
Direction: Towards confrontation or withdrawal
Magnitude: 0 (calm) to 10 (rage)
Uncertainty: You might estimate 6-8, not precisely 7
A Concrete Example
Scenario: Your manager canceled your 1-on-1 meeting last minute
Immediate Ego Response: “They don’t value my time. They don’t care about me. I’m not important.”
Now Let’s Run The ASR (Simple Version):
Actor:
You: Feeling disrespected, seeing this through the lens of self-worth
Manager: You don’t know what’s going on inside, but you can see they canceled
Situation: Break it down into pieces
Piece 1: Manager’s workload right now
Pointing where? Could be overwhelmed → had to cancel as emergency triage
How strong? Unknown, could be super stressed (7-9 out of 10)
How sure? You don’t really know
Piece 2: Your past relationship with this manager
Pointing where? Generally good, okay, or bad?
How strong? Look at past interactions
How sure? If usually positive, this cancellation is unusual
Piece 3: How last minute was it?
Pointing where? Very last minute = urgent interrupt OR just poor planning
How strong? 5 minutes before vs 2 hours before matters a lot
How sure? This you can actually measure
Piece 4: Does your manager do this often?
Pointing where? Is this normal or unusual behavior?
How strong? How many times has this happened?
How sure? You have historical data
Piece 5: What’s happening in the company right now?
Pointing where? Crisis mode? Normal times? Year-end pressure?
How strong? External pressures on your manager
How sure? What’s happening in the bigger picture?
Result:
What happened: Meeting canceled, you feel slighted
What else could be true:
Manager is dealing with an urgent crisis (likely if they’re really stressed)
Manager is deliberately deprioritizing you (unlikely if relationship is usually good)
Manager is just bad at time management (maybe, if this happens often)
Something personal or emergency happened (you have no way to know)
Same Example (Mathematical Version):
Actor (A):
A₁ (You): Feeling disrespected, interpreting through lens of self-worth
A₂ (Manager): Unknown internal state, but observable behavior = cancellation
Situation (S): Break down the variables
v₁: Manager’s current workload
Direction: Could be overwhelmed → cancellation as triage
Magnitude: Unknown, could be 7-9/10 stress
Your knowledge: σ = high uncertainty
v₂: Your relationship history with manager
Direction: Generally positive/neutral/negative?
Magnitude: Past data points
Your knowledge: If generally positive, this is anomaly
v₃: Timing of cancellation
Direction: Last minute = urgent interrupt OR poor planning
Magnitude: How last minute? 5 min vs 2 hours matters
Your knowledge: σ = measurable
v₄: Manager’s communication pattern
Direction: Is this typical behavior or unusual?
Magnitude: Frequency of cancellations
Your knowledge: Historical pattern
v₅: Organizational context
Direction: Crisis mode? Normal operations? Year-end pressure?
Magnitude: External pressures on manager’s role
Your knowledge: What’s happening in the broader environment?
Result (R):
R_actual: Meeting canceled, you feel slighted
R_possible:
r₁: Manager overwhelmed by urgent crisis (probability: high if v₁ is high)
r₂: Manager deprioritizing you deliberately (probability: low if v₂ shows positive history)
r₃: Manager has poor time management (probability: medium if v₄ shows pattern)
r₄: Something personal/emergency (probability: unknown, bounded)
Calculated Response vs Ego Response:
Ego Response: Passive aggressive message or silent resentment → damages relationship
Calculated Response (after ASR): “Hey, no problem on the reschedule. Noticed it was last minute - everything okay? Happy to async update if you’re swamped. Let me know what works.”
This response:
Acknowledges without accusation
Opens door for context (maybe they’re in crisis)
Offers solution (async)
Maintains relationship quality
Positions you as understanding, not needy
Why This Works:
You’ve mapped the possibilities. You don’t know exactly what’s happening with your manager (that would require impossible precision), but you’ve figured out the likely scenarios. Most signs point to “external pressure” not “deliberate disrespect.” Your response accounts for the high-probability scenarios while protecting the relationship.
The ego wanted certainty and made one up: “They don’t care.”
The ASR gave you probabilistic understanding: “Multiple scenarios, most not personal, respond accordingly.”
The Practice
Playing once or twice will get you used to this exercise. The main goal here is constant multiple repetition throughout the day with the sole purpose of understanding what’s happening right now.
This is meditation - non-dual, intellectually driven, which forces you to be alert.
How to Practice:
Catch the reaction - Notice when you’re about to respond from ego
Pause - Create space between stimulus and response
Run ASR - Even 30 seconds of variable mapping
Map vectors - Direction, magnitude, uncertainty for key variables
Calculate - What’s the highest probability explanation?
Respond - From understanding, not ego
Start with obvious triggers. Someone cuts you off in traffic. A message gets left on read. A project gets deprioritized. Run the game.
The repetition builds the muscle. Eventually it becomes automatic. You start living in the vector space instead of the ego space.
Start Playing
The game is simple. The practice is constant. The results compound.
Next time you react to something, pause. Run the ASR. Map the vectors. Understand you’re operating with incomplete information but can bound the possibilities.
You’re not seeking perfect knowledge. You’re seeking better probability estimation than your ego’s default narrative.
Start now.
The “I” is not the reality. look again.