I Am What You Say I Am

I mentioned in passing in an earlier post that one of the first things I ask someone when meeting them is what they do. I believe this is a question that is extremely revealing about the underlying person. A profession takes up a lot of anyone's life and what someone chooses (or must do) says a lot about someone's priorities, values and/or current situation.

But it goes beyond a personality. What we choose to take on as a profession affects how we perceive the world around us. It affects what we notice and pay attention to. It can even affect how we remember certain situations and interpret what someone says.

Pictured: Sure, everyone "sees" the same world around them. But if you don't notice something, did you really see it?

Here, the taxi driver probably doesn't even look at the pedestrians to their side in favor of what is in front of them (as they should).

Though there have been studies on this issue, I wanted to illustrate how fundamentally this can influence memories. Now, before I freak out my atheist and non-Christian/Muslim friends, I will be quoting the Bible very shortly (for those who care, I'm using the New Century Version translation). But the point I'm trying to make here doesn't really hinge on belief in the underlying book. It's just a good example of what I'm trying to get at.

For the uninitiated, the first four books of the New Testament are the gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Each of these is an account of Jesus's life told from the point of view of each respective follower. Before becoming followers, Matthew was a tax collector, Mark was a teen who had not yet begun their career, Luke was a doctor and John was a fisherman.

Near the end of the whole Jesus saga is the last supper and betrayal. To recap, Judas (of Lady Gaga fame) sold out Jesus to the local religious government for cash. After having a final dinner, Jesus and his pals went out to a garden to chill. Judas and the religious Po-Po showed up, arrested Jesus and brought him before some priests. In the following confrontation, the religious council asked Jesus point blank: Are you the messiah?

Pictured: Hanging with some friends. Felt cute. Might die for everyone's sins later. Idk.

Jesus's response to this question differs slightly between the gospels:

• Matthew 26:64: "Those are your words. But I tell you, in the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of God, the Powerful One, and coming on clouds in the sky."

• Mark 14:62: "I am. And in the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of God, the powerful One, and coming on clouds in the sky."

• Luke 22:67-70: "If I tell you, you will not believe me. And if I ask you, you will not answer. But from now on, the Son of Man will sit at the right hand of the powerful God. . . . [upon being re-asked] You say that I am."

• John noted that Jesus was brought before this tribunal and defended his other teachings, but the point blank question of "Are you the messiah" and the corresponding response was omitted.

Matthew and Luke capture a level of nuance that Mark simply missed. And this seems to line up well with the follower's respective professional experience (or lack thereof). Heck, my initial recollection of what was said (see the title) is also slightly different in a way that reflects my personality/profession (though, I obviously wasn't there; this was just my recollection of what I had previously read).

And this is just one example. The remainder of the gospels have slightly different accounts of many such events (Mark being more to the point and action oriented, Matthew/Luke are more thorough about wording and John just does something completely different).

When looking back on one's memories, remember that how you are trained will affect how you see and remember the world because it affects what you consider important. When taking personal inventory, remember to think of these implicit biases.

EDIT: So, after doing research into something else, I found out that Matthew and Luke were not actually written by those two (called pseudepigraphical, apparantly). However, the point still stands. What you do changes how you percieve the world around you.