VIEWPOINT MAGAZINE Volume 2.1 October 2013 | Page 20

By Soon Hyung Kwon

The Dilution Model: we feel that a thing that
only does one thing is better than another thing that
does many things. For instance, if we walked into a
mall and saw a toaster/coffee machine hybrid, we
would instantly assume that the product is good at
neither of its functions. Analogously, if an acclaimed
actor wrote a script for an independent movie, we
would perceive him as another one of those wannabe screenwriters: the exact reason why actor
Wentworth Miller used the pseudonym Ted Foulke
when he came up with a movie script, which was
actually selected as one of the top 10 unproduced
screenplays in Hollywood later on.
This tendency can both be beneficial and harmful
regarding the perception of our peers. It would grant
recognition to those who only dug one well. But to
those of us, ordinary people who tend to be
interested in multiple areas, such psychology could
hinder us from getting the recognition that we
rightfully deserve. “Oh he’s very good at playing the
guitar, so I don’t expect him to be very good at
playing football”, “He majored in political science,
he can’t be very good at software designing”, so
forth. Had Leonardo da Vinci lived in today’s world,
he would have been considered as a painter, not the
Renaissance man we know of today.
People are limitless. A post officer could suddenly
turn into a world renowned writer (Bukowski), or a
homeless vagabond into a highly regarded jazz
singer (Jay Kay, Jamiroquai). However as long as this
inherent yet harmful prejudice remains prevalent
among us, it would be impossible to recognize the
numerous and precious values in people, thus
discouraging them from reaching their fullest
potential. It is important that we rid ourselves of
these preconceptions regarding people for what
they’re known, and leave our minds as blank slates
when we watch them try something new. Who
knows? That guy who won a gold medal at the
Olympics could be the next Beethoven.
To expand on the subject a little more, similar
observation applies to prejudice in general. This
would work in the opposite way: the person is not
good at this thing therefore he won’t be very good at
that either, or that the person will excel at this thing
because he excels in everything else. Identical actions
or remarks given by two different people will

19

inevitably have two different reactions. One could
be considered a very witty move whereas the other
will be considered a bane remark. Haven’t you had
that experience when someone hit your shoulder by
accident, and as you turned to that person in
annoyance you discovered that it was someone you
gravely admire? Or that time when the kid who can
barely memorize simple algebraic functions
displayed a high level of maturity in the class debate?
Why were we even surprised as much as we were
that day?
The true disaster takes place when we begin to
shun what’s good and virtuous just because it was
from a person we find irritating (thus his or her
inability to elicit positive feelings from us). Our
inability to acknowledge the fact that there is good in
people we don’t like narrows our scope of morality.
A deadly equivalent from the opposite side of the
spectrum would be to blind ourselves to the evil,
even deceiving ourselves into thinking that it’s good
and honorable, presented by those we favor. This is
exactly what children do because they have no
standard of morality. But as we mature, it is crucial
that we learn how to discern what’s good and not-so
-good, regardless of our attachments to the subject.
What I had written is nothing more than an
observation and an encouragement to overcome it; I
struggle with prejudice all the time. Nonetheless,
once the problem has been identified and explored
through, I thought it might help both myself and the
reader to slowly bridle our impulses. Everyone has
something to learn from each other, adults and
teenagers alike. Once we avoid such bias and
humble ourselves, we’ll be able to learn new lessons
and become even better people than we are today.

Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in this page do not, in any way, represent the school’s opinion. These
are owned and freely expressed by the individuals per se.