The Role Of Perception In TED Talk By Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

In her TED talk, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie talks through the role of perception in her life and the way that it changes social relationships. We have all had plenty of experiences that surprise us in regard to perception, such as the first time we meet someone from another culture, or meeting someone from our past in a new light. We have been inundated with stereotypes and preconceived notions since we were children, through stories, media, parents, teachers, and friends. Moreover, these presuppositions that we carry are rarely, if ever, based on anything substantial, yet they show up in every aspect of our life. Adichie calls the notion of this one-sided preconceived bias the “single story.” This “single story” is interesting due to the fact that even if we can overcome it, we are still affected by it. Adichie speaks about how even though she had become enlightened to this dilemma, she is still subject to it. As for her experience, she states that,

Adichi’s answer involves power and repetition; the power to create a story for a specific person, and the repetition of that one specific stereotype over and over again. Together, power and repetition will eventually change our thoughts concerning that person. How does this affect the way that we interact with people? During Clint Smith’s TED talk, he shares a story of his childhood, and the way that his parents were forced to raise him so that he wouldn’t become, in their mind, another black culture