Literature - Essays

The TED Filter

Prologue

"We view the world through rose colored glasses" is a well known saying that describes how ones perception of the world around him depends upon his belief system, his past experiences, and his expectations. This explains how two people can look at the same set of data and draw two strikingly different conclusions.

I propose the existence of a type of information filter sometimes employed by humans to perceive the world, which, for no better title will be called the "Trolinger Expectations and Desires" filter or "TED" for short that may find some use in the description of human response. First I will briefly review the mathematics of information and signal processing, specifically signal filtering for the purpose of improvement and interpretation. I intentionally use layman's terms to make this understandable by those who may not have an extensive background in mathematics.

Any set of information such as a picture or a scenario can be described mathematically with a series or summation of rather simple mathematical functions or waves of different amplitude and frequency. The picture may have in it certain information which is of no use or interest to the viewer of the picture (for example, the light glaring from the glass covering the picture). If such information hampers the viewing of the desired information, it is called noise. Noise is often characterized more by selected ranges of frequencies. By examining the frequency content of an image in the so-called frequency domain, the removal of blocks of frequencies is relatively simple. A frequency filter is set to either remove or attenuate some of the frequencies that make up the entire image and its noise. The most common filters remove all of the high frequencies (the so-called low pass filter) or remove all of the low frequencies,(the so-called high pass filter).. This sometimes improves an image because noise is often characterized by high frequency. Specifically, a high pass filter enhances edges and points of light, while a low pass filter smoothes these components of the image and blends them into the background. The low frequency information is quite often of little use and almost always reduces the contrast of a picture. In general any part of the frequency spectrum can be removed or attenuated by any amount to change the overall appearance of the picture. With today's signal and image processing computers, this can be done quickly while the user looks on, trying one filter set after the other and searching for an image that he believes to be improved over the original data set.

White noise is the term for noise which contains every possible frequency in equal amounts, and is the most difficult noise to remove. In fact white noise cannot be removed without removing some of the useful information . Since white noise contains all possible frequencies, it could be said that it also contains all possible information except that the different frequencies contained in the information have been attenuated or amplified so that they constitute equal amounts of the signal. With the proper filter, one can reverse the attenuation and amplification process to get any information whatever by filtering the noise.

In modern science, many problems can be solved, not precisely, but with a high degree of confidence by applying filters that are developed through the use of what is known as a' priori knowledge, or knowledge that is already known in advance about the sought after answer which is not given by a measurement being made or by the formal analysis of the problem. Such knowledge can often lead to either an approximate answer or a "probably correct" answer which could not otherwise be derived. Of course, the most useful a' prior knowledge would be to know the answer in advance by some magical means. Scientists must be extremely careful in applying a' priori knowledge because the answer can depend solely on the validity of such knowledge. The most dangerous a' priori knowledge is incorrect knowledge or expectations about the answer since such knowledge can either prevent us from arriving at the correct answer or else cause us to arrive at an incorrect answer.

When we perceive the world, we pass the information we sense through many types of filters. Some of these describe the limitations of our senses. For example, one cannot see a germ on the apple we are eating, even though the information is present in the optical signal to our eyes. So the information entering our eyes does not bother us. Other types of filtering are based on our knowledge or lack of it and previous experience. If we had seen the apple handled by a dirty hand and if we know that dirty hands carry germs, then we may perceive the apple as dirty even though it looks clean to the naked eye. In this context, what is completely understandable to one person may be unintelligible to another, for example if the second person does not have the necessary vocabulary to understand certain words. A word or concept that is not understood for any reason becomes noise. All interpretation of information based on a misunderstood word or concept thereafter leads to additional misunderstanding and misinterpretation.

Consider the type of filtering that may happen when one is either expecting or desiring a particular event. If such a desire or expectation is extremely strong, then white noise can be perceived to contain the desired input. I define here as a TED filter, that set of human filters which can extract desired or expected information from white noise. The filter is enhanced through prejudices, previous experience or lack thereof, and training or lack thereof., and the filter is unique for every individual. In most humans the filter would be expected to grow stronger and more complex with age, since more experience and prejudice has been developed. When the filter is place into the information processing train ones perception of the world can be highly modified. In its strongest form the TED filter can remove any information which does not support the desires and/or expectations of the user.

By perceiving the world through a TED filter, we all perceive something unique to ourselves which is something other than reality (if there be such a thing). Meaningless (white noise) data filtered through the TED filter can move us more than data which is specific and clear. The more meaningless the data input, the more we are likely to perceive what we desire or expect. This means that we may be affected more by meaningless data than by meaningful data if our TED filter is operating.

Each of us looks at the world through a different TED filter, which evolves throughout our lives. Sometimes we filter all incoming information through the TED filter and others we do not. Individuals who have strong TED filters and who use them often will convert white noise into nearly the information desired or expected as long as the filter is in operation. Just a small part of the white noise actually gets perceived as noise. A person who learns details of another persons TED filter and cause it to be implemented can exert power over that person. Once he is sure that the TED filter is in use, he simply feeds the person a modified white noise, so that everything the other person sees or hears is meaningful.. He can cause the other person to hear him in a positive way. A successful salesman often works in this way.. He will begin by filling the air with the white noise of his voice. He watches his mark and attempts to analyze, searching for what gives the mark pleasure. In this way he is analyzing the persons TED filter. If he succeeds in finding it he can then tell the other person exactly what he wants to hear, simply by providing white noise.

The existence of the TED filter in most of us is the reason why double blind testing is so important in evaluating the effectiveness of drugs or other treatment of disease or other maladies. When two interacting people who have conflicting desires or expectations are operating through their respective TED filters, the results can be embarrassing and even disastrous. Such TED filters in operation in a boss and his sexy young secretary are at the heart of many sexual harassment lawsuits. A scientist with today's computerized signal processing capabilities can easily take meaningless test results and by applying the correct filters to the noise produce any result. If the scientist has the expectation, a desire, or a vested interest in a specific result then he is quite likely to produce that result from data composed of white noise (the TED filter in action).

The TED filter is not all bad. In fact without some use of such filtering we could scarcely communicate at all. The noise in almost any communication makes complete and perfect communication virtually impossible. A mismatch of vocabularies, a failure to hear each word perfectly, ambient noise, and inability to always express oneself all limit the accuracy of communication. Anticipating what the information about to be received will be can make the process much more efficient, notwithstanding the danger of misinterpretation. Attempting to get absolutely all of the information needed for an interpretation from only the words as they are being communicated is extremely difficult. So one needs to have a good idea what is about to be communicated in order to get the communication. So the TED filter is both important for efficient communication and dangerous .

By recognizing the existence of the TED filter, its necessity, and its danger, we can improve our communication significantly and raise the reliability of our research. Double blind testing is just one of the methods for mitigating the effects of the TED filter on our conclusions. At any point in a communication where a word, concept, or observation is not totally understood, we should stop long enough to look up the word or ask the meaning or to get clarity on the material. Ever time we pass over such a point, our understanding for the entire remaining part of the communication is damaged. We should always test incoming information for noise. We should always attempt to get important communications restated in different words and require the two ways of saying the same thing to correlate. We should always ask questions when important communications are underway, even if we think the communication is clear. We should always listen carefully to questions being asked to make sure they reflect what the questioner should be asking. We should attempt to understand the characteristics of our own TED filter and see how much our conclusions are based on the filter. This calls for opinions of others who get the same inputs of information. Finally we should always recognize that the other party may be listening through his TED filter.

Communication with a Stranger

I had just boarded the plane for Columbia and was feeling good because I had managed to bump up to first class. Then she took the seat beside me, the most gorgeous young lady I had ever seen. As she sat down, she looked at me and smiled the kind of smile that has a way of telling you that she has a special link to you in the universe, that you know her, and that you both have something important to share. I thought to myself, "My first communication with her must be clear, concise, meaningful, understood, and enjoyable."

I ask myself "Does she speak English?, Does she know all of the words I am about to use and will she interpret them in the same way as I do? Do I even know what it is that I want to communicate to her or what I want to accomplish with such communication? Can she hear my words? Does she want to hear my words.? Will she hear what I want her to hear? What does she want to hear?

So I said to her "That is such a beautiful ring you are wearing"..

She looked at me once again through that wonderful smile and I began to feel good. But then our space was filled with eons of silence. I ask myself again. "Does she speak English?, Does she know all of the words I said and did she interpret them in the same way as I did? What did I want to communicate to her or what did I want to accomplish with such communication? Did she hear my words? Did she want to hear my words.? Will she hear what I wanted her to hear? What did she want to hear?"

And finally she spoke to me in extremely broken English with a strong Spanish accent. She said "I adore your look. I would like very much to bed tonight with you and do anything to make your trip to Columbia the most wonderful place and erotic experience you could ever have?"

"Oh my God!", I thought. "How well does she speak English?, Does she know all of the words she said and did she interpret them in the same way as I did? What did she want to communicate to me and what did she want to accomplish with such communication? Did I truly hear the words she spoke or did my desires make me hear what I wanted to hear.? Did I hear what she wanted me to hear? What did she want me to hear?

I sat for eons struggling to shape my response to her last communication. By now I began to doubt what I had heard. Attempting to run back over her exact words, I struggled to remember each word and realized that I could not. I began to wonder who this woman might be. What if she was the girlfriend of a jealous Colombian drug lord? I recalled the movie in which the Colombian drug lord hunts down a seducer and burns him alive after cutting off all of his privates and presenting them to the girl friend. Or maybe she is a spy. Could she be a prostitute. Maybe, by god, she does love the way I look. Maybe I remind her of her father.

For the rest of our trip our communication was extremely limited. I could not figure out how to best respond. Each of us seemed to be waiting on the other to communicate. I attempted to speak to her in Spanish. I went through the same series of communications. Again, I heard her say in Spanish that she would like to spend the night with me and do anything to provide me with an erotic experience. Again I sat for eons attempting to remember the precise translation of certain Spanish words to English. I was almost relieved to have the movie remove the need for me to continue the conversation. After the movie, she slept.

When we arrived in Bogota, she looked at me once more and smiled as the plane touched down. "Well, what is your reply to my proposition?, she asked.

"I am totally confident that you can make my stay erotic, and I hope I can figure out exactly how to interpret what it is you have proposed to me." I answered.

She smiled and said just one word. "Yes".

As the plane pulled up to the gate, my heart raced. What should I do. I decided to stay close enough to her to see who if anyone would meet her. As we walked through the gate into the reception area,. And sure enough. As soon as she entered the reception area, she was greeted by two children and a very handsome man.

She turned to see where I was and immediately called me over. At that point she introduced me to her children and her husband.

To this day I do not know what it was she was attempting to communicate to me on the airplane. But one thing quickly became clear. What she said was not what I thought it was.