8 Ways Your Perception of Reality Is Skewed

A new book explains the sometimes-unconscious forces that shape what we see, feel, and think

The reality we perceive is not so simple as objective truth. In fact, our perceptions can be significantly skewed by our minds and bodies. pathdoc/Shutterstock

Seeing is believing. To some extent, that’s true, of course: Our eyes allow us to see what’s around us, helping us navigate our world.

But it turns out sight is much more complicated than that, according to the new book “Perception: How Our Bodies Shape Our Minds,” by University of Virginia psychologist Dennis Proffitt and Drake Baer. What we perceive in any given moment is not only determined by sensory input, but by our personal physical abilities, energy levels, feelings, social identities, and more.