Recontextualization; a change in framing

One day, about two or three years ago, my little brother stole my bar of chocolate. I was mad and lost my respect towards him. Later on that day I asked ‘Why did you steal my bar of chocolate?”. He said “Because it is mine”. I said “No it isn’t”. “Yes it is” he kept saying. Then my mom came in the room and asked why I didn’t eat my chocolate bar. My perspective changed; I couldn’t find my bar and I said that he stole it, which he didn’t. My facts didn’t changed but the way I looked at it did. This is called recontextualization.

The importance of Recontextualization

When we get the inside in this phenomena we learn how we can change or perspectives. It also opens up the possibility of radically changing your understanding of a situation or facts without changing the facts. In my opinion, reality can hide the things that are in our reach. It helps us to put the right things in the proper context. Another example, ‘a man is jumping’. Think for a second about what you are picturing before you read on. Now, If I say he is jumping on a trampoline or jumping in front of the president to catch the bullet your perspective changed in a split-second. And after this I can do it unlimited times again. You can always be recontextualized. That is the reason why we don’t know what ultimate truth is. Yet, recontextualization helps you see the bigger picture. So, you won’t get lost. ;)

Metaphysical context

This sort of context exists out of a web of beliefs. This is all believes we have in life. Such as ‘I am born and I will die’ or ‘The sun is setting while earth is spinning’. But your believes is technically nothing different from a terrorist who thinks killing will help him/her get into a better place. Yeah, I know this is hard but if you will really think about this you will come to the same conclusion. For instance, if you watch a thriller movie. At the end of this movie there is a plot twist. Your brain then refactors all the scenes from the movie. Just because it wants to set it in the proper context. ‘What about science then?’ you might question yourself. What about those hard facts. Science is hard (good) content. We need both content and context to get the bigger picture. Without one of them we are lost. Perhaps one day someone will find a way to bring mathematics down. It is almost impossible but what if. Again, we can’t know anything for certain.

Radical context

This sort of context is all about having experiences. How do we know we are awake right now. And not in a dream where we experience this moment. We can really know what is and what isn’t. When thinking about this you might meditate, do drugs or are reading the Bible. And when you’re really thinking deep about it you might experience an enlightenment. Many people don’t want to experience this because they stick to their religions or believes. But once you do, a world opens up. :)

If a problem can't be solved within the frame it was conceived, the solution lies in reframing the problem. - Brian McGreevy

A short summary:

Once you know about recontextualizion you will get to understand the bigger picture more often. The two sorts of context are where we can change our believes. Be open-minded in the world around you and you will get these insides more often.

Great to do some research again. And I will see you later!

Ingmar Heikens

25/7/2018