IT’S ALL ABOUT PERCEPTION

          Whenever things start to get a bit dull at my Tuesday morning coffee club meeting (mostly golfers), I remind everyone that there is absolutely no scientific proof that a curve ball actually curves.  It is simply an optical illusion.  This usually gets an immediate response.

          I am quick to point out that it doesn’t really matter if the baseball actually curves or not.  If the batter thinks that it is curving, that’s all that matters.  In short, it is the batter’s perception of what the baseball is really doing that counts.

          Same thing is true in life.  Take the Kansas University situation.  Two million in stolen tickets, six million severance pay for a non-winning coach, getting womped by Duke in a recent basketball game.  While we all know that the KU sports programs are tops in the land, the perception is that they apparently are being administered by a bunch of self-serving individuals.

          Take Congress for another example.  Although it is illegal for you or me to buy or sell stocks based on “insider” information, (remember Martha Stewart) our senators and representatives have conveniently written laws that exempt them from this restriction.  They can buy and sell shares in companies that are directly affected by the actions of the various congressional committees.  This provides members of Congress with advance information on actions that may determine the life or death of a company or an industry.  And, it explains why so many of them are a lot wealthier upon retirement than they were when first elected.

          60 Minutes did an indepth piece on insider trading by Congress, and the Nov. 21 issue of Newsweek has a very detailed report on the same subject.  Check these out and you will scream as I am doing!

          The fact is, these congressmen are doing nothing illegal.  However, the perception of most of us is that they are a bunch of bottom feeders who are only looking after their own welfare.

          Facts are facts, but I do believe that our perception of the world around us is what determines our outlook and our actions.

          Incidentally, the first time I revealed that a curve ball is nothing but an optical illusion I was a student living in a dorm at Indiana University.  The guys in my dorm were so upset they voted me out, and a close friend who was a pitcher on the IU baseball team stuck a glove in my hand and for the next hour he fired “curve balls” at me.  I think he was mad.  My hand still hurts.