Dissecting Phenomena of Culture to Think in Nuance and not Absolutes

“Do not let your assumptions about a culture block your ability to perceive the individual, or you will fail.” – Brandon Sanderson, Words of Radiance

Culture. What is culture? I had to look up the definition: “Culture is the ideas, customs, and social behavior of a particular people or society.” I like to think of cultures as different flavors – outcomes, and outputs of human ideas and customs.

Culture is deep, and it is ever-changing for the better. It needs to evolve and refactor, but it is deep because it ties to our ancestors and their own ways of thinking and being, whether we are aware of it or not. We are the future ancestors, shaping and molding the culture for a new generation.

We all have different preferences based on what is most familiar. Some of us are more versatile and open to different cultural preferences. We marvel at differences when approached with a curious mind.

I’ll use a culinary analogy here. We rarely examine the ingredients that go into a culture. Examining would require one to learn the history behind the ingredients that contribute to the existing flavor – the ingredients that existed and the new emerging ingredients that get added, resulting in a brand-new flavor. New ingredients get added, hopefully progressing a culture and customs to recalibrate, change, and adapt to new ways of thinking and being, as change is the only constant.

No part of the world is perfect, and no particular set of people is doing it ‘right’. Mistakes are made everywhere. For those who fear cultural changes, they should understand that the elimination of other cultures is not the key. Instead, it’s the integration of wisdom collected from them. There are pros and cons in every structure because the human animal came into being as an imperfect creature. It’s in our nature; therefore, the cultures and systems the human animal creates will be just as imperfect. The important thing is to keep an open mind, always be willing to learn and change, and not get attached to certain beliefs. It requires sociopsychological progress.

-Neelofer Hilal is a passionate freelance writer, avid traveler, podcaster, futurist, dreamer, and social science enthusiast.