First inklings . . . Are they anything like first impressions? You remember that old saying about how you never get a second chance to make one? Is that really true? And how significant, and perhaps more importantly, how accurate are those first inklings?
Some people will tell you “trust your gut.” It’s certainly a staple of crime fiction that the protagonist is able to sense something that is not right as the plot unfolds. That little voice inside his head keeps telling him not to walk through that door, but he doesn’t listen and wham! Some bad guy clobbers him.
Where would we be without those first inklings? And where would we be without stupid heroes who always seem to disregard them?
As a cop I spent a lot of years listening to my own first inklings. Being able to size people up real fast was a matter of course. You had to listen to what they said, check out how they looked, evaluate if they were a threat or not, if they were truthful or not, and make your plan accordingly. In fiction nobody was better at this than good old Sherlock Holmes. He possessed the uncanny ability to glance at somebody and know all there was to know in an instant. He had a mind like a computer. They captured this process extremely well in the new series of movies about the character, and it’s fun to watch. But how accurate are first inklings in real, not reel, life?
My mother used to say, “Did you ever notice how different someone looks after you get to know them?”
And I agree. A person’s inner qualities are not often perceived at first sight, and sometimes those inner qualities can make a person seem much different after you are exposed to them. I began to take notice of this as a teenager specifically when it came to the opposite sex. Thus, that girl whose looks mesmerized you from across the room eventually became somehow less so after a few moments of conversation that revealed a significant lack of depth or lack of common interests. And the person for whom your first inklings were not so tantalizing suddenly became much more attractive and interesting. It’s like they say, it’s what’s inside that counts. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as they say, and your vision tends to improve the longer (and deeper) you look.
So could it be that first inklings are wrong? Let’s just say that they’re significant, but not infallible. You should pay attention to them, but don’t give them more weight than they deserve. We are, by nature, gatherers of information and stimuli. We process this information through the filter of experience. So those first inklings may be influenced by something we’ve experienced before.
“I know that type,” someone once said to me, pointing at another person we were both seeing for the first time.
But how did he know it? Obviously, something about this new person struck a familiar chord in the observer’s mind. Perhaps it was positive, perhaps not. In any case, this first inkling was most probably erroneous because it was based on supposition and not fact. Perhaps it’s human nature to want to classify things (and people) into certain known categories quickly, but think of all you miss by not giving something (or someone) a second look or the benefit of the doubt.
Well, having said all that, let me share a little secret with you. My first inkling was to skip this week’s subject because I’m fighting the flu and couldn’t figure out anything intelligent to say. And I’d be willing to wager that right about now there are a bunch of you reading this who wish I would have followed that first inkling.
Like they say, sometimes you just got to trust your gut.
Yes, it always upsets me to hear that job interviewers make up their mind within the first minute or so about a candidate. It does seem very unfair not to give people a second chance. And some people really do grow on you, however unattractive or grumpy they initially appeared to be. However, I suppose we always remember those rare occasions when we instinctively disliked or distrusted a person... and it turned out that they fully deserved it!
Posted by: Findingtimetowrite.wordpress.com | February 27, 2012 at 01:54 AM
My first impressions have been wrong so many times, I wait for second and a third. By the fourth, I'm ready to commit.
BTW, I'd NEVER wish you didn't post, Mike. Your posts give me the feeling that I'm on a ride-along while getting an MFA!
Posted by: Camille Minichino | February 27, 2012 at 07:12 AM
Sorry you're battling a flu bog, Michael, but I agree with Camille: An interesting post and food for thought in making our characters more nuanced. One whole genre owes its theme to the notion: I think romance fiction is built on false first impressions that flip to passionate love by the last page, right?
Posted by: Susan Shea | February 27, 2012 at 10:36 AM
I have a friend who prides herself on sizing someone up on their first meeting and then being proven right. Except often I think she's not right. I like your mother's comment -- very insightful!
Get well quickly, Michael.
Posted by: Margaret Lucke | February 27, 2012 at 01:07 PM
Good point, Susan, on romance fiction. SO many RomComs, too, are based on that turnaround.
Posted by: Camille Minichino | February 27, 2012 at 03:26 PM
It's kind of like getting critiques on your manuscript--you know *something's* wrong, but you may not know exactly what :)
Great post, thanks!
Posted by: Mysti Berry | February 28, 2012 at 07:34 AM
If it's any comfort, Findingtime, at my job, we do a lot of careful and consistent screening to ferret out personal prejudice.
The time to listen to your gut is in a deserted alley or when a Nigerian prince sends you an important email :)
Posted by: Mysti Berry | February 28, 2012 at 07:35 AM