Have you ever noticed that every stranger you pass is living a life as vivid and complex as yours? In English, this realization is called “sonder.” Although each person carries their own world, consisting of a unique set of ideas, perspectives, and beliefs shaped by experiences entirely their own, this is often unconsciously ignored as everyone is so preoccupied with their own lives. Consequently, we often reduce others to one-dimensional figures, making superficial judgements.
This tendency extends to how we perceive the issues around us. Although societal problems are multidimensionally tangled by nature, involving multiple stakeholders, each carrying their own complex narratives, such complexity is dismissed. Many come to believe that every issue has a single ultimate solution, and that whoever disagrees is simply wrong or uninformed. Such dismissal breeds polarization and conflict, not out of malice, but out of a growing blindness to the full humanity on the other side. This is further compounded by the media we consume. As algorithms and confirmation bias shape what we see, the information we encounter has only grown narrower, reinforcing prejudice and deepening the very divisions that the media was meant to bridge. It is this concern that led me to The Postech Times.
When I was in middle school, I dreamed of becoming a journalist, believing it was a profession dedicated to uncovering the truth. Yet now I realize there is rarely a single ultimate truth, and this realization mirrors sonder—an awakening to the fact that issues, like people, carry far more complexity than we initially perceive. And this is the lens through which I intend to report. Through diverse perspectives, I would like to introduce you to the different truths we may find, which are often obscured by our blindness. As Mr. Keating says in Dead Poets Society, “I stand upon my desk to remind myself that we must constantly look at things in a different way. You see, the world looks very different from up here. Just when you think you know something, you have to look at it in another way.” Even when it is uncomfortable, I will always dare to stand upon my desk, not to feed you the absolute truth, but to provide you with a truer picture of the world, and ultimately, to empower you to decide for yourself.
