Proximal understanding

Our proximity to a thing changes our understanding of it.

From far away, something may look simple. But when we experience it up close, first-hand, it may be quite complex.

Far in the future, a situation may seem impossible to navigate. But when the moment arrives, we may handle it with relative ease.

When watching someone perform a task, the activity may seem boring. But when we adopt the work ourselves, we may find it to be fascinating.

Depending on our proximity, our judgement can have a significant margin of error.

H/T Jason