Hidden Assumptions
A secret or hidden assumption is an assumption that backs up an argument or even a hypothesis without the assumption or belief being made clear hence the theory or the argument’s holder may often not be aware of it. It is easy for one to make an assumption, as all a person needs are inadequate information regarding a situation. A person who makes an assumption is never willing to ask the necessary questions needed to complete or fill in the facts. When one lacks complete information, he or she is forced to fill out the blanks with their interpretation of the things they see or even hear. Assumptions are toxic as they foster an adverse mindset, they keep one stuck in his or her past, and they also stop people from taking responsibility for their lives.
I once had a classmate who was always the tail of the class when it came to mathematics. Mathematics was his major problem, and I remember our Mathematics teacher doing all his level best to help my classmate, but he never understood a thing. He always failed all his Mathematics tests. The weird part is that his parents were not a bit bothered by the issue as they had complained and even grounded my classmate several times due to his poor Mathematics’ results, but it did not yield any fruit. Everyone had given up on helping my classmate. My classmate was also no longer bothered about his Mathematics failure, and he also never put any extra effort that would help him improve in Mathematics. My classmate discovered this assumption after found Mathematics challenging to comprehend. He also realized that Mathematics demanded additional time to understand yet quickly forgot what he had leaned.
After some investigations, I realized that my classmate’s wrong assumption regarding Mathematics was due to peer influence and even family. Most of the students that my classmates hang around with were poor Mathematics’ performers. They all believed that Mathematics was difficult since no matter how hard they tried, they still never improved. When my classmate heard the other students say how difficult Mathematics was, that was enough to make him conclude that Mathematics was generally challenging. The other reason as to why my classmate assumed that Mathematics was a difficult subject was due to his older siblings. All his older siblings had previously performed poorly in Mathematics. My classmate’s siblings did not put any effort into making him believe otherwise, as they too did not like Mathematics. That made the situation worse for my classmate, and he now firmly thought that Mathematics was generally hard.
The restraints imposed by my classmate’s assumption were that he never put any effort into studying Mathematics harder. For that reason, he could not know or discover his capability in Mathematics. The other restraint is that my classmate is likely to miss out on essential future careers that are related to Mathematics. Every business involves Mathematics, as one has to calculate cash often. My classmate’s assumption regarding Mathematics could restrain him from being an excellent business person.
The assumption regarding Mathematics being difficult was wrong since I found the subject fascinating, and I also performed excellently in Mathematics. I have numerous friends who also love Mathematics and perform remarkably too. My classmate made the Mathematics assumption based on only his few friends and even siblings. He did not make enough inquiries to discover the other majority of pupils and also individuals that love Mathematics and have previously performed it well. The assumption that Mathematics is hard is, therefore, a wrong assumption.