"Giving a benefit of the doubt."

It's when a situation isn't for sure, and even with our given biases, assumptions and prejudices, we let it go - we let our minds travel a different way.

I'm currently reading a book (well, it's actually a script) for Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose. The book is about a jury who discuss the murder of a father, with the prime suspect his son, both who come from a poor background, the son especially: he lived in a slum, he got abused and had a terrible relationship with his father. With tons of evidence supporting that this son was the murderer of his father, the majority of the jury (who happen to come from a better background) votes him for execution, all but one (for those who don't know, for any action to be taken in terms of whether the kid is guilty or not, the jury must vote unanimously). The odd man out, Juror 8, starts to explain his thought processes, considering the evidence again and discussing it in a logical way. This man doesn't speak this logic to try to change their votes, rather, to get them to see the situation in a more reasonable manner - biases, assumptions and prejudices all aside. Thus, Reginald Rose is painting, sketching a picture all without that filter our lens in our minds which we see before us. Amazing.

I'll also mention how amazingly the words are put together: every sentence, every phrase is stitched together so delicately and with so much consideration, the entire text comes together in complete sense, graciousness and articulation. If not for the text, do it for the thoughtful words that hold so much meaning.

I suppose that's what they mean when they say our minds can deceive us sometimes.

- Teri