Recognition and Realization

             If someone were to use the words “recognition” and “realization” interchangeably in a conversation, ninety-nine percent of the population would not consciously think that the person used either word erroneously; however, upon closer inspection, there are some key divergences.

When looking at the word “recognition,” I think that it is very important to look at the modified word “cognition” which implies that the knowledge of an obtained conclusion has already been processed into thought at one point in time. This thought brings up an important question: what force (either internal or external) caused the once attained knowledge to fade from conscious and logical thought? In the very influential videogame Shadow of the Colossus, the game begins immediately with you, a man named Wander, laying a deceased lady on a church alter and promising a mysterious entity named Dormin that you will kill sixteen colossi in exchange for her resurrection. However, as you hunt down the equally-mysterious beasts one by one, you, the cognizant gamer, notice how docile the beasts are, feeling twinges of guilt with each death. Nevertheless, Wander, clouded by his devotion to the nameless woman, has processed the same events, yet does not recognize Dormin’s questionable intentions until he has already been betrayed.

On the other hand, a realization is an instantaneous or gradual formulation of a conclusion from interrelated ideas or evidence; in essence, looking at all of the individual dots in a background and connecting them into a mental form in the mind’s foreground. For example, in the novel Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Darcy initially slights Elizabeth Bennet as a potential partner, calling her “tolerable” before eventually coming to the realization that she is perfect for him. This results from the fact that each conversation he has with her, testaments to her sharp wit and irresistible charm, is a “dot” that adds to his mental picture of her, until he finally connects them into a picture of a perfect partner.