Qualia

An illusion of the same perception, and importance of managing expectations.

Aug 20, 2026

It’s a wonderful blue sky here on the Balearic island of Mallorca. Water colour ranges from cyan to dark blue. We perceive transparent water as blue because it absorbs more red light than blue light and reflects the remaining blue light to us. The exact shade changes with water temperature, clarity and the angle of light.

But what is blue? It’s a wavelength of light ranging from about 400 to 500 nanometres.

Describe blue, or any other colour, to someone blind who has never seen any colours in their life. We can say it’s a certain wavelength, but we can’t describe the experience of it. Is your blue the same as mine? We can’t be sure. There is no way to check how our brains exactly perceive colours. It’s internal and private to our own mind.

This kind of subjective experience is called qualia (singular: quale). We can’t objectively compare these experiences or feelings with other people. Think of colours, tastes, sounds, and any perceptions, like feeling good or rested. These are private, just for your own brain.

There is a practical aspect when thinking of non-qualia things. As an example, let’s name a few: words, sentences, expectations. For these, we can build a common understanding. The meaning of words can be checked with other people simply by asking what they meant by that.

Have you ever felt disappointed when someone promised you something? A salary raise, a development plan, or just doing something for you, but it was not delivered as promised? In that moment, you felt the negative power of missed expectations.

One of the most important things while working as a manager, but also during any cooperation with other people, is managing expectations. Feelings about outcomes are qualia, but the outcomes themselves are measurable and can be checked. Expectations aren’t qualia, so we can ask and establish what these are. The more we define, the better.

Defining what it means for us to deliver a feature, work on quality, or have an energising weekend can save us energy, time and prevent negative emotional responses from our colleagues, friends or family.

There are qualia things, like the felt experience of blue, that can’t be fully shared with others. But there are others which we can establish by using proper communication to understand the other side. Working on defining non-qualia things helps universally.

How do you think of managing expectations?
What are your expectations?
I’d love to experience more blue colour during summertime here in the northern hemisphere.

Thanks for reading,
— Michał

Share Perspectiveship