“Is it a feather in my hat, lap, map…?”
March 13, 2022
It is a rare evening that my parents and I miss an episode of Wheel of Fortune. And we certainly did not miss the night that three contestants struggled to solve the puzzle, “Another feather in your cap”. This was one of those evenings that I found myself yelling at the television, as if my screaming would result in some sort of telepathic transmission of the correct answer to the contestants. I am quite sure I was not the only one screaming at the TV screen that evening. However, when sitting in the comfort of your home, often the answers to the puzzles are so obvious. And the answers seem especially obvious when a phrase is thought to be well-known, such as a “another feather in your cap”. The contestants danced all around the word, “cap”, and suggested the feather was properly placed in a hat, a map, and a lap.
This episode went viral, and many were the critics who took the opportunity to ridicule the contestants for not knowing the correct position of the feather. However, game show host, Pat Sajak, came to their defense and suggested the viewers at home should “Have a little heart.” Playing Wheel of Fortune from a comfy recliner at home is much easier than playing the game on national television.
But what if you’ve never heard that phrase? What if the bright lights got to you and your nerves? Sajak suggested that while it may seem incredible that the contestants could not solve the puzzle, viewers at home needed to realize what was happening in real time. It is easy for viewers to think they would have solved the puzzle, but what if you never heard of the phrase before, or what if the bright lights on the set got to you and made you nervous? What if any number of reasons caused you to draw a blank?
Sajak went on to explain that the first attempt to solve the puzzle was “feather in your hat”, instead of cap, which is how many people say the phrase. So all three players were stunned when that was wrong, and they stumbled, under the pressure, to find an alternative answer that would land that feather in the right place. While Sajak admitted it was okay to laugh at the scenario, it pains him when contestants are mocked. Thus, the reason for his tweet, “Have a little heart”.
Sajak’s advice is something that is known as “the empathy gap”, which is very common. It is underestimating the effects of a physically or psychologically intense situation. Sajak was giving a good reminder to viewers, and especially to me who was yelling at the contestants through the television, to put themselves in the contestants’ shoes. Yes, laugh, but remember it could be you reacting the same way in a similar situation.
The empathy gap rears its ugly head in many familiar ways at home, at work, or at church. Someone may be facing a very difficult problem, which we think is just not that difficult. We cannot empathize with it, and we find it unbelievable that the person is struggling so. In turn, we may dismiss their feelings and end up damaging our relationship with them.
Thank you, Pat Sajak, for the lesson in empathy. Now I’d like to solve the problem, Pat! HAVE A LTTLE HEART.
Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. –
1 Peter 3:8