Why can the interpretation of a word or a phrase be so different between people?

This is always tough to discuss and answer, but the following example 'may' give you a tangible answer to an intangible question. Essentially, perspective plays a huge role in each person's interpretation of the events occurring around us. As an example; One day, while walking along a market street I noticed a small crowd gathering around a 'street performer'. So, I wandered over there and joined the gathering crowd and began to watch, too. Soon, this wonderful performer was completely surrounded with more and more people who had all gathered around to watch the spectacular show he was presenting. It went on like this for quite some time.Then, I realized that while this performer was the 'center' of our attention (literally and figuratively), I noticed that the back of my neck was beginning to scorch and burn. The sun was behind me, and I was not wearing my hat. I noticed some of the people across from me (on the opposite side of the circling crowd that had surrounded this wonderful performer) that some of the people over there were squinting and some even had one of their hands up over their eyes trying to shade the glare of the sun.From my perspective, the performer was in 'full sun' (the sun was behind me) and I could see him rather vividly. But, the people on the other side of the cirlce had a completely different perspective and the performer's coloring was blurred by their squinting eyes and overshadowed by the glare of the sun. We all were seeing the same one performer, but our varying perspectives gave us a different 'picture' or interpretation of the presentation he was making. He was still making the same one presentation, but each of us were interpretting it based on our vantage point. Our ability to comprehend the moment, and certainly our willingness to filter through the 'environmental' struggles... to see the true performance... was influenced by the environment around us and our position in it.

Therefore, the personal experiences each of us have vary from one another. Sure, there are people who have experienced many of the same things you have, and there are people who have lived almost identical lives as you have. None-the-less, your perspectives will be individualize and personalize a little differently than others'.

The number 3 is the number 3. That is a fact, and it can not be refuted. What the number 3 means to each of us individually is what can often cause the differences between people. For some, the number 3 may represent a horrible and terrifying event that occured for them when they were 3 years old. So, the number is not At Fault, but the experience that is associated with it can alter a person's interpretation of that number.