soulgaze characteristics

Q: Wizards base a great deal of their perceptions of people on the soul gaze. In theory, when you look into another being you see into the core of them– their true nature. But it seems to me from the evidence we have so far that this is not always totally accurate. When Harry gazed into Molly, he saw numerous potential outcomes, but judged that she was at the core worthy of his help and support. We know he soul gazed Ebeneezer, and yet he was surprised to find out he was Blackstaff. If the soul gaze is so open to interpretation, can it actually cause a wizard to believe an untruth? Is a soul gaze a truly accurate way to determine the nature of a person?
A: What it shows you is /true/.  But it isn’t necessarily /all/.
For instance, a ‘gaze could show you that a man was self-disciplined, sober, highly organized, dedicated to his principles, and that he loved dogs, and all of that would be /true/.  But it /doesn’t/ tell you /everything/ about Adolf Hitler.
Granted, a soulgaze of Hitler would probably have given off a big vibe of either “crazy” or “ruthless” too.  They tend to give you a pretty good core sample of the individual in question.  However, every wizard gets things a little bit differently than any other, in terms of how the soulgaze is perceived.  Not every wizard sees things in symbols and allegory, the way Harry does.  There’s a whole spectrum of different “filters,” I suppose, of how the basic natures of others are perceived.
As for misinterpreting what they perceive, or putting their own preconceptions on their interpretations?  Please.  EVERYONE does that, wizard or not.  It’s part of being human.
Jim


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