You?re probably wondering the point of this thread, but I wanted you to read some background information for the basis of my argument first. Even if you don?t read the argument I make, least you?ll find these interesting.
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Psychologists had several participants hooked up to a machine that tracked their eye movement (they didn?t know what it did, they most likely just thought it was measuring heartbeat, blood pressure etc.) and individually asked to look at computer screen with words that -
LoOkEd liKE tHis
And once the computers have detected that the participant?s eyes were looking in the corner away from the centre of the screen where the words were, the words then ?
lOoKeD Like ThIS
Once the participant?s look was centred and then moved to the corner once more, the letters changed again, and this was repeated for several times. Almost none of the participants had noticed any change. Pre-interviews and Post interviews were conducted and the participants were asked if they could notice visual discontinuities and how long it would take them to notice if they did. Almost all of the participants had stated that they could, and over half said they would notice it immediately. When they were told what happened, many of the participants were certain that they would?ve noticed if it did.
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On Candid Camera a stunt was pulled where a person pretending to be a tourist asking for directions would approach people on the street. While they were talking two men wheeling a large door would travel between the two and cut off their line of sight, a person in the same outfit as the tourist would be hanging off the door out of sight of the person giving directions and while the door was between the two, the tourist and the person hanging off from the door would switch places. The second tourist would then carry on the conversation as normal. Many of the people giving instructions did not even notice the change of people even though they had different coloured hair, differing heights and a different accent.
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A longitudinal study called 7UP (I think this was what it was called, correct me if I?m wrong), is being conducted. Participants from all around the world are visited every 7 years by psychologists. Every 7 years the people in the study seem to be a completely different person each time. The study is still being conducted and I believe the next update will be when they are 42 years old.
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My argument is that it?s very difficult for us humans to notice change unless we see it happening right in front of us, if we look at it in stages or if the change is dramatic. In the Candid Camera stunt, if the tourist was to change to the Queen of Normandy the person would?ve definitely noticed. But subtle changes like with the psychology experiment, and changes that still retain some qualities of the original like with the camera show are rarely noticed.
Some people like to believe that ?people don?t change? other people will say that ?change is inevitable?. But I posit, is it that people don?t change or some things never change. If change is inevitable, do we really notice most of the time?
I personally didn?t believe that people really changed, because I?ve been feeling like me my whole life. Sure, I felt happy for long periods of time, I felt sad for weeks on end. But those are just moods and emotions, they come and go. I liked pokemon, then digimon, then anime and now I?m into webcomics. But those aren?t changes so much as they are interests.
I asked my friend whom I?ve known since the beginning of high school if I was a different person at all, he told me that I wasn?t. And I felt that he wasn?t either. But I find it very hard to believe that I?m the same now as I was when I just entered High School. Then I asked if I?ve changed since last year. He still said no.
So I reflected upon myself over the past year. And though I never noticed it, I realized my opinions were becoming stronger, but at the same time I was less arrogant and it wasn?t until very recently that I now take everything with a grain of salt (is that the right expression?). I stopped taking sides in ideas, and was more willing to entertain ideas that I thought were stupid. I never use to do that.
Of course I can pinpoint moments where I had epiphanies. But are epiphanies the only moments that move my character into a different direction? I highly doubt that, we are influenced by insignificant and subtle stimuli directly and indirectly every day. A lot of people think that advertising doesn?t work, but it?s been shown that exposure to media advertisement can prime a person?s decisions and preferences to a considerable degree without the person noticing.
The moment that made me realize how different I was when I looked back at a personal essay I wrote just a few months ago. It said that I thought criminals even though a lot of them are born from desperation, (there are criminals who break the law for the sake of it or simply because they can and/or love the thrill) I thought that repeated offenders had a flaw in their personality, that there were reasons for stealing and even killing,. But people who are rapists, paedophiles and wife bashers were just and I quote ?evil?. Now when I was writing an exposition for a creative writing piece I didn?t say the same thing, instead I wrote criminals are born of ignorance. Many crimes and misdeeds are born from a lack of education (not necessarily formal education).
I backtracked to the period of time between the two papers and tried to figure out what happened for me to change my mind like that. My life was as uninteresting and stagnant as ever. How could can something I felt so strongly about change without me noticing? I never consciously thought of it. There?s a lot of things happening beneath the surface that we never pick up on.
Forgive me if I?m rambling, perhaps I just feel really introspective and need to get my ideas out my head. But I wanted to ask my fellow escapees if they feel like they?ve changed. If you have, how long between the difference in yourself. Was it a drastic change that you picked up immediately? Do you know a person who has changed, if you do, do they notice it? If you feel you haven?t changed, please take a step back and really examine yourself because you may see something that wasn't there before.
--------
Psychologists had several participants hooked up to a machine that tracked their eye movement (they didn?t know what it did, they most likely just thought it was measuring heartbeat, blood pressure etc.) and individually asked to look at computer screen with words that -
LoOkEd liKE tHis
And once the computers have detected that the participant?s eyes were looking in the corner away from the centre of the screen where the words were, the words then ?
lOoKeD Like ThIS
Once the participant?s look was centred and then moved to the corner once more, the letters changed again, and this was repeated for several times. Almost none of the participants had noticed any change. Pre-interviews and Post interviews were conducted and the participants were asked if they could notice visual discontinuities and how long it would take them to notice if they did. Almost all of the participants had stated that they could, and over half said they would notice it immediately. When they were told what happened, many of the participants were certain that they would?ve noticed if it did.
-------
On Candid Camera a stunt was pulled where a person pretending to be a tourist asking for directions would approach people on the street. While they were talking two men wheeling a large door would travel between the two and cut off their line of sight, a person in the same outfit as the tourist would be hanging off the door out of sight of the person giving directions and while the door was between the two, the tourist and the person hanging off from the door would switch places. The second tourist would then carry on the conversation as normal. Many of the people giving instructions did not even notice the change of people even though they had different coloured hair, differing heights and a different accent.
--------
A longitudinal study called 7UP (I think this was what it was called, correct me if I?m wrong), is being conducted. Participants from all around the world are visited every 7 years by psychologists. Every 7 years the people in the study seem to be a completely different person each time. The study is still being conducted and I believe the next update will be when they are 42 years old.
----------
My argument is that it?s very difficult for us humans to notice change unless we see it happening right in front of us, if we look at it in stages or if the change is dramatic. In the Candid Camera stunt, if the tourist was to change to the Queen of Normandy the person would?ve definitely noticed. But subtle changes like with the psychology experiment, and changes that still retain some qualities of the original like with the camera show are rarely noticed.
Some people like to believe that ?people don?t change? other people will say that ?change is inevitable?. But I posit, is it that people don?t change or some things never change. If change is inevitable, do we really notice most of the time?
I personally didn?t believe that people really changed, because I?ve been feeling like me my whole life. Sure, I felt happy for long periods of time, I felt sad for weeks on end. But those are just moods and emotions, they come and go. I liked pokemon, then digimon, then anime and now I?m into webcomics. But those aren?t changes so much as they are interests.
I asked my friend whom I?ve known since the beginning of high school if I was a different person at all, he told me that I wasn?t. And I felt that he wasn?t either. But I find it very hard to believe that I?m the same now as I was when I just entered High School. Then I asked if I?ve changed since last year. He still said no.
So I reflected upon myself over the past year. And though I never noticed it, I realized my opinions were becoming stronger, but at the same time I was less arrogant and it wasn?t until very recently that I now take everything with a grain of salt (is that the right expression?). I stopped taking sides in ideas, and was more willing to entertain ideas that I thought were stupid. I never use to do that.
Of course I can pinpoint moments where I had epiphanies. But are epiphanies the only moments that move my character into a different direction? I highly doubt that, we are influenced by insignificant and subtle stimuli directly and indirectly every day. A lot of people think that advertising doesn?t work, but it?s been shown that exposure to media advertisement can prime a person?s decisions and preferences to a considerable degree without the person noticing.
The moment that made me realize how different I was when I looked back at a personal essay I wrote just a few months ago. It said that I thought criminals even though a lot of them are born from desperation, (there are criminals who break the law for the sake of it or simply because they can and/or love the thrill) I thought that repeated offenders had a flaw in their personality, that there were reasons for stealing and even killing,. But people who are rapists, paedophiles and wife bashers were just and I quote ?evil?. Now when I was writing an exposition for a creative writing piece I didn?t say the same thing, instead I wrote criminals are born of ignorance. Many crimes and misdeeds are born from a lack of education (not necessarily formal education).
I backtracked to the period of time between the two papers and tried to figure out what happened for me to change my mind like that. My life was as uninteresting and stagnant as ever. How could can something I felt so strongly about change without me noticing? I never consciously thought of it. There?s a lot of things happening beneath the surface that we never pick up on.
Forgive me if I?m rambling, perhaps I just feel really introspective and need to get my ideas out my head. But I wanted to ask my fellow escapees if they feel like they?ve changed. If you have, how long between the difference in yourself. Was it a drastic change that you picked up immediately? Do you know a person who has changed, if you do, do they notice it? If you feel you haven?t changed, please take a step back and really examine yourself because you may see something that wasn't there before.
