How education shapes the way people see the universe
All your life, you hear the explaination about the difference between an optimist (dreamer, escapist, etc.) and a pessimist (realist, etc.). It goes as such:
- The pessimist sees the glass as half empty.
- The optimist sees the glass as half full.
But, I got to thinking. Many people see things the same way, especially when they are younger, but that similarity diminishes over time, particularly due to either life experience or - as is often the case - by education. Your education shapes and molds your perceptions to suit the industry you are going into. So, based on that, I wondered what people of different educational backgrounds would say about the glass sitting before them. Here are a few I found:
- The engineer sees the glass as approximately twice as big as it needs to be.
- The accountant wants to know how much the glass cost, since it is obviously not being used to its full cost-value, and wonders if there should be alterations for next term's spending plans.
- The broker notices some water missing and begins running numbers to see if he should invest in fresh / bottled water companies in the near future in expectation of falling supply / rising demand.
- The business manager sees the glass and realizes that he forgot to schedule a half-hour for lunch amongst the seven different meetings he'll have tomorrow.
- The biochemist eyes the water suspiciously, wondering if the restaurant uses fresh, distilled water or if they get it straight from the tap. If the latter, he begins writing up analyses on how much particulate matter and single-celled organisms might be in that water given the cleanliness of the establishment and the distance through the water system from the nearest sewage treatment plant.
- The architect / general contractor looks at the glass and realizes how thirsty he is since he's been working all day.
- The nutritionist realizes that he needs to have at least one more full glass of water to fulfill his daily requirement.
- The liberal arts student looks at the glass and says, "Oh, I'm sorry, sir. I'll be right back with your refill."
- The pessimist sees the glass as half empty.
- The optimist sees the glass as half full.
But, I got to thinking. Many people see things the same way, especially when they are younger, but that similarity diminishes over time, particularly due to either life experience or - as is often the case - by education. Your education shapes and molds your perceptions to suit the industry you are going into. So, based on that, I wondered what people of different educational backgrounds would say about the glass sitting before them. Here are a few I found:
- The engineer sees the glass as approximately twice as big as it needs to be.
- The accountant wants to know how much the glass cost, since it is obviously not being used to its full cost-value, and wonders if there should be alterations for next term's spending plans.
- The broker notices some water missing and begins running numbers to see if he should invest in fresh / bottled water companies in the near future in expectation of falling supply / rising demand.
- The business manager sees the glass and realizes that he forgot to schedule a half-hour for lunch amongst the seven different meetings he'll have tomorrow.
- The biochemist eyes the water suspiciously, wondering if the restaurant uses fresh, distilled water or if they get it straight from the tap. If the latter, he begins writing up analyses on how much particulate matter and single-celled organisms might be in that water given the cleanliness of the establishment and the distance through the water system from the nearest sewage treatment plant.
- The architect / general contractor looks at the glass and realizes how thirsty he is since he's been working all day.
- The nutritionist realizes that he needs to have at least one more full glass of water to fulfill his daily requirement.
- The liberal arts student looks at the glass and says, "Oh, I'm sorry, sir. I'll be right back with your refill."