Great Expectations

In many ways our expectations guide our perception. When you go to see what critics have named "the best movie of the year", it doesn't always live up to your expectations. The reverse is also true; a movie that's supposedly horrible and unwatchable isn't always that bad. Maybe it has something to do with the concept Dan Ariely discuss when he talks about filling in the blanks. When you have sketchy details about something you fill in the gaps in a positive way, and so the good movie is expected to fill your criteria for a good movie, the bad movie fill your criteria for a bad movie.

My expectations for PPU was a mixed bag, a hoping for the best while expecting the worst kinda deal. So far I've been very positively surprised by my seminar group; the students are an interesting bunch and the seminar leader knows how to stimulate discussions. I'm still curious as to what the lectures bring, though I expect to figure that out soon enough. Answers to the question "what will we learn" is still sketchy, but judging from the seminar group it seems people will be pushing for hard facts on how to deal with concrete situations. I know I will.

Most concept has an inner and an outer component. The outer component when it comes to expectations is what you expect from other things, the inner component is what you expect from yourself. Supposedly, Henry Ford once said that "whether you think you can or you can't, you're probably right". There is power in belief, be that one way or the other. These are subjects best discussed over beer.