Monday, June 30, 2014

Quote of the Week

Is the glass half empty, half full, or twice as large as it needs to be? - Unknown

We've all heard "is the glass half full or half empty".  This is a new perspective on that old saying.  

Now, half empty signifies that the observer is a pessimist, while half full indicates the person is an optimist. 

What does it mean when we are asked if it is twice as large as it needs to be?  My take on that is this.  A glass twice as large as it needs to be makes things look out of proportion. Skewed in other words, depending on your view of the world. If you have the same amount of water in a smaller glass it will always be full.

To illustrate this, I used two wine glasses (colored water, people, it's too early on a Saturday morning for drinking), and filled them each with about 6 oz. of water.  



As you can see, the larger glass is half full, or half empty depending on your view, or love of wine, while the smaller glass is full.  

I know most serious wine drinkers would prefer the larger glass, but for the sake of illustration, we are going with the small glass being the ideal point of view.

7 comments:

  1. What a neat concept, Linda. The larger glass concept has me visualizing opportunities to fill it even further.

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  2. Hi Linda .. thankfully I'm a glass half full kind of girl and look for the positive spin ...

    The smaller glass will be better for our health in the long term ...

    Cheers Hilary

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  3. Davina- As long as your glass is always at least half full you're on the right track. The fuller the better with positive thoughts.

    Hilary- Positivity is the key here, and the full glass represents that.

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  4. Well I'm going to say that knowing the liquid is coloured water, that glass is half full. Had it truly been wine, it would be half empty. That's MY perspective. ;)

    Clink!

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  5. I'm someone who thinks of the glass as half full. I like Hilary's logic!

    Now for a French saying on wine drinking:
    "If you're thirsty drink water"

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  6. This was a fun take on this quote. you did an excellent of illustrating the meaning:~)

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  7. Hilary- If it had truly been wine, the post may not have gotten finished for a while.

    Anji- I agree. Water is for thirst quenching, wine is for enjoying.

    Sara- Thank you! I'd always heard the half full-half empty saying, but never this twist on it. I like it when they give me pause to think. I had to go through a few glasses to get the porportions right so that when one was full the other was half full with the same amount of water.

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