The Glass is Half Empty

"The Glass is Half Empty"


Everybody's heard that phrase at one point or another I'm sure. Or it's opposite "The Glass is Half Full." The general consensus is that pessimists generally use the half empty phrase and optimists use the half full phrase. I had a thought while defragging (sp?)my HDD's.


If you update the saying into hard drives, being half full could be seen as a bad thing, especially if you need to save/transfer a large file, while half empty implies there's plenty of room on the drive left.


This is just a thought I had tonight while cleaning up my PC. Looking for feedback from the minds at ATS. Mods, i figured philosophy was as good a place as any, if not you know the drill.

reply to post by thov420


The empty glass is being filled

NAMASTE*******

reply to post by thov420


There is so much going on that has us on high alert for being deceived and lied to that I find I sometimes have to make a daily effort to be more positive than negative. The reason is that I've come to realize just how much negativity itself has an impact on me. I don't want to add to anyone's misery.

reply to post by Ophiuchus 13


Ty for replying. *


reply to post by aboutface


Ok, that might be taking it much deeper than I did but thanks for the reply. * I agree, I think our negativity somehow vibes out around us to make our negative thoughts come true. At least it seems that way to me sometimes .

Ophiuchus 13
reply to post by thov420

 

The empty glass is being filled

NAMASTE*******

My response to people who tell me that it is half-full is that it is always full since it contains air and water. If it is being filled, you could easily see the displacement happening, if you put a lid over the glass and had a fill pipe and a vent pipe you would not be able to fill the glass if the air vent was closed.

If you want to think in a metaphysical way about the glass being filled, you could probably associate it with change happening.

my .02

If you fill water in to an empty glass to half of what it can contain, it's half full.

If you empty a full glass to half of what it can contain, it's half empty.

Mianeye
If you fill water in to an empty glass to half of what it can contain, it's half full.

If you empty a full glass to half of what it can contain, it's half empty.

If you add one-half the volume of a glass worth of water to same glass full of atmosphere, you now have a 50/50 mix by displacing same volume of atmosphere. It is still holding air, place a seal over the open end and flip it upside down, you will see the water on the bottom half and the air trapped in above it.

If you remove one-half the volume of liquid from a full glass, this volume is then replaced by the atmosphere once again.

The glass is never empty... An optimist knows this... there is always something in it for you.

We are such a young species in terms of the age of the cosmos that I'd say half full is the real answer. We have not even traveled in person beyond our Moon yet, let alone explored what we may be capable of.

I think a better question would be will we survive until our glass is full.

The engineer's answer

The glass is twice the size it needs to be.

P

thov420

"The Glass is Half Empty"


If you update the saying into hard drives, being half full could be seen as a bad thing, especially if you need to save/transfer a large file, while half empty implies there's plenty of room on the drive left.

So if these words create images in our minds, then it can show the individual where their attitude lies or alternatively create images in other peoples minds.
People are going to associate words depending on their own individual behavioral programming.
Enter the realm of the illusionist lol

I think we use both phrases all the time. Just like we want to suit us. The best way to see this is when drinking beer with friends in a bar. Not all people speak their mind. So when one is tired and wants to call it a night soon and other wants to order another round, he will say: "No thanks, my glass is still half full" and the other day when he is in the right mood, this same person would say: "Sure, my glass is already half empty"

So yeah it`s us who are twisting it for pleasing our mind, tricking ourselves to feel better or worse

Words are powerful. Anything you've always believed about yourself or tell yourself that's somehow negative, now start saying the completely opposite of that. So if you think you're overweight. Start saying something like "I'm a very fit, attractive, sexy girl or guy". Even if you are really fat, it doesn't matter. Start saying it anyway. Because if you keep on doing what you're doing, you'll keep on getting what you're getting.

Words are really powerful, so are thoughts. One thought created in your mind, that signal passes outside your head, travels outward throughout the universe, and continues to travel through eternity, the same way our radio telescopes send signals, your brain is the same way. And if you speak the words, the same thing, only if you speak them it's actually both the sound wave and the thought wave.

If you don't believe me look at the video below. How could he control this car if the thought wave did not leave his head.

Also it says in the bible John 1:1: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Your words and thoughts are all powerful. Like when God spoke and thought, he created the universe. The same thing happens with you, you speak it, you think it, and you start to do it, and then it's created.

I think as long as the majority of your thoughts and what you speak is positive it's a good sign. If they're always negative and sinical then you should start to examine that.





watch your words!

Wouldnt the contemplation of whether its half empty, half full etc. just be the trap of the mind in thoughts.

Consider, the glass contains half orange juice, Tropicana (no pulp).

Two individuals go over to someones house as guests, both are given a glass of half contained juice.

Now both have decided they are going to drink the juice to be courteous to their host, but -

The first man is extremely thirsty, as soon as he sees the glass put in front of him his first thought is - "This glass is half empty, I would have liked a full glass."

The second man is a diabetic (the kind that the more sugar you have the worse it is), now he can drink this juice but it will fill the quota for the day of how much sugar he can have. When the glass is presented to him his first thought is - "This glass is half full, I would have been better off with just a mouthfull."

This is a situation in which both views were expressed but they were both negative (as you suggested), but the main point to get from this is that the glass is always going to look different based on what our priorities are.

So for someone to say - your a pessimist/optimist because you see the containment a certain way, is a troubling generalization


The true problems/solutions lies not in the level of the liquid, but in the relationship we personally have with the glass.

Just my two cents

reply to post by thov420


Very Philosophical but at the same time hides an infallible logic.

Generally, we yearn for a glass to be full but we yearn for the HDD to be empty. Hence it is not suprising that the saying has an opposite effect in each of these cases.

Thanks everybody. Some very interesting and thought provoking replies.