{"id":35313,"date":"2016-12-09T16:00:21","date_gmt":"2016-12-10T00:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=35313"},"modified":"2016-12-12T09:10:48","modified_gmt":"2016-12-12T17:10:48","slug":"beware-the-focusing-illusion-in-photography","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/09\/beware-the-focusing-illusion-in-photography\/","title":{"rendered":"Beware the Focusing Illusion in Photography"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Mumbai,
Mumbai, 2013<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve just re-read \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Thinking Fast, and Slow\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201d essentially the bible of personal psychology, and how our brains work (sometimes \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcirriationally\u00e2\u20ac\u2122).<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Who is happier?<\/h2>\n

One of the lessons I learned from the book is called the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153focusing illusion\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. The concept is that things always matter more when you think about it.<\/p>\n

For example, as a quiz\u00e2\u20ac\u201d who do you think is happier? Californians with their pleasant weather? Or people living in Michigan, with the often brutal winters?<\/p>\n

Does weather really matter?<\/h2>\n

When they did a study, they found out the subjective well-being and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153happiness\u00e2\u20ac\u009d between Californians and Michiganders were negligible. Why? Because people over-estimate climate as being an important determinant for well-being.<\/p>\n

In-fact, most Californians (myself included) never think about the weather, unless you ask them about it. As human beings, we adjust to almost anything. Therefore even if the weather is very nice and pleasant, you will sooner or later take it for granted or never even think about it. Even when I lived in Michigan for a year, you eventually got used to the hot (or cold) weather.<\/p>\n

Will buying a new car make you happier?<\/h2>\n

Going back to the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153focusing illusion\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s take cars for example, an obsession for most Americans.<\/p>\n

Take this following question:<\/p>\n

\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153How much pleasure do you get from your car?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The problem is that we never think about how much pleasure we get from our car, unless we actually think about it. When we buy a new car, we will feel elated for a few weeks, then it soon becomes another box with 4 wheels to get you from point A to point B.<\/p>\n

Then take the following question:<\/p>\n

\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153When<\/em> do you get pleasure from your car?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Then this helps you focus<\/em> on the exact time when you get pleasure from your car. This changes your perception.<\/p>\n

Follow this up with the last question:<\/p>\n

\n How much pleasure do you get from your car *when you think about it<\/em>?.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This of course, changes your perception as well.<\/p>\n

We over-estimate the joy our cars will bring us<\/h2>\n

Like most Americans, I am obsessed with cars. I always have the wrong idea that suddenly buying a new fancy car will make me happy for the rest of my life.<\/p>\n

They call this \u00e2\u20ac\u0153affective forecasting\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201d the false<\/em> belief that buying something (or doing something) will bring me a lot of happiness in the future.<\/p>\n

Because the problem is that us humans fall into the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153hedonic treadmill\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201d that whenever we upgrade our lifestyle, our cars, our homes, our neighborhoods, or smartphones \u00e2\u20ac\u201d we will soon adjust to it. And then like a treadmill, we need to keep running faster, and upgrading, to just stay on track.<\/p>\n

Will buying a new camera make you happier?<\/h2>\n

To take the example of cars and other things \u00e2\u20ac\u201d let us apply this to our photography, and our cameras. The same questions, but this time changed a little bit:<\/p>\n