Is the glass half empty or half full?

Post by **High Lord Tolkien** » Mon Jun 30, 2008 8:30 pm

Feel free to make a funny comment but answer the poll truthfully with your initial thought.
I'm curious to see home many optimists vs pessimists we have on the watch.

Post by **aliantha** » Mon Jun 30, 2008 8:51 pm

So far, the optimists are winning by a landslide.

Post by **I'm Murrin** » Mon Jun 30, 2008 8:55 pm

I've always considered this "test" fairly arbitrary and a little stupid. The choice between one or another when identifying a glass as such on-the-spot is a matter of context, not a person's overall attitude.

And yes, that was my initial thought on seeing the glass.

Post by **balon!** » Mon Jun 30, 2008 8:57 pm

The first thing I thought of was my memory of Seasame Street.

Post by **DukkhaWaynhim** » Mon Jun 30, 2008 9:44 pm

The optimist - It is half full
The pessimist - It is half empty.
The Realist - Meh, its only water
The Cynic - Its probably laced with lead
The Republican - who drank half of my water?
The Democrat - let's split this quantity into 500 parts and give it to the 500 neediest, if they fill out these twelve forms. We have to sell the water first to pay to get the forms printed, though. We need to raise taxes.
The surrealist - It is angry.
The Deist - It is proof that God exists.
The atheist - it is proof that God doesn't exist.
The Televangelist - God told me last night that you should give your water to me.
The Poet - It is life and death
The Writer - It needs ice, bourbon, and a stronger protagonist.
The Engineer - the glass appears to be twice as large as it needs to be.
The Scientist - with sufficient quantities of liquid nitrogen and a perfect vacuum, I can make a perfect ice crystal.
The Theoretical Physicist - in the absence of gravity and time, if this water were heated with the bursting of a star, it could be pretty.
The Astrologer - let me drink it, and I will tell you whether you have encountered it in a past life.

dw (a classic optimist - 'Al-ways look on the bright, side of life...')

Post by **danlo** » Mon Jun 30, 2008 9:48 pm

In the desert we look at a quarter full glass as full. Now you've made me thirsty.

Post by **Prebe** » Mon Jun 30, 2008 9:57 pm

I've always thought it impossible to distinguish between the two, without knowing the delta(V), which is the change in volume of water over time. A glass which holds exactly half of it's total capacity, cannot be described as HE or HF, unless you know:
A: By what means the water entered the glass

And even more importantly:

B: If the the water is disapearing or being added over time.

HLT's pet Party Pooper

Post by **Seareach** » Mon Jun 30, 2008 10:19 pm

Before my trip to the US it was half empty...but now it's definitely half full!!!

Post by **danlo** » Mon Jun 30, 2008 10:21 pm

If it's half full of vodka I'm not really going to give a

Spoiler

....

in the end

Post by **Seareach** » Mon Jun 30, 2008 10:26 pm

danlo wrote:If it's half full of vodka I'm not really going to give a
Spoiler
....
in the end

You rock, Danlo!

Post by **Auleliel** » Tue Jul 01, 2008 12:06 am

DukkhaWaynhim wrote:The Engineer - the glass appears to be twice as large as it needs to be.

Honestly, this was my first thought.
My second thought was "It doesn't matter because I'm not going to drink it anyway". I dislike the taste of water.

Post by **lucimay** » Tue Jul 01, 2008 3:37 am

half full. definitely.

odd, isn't it Seabub, that this thread should appear just now?

it's the fix, i tell you.

i saw swallows out my window today!!

Post by **lurch** » Tue Jul 01, 2008 4:35 am

no..no no..The Surrealists says,,whaddaya mean , is the glass half full or half empty..? That is Not a glass!

Post by **Holsety** » Tue Jul 01, 2008 6:05 am

Murrin wrote:I've always considered this "test" fairly arbitrary and a little stupid. The choice between one or another when identifying a glass as such on-the-spot is a matter of context, not a person's overall attitude.

And yes, that was my initial thought on seeing the glass.

My initial thought was "I wanna be a pessimist, but I don't actually remember which one is for pessimists."

I mean, I'm pretty sure it's "glass is half empty" but I've always figured you could just toss an "only" in there. I mean, honestly, if it's just half a glass of water, it's just gonna make me more thirsty. Even 3 or 4 glasses of water isn't enough for me, I drink lots of water. So if you're not gonna give me a pitcher on the table, I'd rather not have any water at all, and I'm not tipping unless you come back to refill several times. Unless you charge for water, or you only serve that fizzy stuff, in which case I'm not even eating at your restaurant. So, frankly, thank god it's only half empty, any more water in there is just a waste considering the recent discussion on water shortages, what with underwater water sources drying up and all that.

Post by **The Laughing Man** » Tue Jul 01, 2008 8:05 am

I need to know what was happening to the glass just before the picture was taken before I can respond.

Post by **ur-bane** » Tue Jul 01, 2008 8:24 am

I see a 100% full glass. Partially filled with water, partially filled with air.

Post by **Stutty** » Tue Jul 01, 2008 10:56 am

My response has always been, "depends on what is in the glass."

Post by **Cagliostro** » Tue Jul 01, 2008 11:48 am

I don't believe the water exists.

Post by **aTOMiC** » Tue Jul 01, 2008 6:34 pm

I've always thought of the glass being half full. Never considered it to be otherwise.

Great post Dukkha!

Post by **High Lord Tolkien** » Tue Jul 01, 2008 8:19 pm

Truthfully, my initial thought was "where's the ice?".

Kevin's Watch

Kevin's Watch