Continued from previous post.

Monday was all about The Shallows. Wednesday we discussed the differences between idealism and realism. My initial thoughts were the thoughts I think many people have when they think about idealism and realism: idealism is synonymous with optimism and a realist is pessimistic.

I learned on Wednesday that an idealist is always looking to optimize their choice by getting it as close to the ideal that is possible. There is an ideal world, an ideal pair of jeans, an ideal candle. Their decisions are framed in the context of an ideal situation or thing. This may align with monotheistic religions too. A religious person typically believes that all things are right in heaven. It is the perfect and ideal place. There is an ideal world, and the decisions he/she makes are based on that idea.

A realist believes there is not an ideal world or product. They frame their likes and dislikes on how that thing is similar or different from another version of that thing they previously encountered. This can be known as mimesis. Why do I like this candle? Because it’s like that other candle I had or because it’s not like this candle which I hate the smell of.

I am 100% a realist. I think about this kind of thing quite a bit and I know this for a fact. I’m also quite the optimist – almost to the point that it’s annoying. A realist isn’t cynical and an optimist isn’t ignorantly blissful. It is important to take the optimist vs. pessimist idea out of the conversation when discussing the fundamentals of idealism vs. realism because it just gets confusing. Once the initial concept is grasped, it can be useful to think about when trying to understand yourself better.

I like this discussion, I think it’s good. It’s really frustrating when I can’t accurately explain why I like something, but I definitely know it’s not because I’m trying to get closer to the ideal version of something. I’m looking forward to digging into this topic deeper.

-Jessi Russell