I have been on an uncharacteristic campaign to improve my appearance. Usually I’m content with my state. I’m average, plain, unremarkable. Not particulary ugly. Not particularly pretty.
That’s fine with me. I’ve seen the life of pretty women and I’d rather not have strange men chatting me up. Plus, I haven’t had good experiences with vain women as role models.
However, I have had some experiences lately in which I have caught sight of myself in unexpected mirrors and windows, and I look too much like my grandmother. Plain is fine, but Plain with Aged on top pushes me past my comfort zone.
So, I’m doing little things to improve my appearance. Losing weight. Straightening my teeth. And recently de-chipping my two front teeth.
During the de-chipping the dentist realized he could make a little correction and have my two front teeth be even, so I said okay, and he did.
I am sorry but the changes in the before and after photos are barely perceptible to me. Honestly, if this was a Spot the Differences game I would fail. He seemed very pleased with the result, though.
Perhaps it will subliminally balance out some eye wrinkles and I’ll be back up to the level of Plain I expect of myself.
5 responses to “Plain vs Vain”
It’s that paradox where the value of a solution diminishes once the problem no longer exists known as outcome-based devaluation or the effort paradox.
I think that the ‘after’ looks better.
A smidgen better. An eighth of an inch better.
PH – That does make sense about the effort. I did wonder if it would have looked better if they’d needed to use Novocaine.
Oh, you mean that if you suffered for it or knew that to obtain it is going to be painful, you would appreciate the result more? That’s also possible.
What I meant is that when the problem exists, it has a certain (negative) value. But once the problem is fixed, its value is null so we tend to ignore it and reassess it as the normal.
PH – I don’t think like that. If there was a problem I dwell on it long after it’s fixed.