Thursday, February 12, 2009

Good in retrospect

Has it ever happened to you that when you first watched a movie you didn’t like it or you like it okay but then you started liking it more over time without subsequent viewings?

This happens to me quite often actually. When I watch a movie, I watch it with burden of expectations. I am not easily pleased too. Combine these and only occasionally I find a movie very good or exceptional. However, as time passes my perception of how much I liked the movie increases for some movies, specially those that are popular ones. This happens in various ways, I suppose. One is that as more and more people like it, I re-evaluate my liking and decide that because others like it, it must be good, so I too must be liking it more. Second is that sometime I find myself smiling remembering a scene or dialogue from movie or quoting it in conversation, and then realize that if it is able to make such impression on me then I must like it more than what I originally did. Third is that as I watch more movies, I end up comparing that with others and in the process find that some aspects which I originally considered bad aren’t really bad or not bad enough. In a way, if I were to rate a movie soon after watching and re-rate after six months, I will upgrade my ratings. This doesn’t happen always — and there are many movies which I’ve not liked even after long time (viz. Dhoom 2) which were very popular — but happens often enough. May be I should give each movie an open chance rather than watching with critical eye on first go. Though it is not sure if I really do that because I also like many popular movies in first go (Amir, A Wednesday). Well, whatever.

Breaking the Bias – Lessons from Bayesian Statistical Perspective

Equitable and fair institutions are the foundation of modern democracies. Bias, as referring to “inclination or prejudice against one perso...