The Personal-Change-Effect

It is an undeniable fact that people change. Like all things known to us in the known universe, people are constantly in flux at the quantum physical level and thus moving and reshaping in the macroworld; whether it be the energy flowing through their bodies or the actual shifting and replacement of atoms. With that, people change in personality and perception as well. As we flux and flow on the microscale we too inevitably flux and flow on the human scale with our age, place, experience, and relationships. Even if the effect is tiny, we cannot deny that people change.

I presume this personal-change-effect is significant on the scale of years. Thus, I presume those who declare, “People never change” are thinking with some superficial reasoning. If someone acts with the same attitude as they did ten years ago, one would assume they have not changed. However, they literally have changed physico-chemically and have changed position in space and time. Because of these undeniable changes we know that some change must have taken place in their neurons. So, even if we accept the bodily changes and spatial-temporal changes are negligible, we cannot negate the neural-based changes in sensation, perception, and reasoning that are certain to accompany this person over 10 years. Thus, the person has both literally changed and practically changed. Perhaps what has not changed is one’s interpretation of this person from 10 years prior!

All in all, it is not wise to presume people do not change their minds and attitudes. The change may be slight or just unnoticed. Furthermore, the changes in a person may not be elucidated if that person is analyzed in the light of who they were 10 years ago by someone preconceiving who they are now.