"you don't have to understand, just look!"

it's ike playing chess - you have to understand what you are looking at.
cause if not,why bother look at all?
it's as if you don't care,you just look...
@annavi23 (6522)
Philippines
June 27, 2010 1:04am CST
that was my friend told me when she was sharing some pictures with me. the picture she used to share with me is too small that i can hardly see a thing. that's why i said i can't understand the picture. i got surprised when she told me that. do you guys think that we shouldn't have to understand everything what we are looking at? specially to pictures. i know there are details in the picture that we have to understand to estimate something about it. how come someone doesn't have to understand what she was looking at? whether it's a picture,an imagination,a thing you always see in everyday lives. do you think we don't have to bother to understand the things that we are looking at? come on,dude!tell me what you think...
2 people like this
29 responses
@kun2349 (23381)
• Singapore
28 Jun 10
Well, when someone tells u that, it's highly likely that they dun understand the picture as well.. lol =D Or maybe they will treat u like many others, whom dun understand it, and thus she's saying it to u too?? There are indeed some things in life whereby we need not really or fully understand it.. Because by understanding too deep into it, it will only cause confusion to what we might have known from the past.. haha =D
1 person likes this
@kun2349 (23381)
• Singapore
7 Jul 10
haha =D YEah, thus there might be reasons for ple to be telling us that, because it's based on assumption, as well as their past experience?? haha =D NO matter what it is, as least we look, and try to understand, even if we fail to understand, we still get to learn something new ^_^ Who knows from there, our interest for it, might grow, and we will be the next noble peace award winner?? haha =D Right sexy mommy?!?!
1 person likes this
@ckyera (17332)
• Philippines
6 Jul 10
that's true kun, some people makes things complicated by trying to find or look for more beyond what they see. hehe but its also helpful sometimes, coz through understanding and looking for more scientists was able to invent and discover new things...hehe
@annavi23 (6522)
• Philippines
1 Jul 10
yeah,i think you are right,there my friend! if i take a closer look at it,it will make me confused cause i can't see things clearly,but if i just let it pass,then it will not affect me at all,right? what can you say?
1 person likes this
@mspitot (3824)
• Philippines
27 Jun 10
so why did she show those pictures if she doesn't want you to understand them? maybe she didn't understand what she was saying too.
1 person likes this
• Boston, Massachusetts
27 Jun 10
Hi Mspitot, There might be some surprises in the picture after looking at it. But the friend was not able to explain it or guide our friend accordingly. She must be nice enough in giving the instructions!
@mspitot (3824)
• Philippines
28 Jun 10
yes cause showing those pictures with no understanding is i think useless.
@annavi23 (6522)
• Philippines
30 Jun 10
msP,i guess,she just liked me to see those pictures but unfortunately i can't see clearly and since she just don't like to send me the file which is bigger size,i just understand what am i seeing.even if it is really hard to understand the picture. yes,it's nonsense if you may say so. but i also respect her privacy why she won't share with me the big size of it.so for that instance,i just understand what i am seeing. msF, i find your usernames funny,both of you have the same ms, well yeah,i guess she just don't like me to see that picture,but what is the use of sharing it,right? it's really nonsense.
@ckyera (17332)
• Philippines
27 Jun 10
hi vi, i wonder what's her purpose of showing that picture to you in the first place? if you don't need to understand hat's in there then what? its kinda pointless to me. hehe whenever someone show me something, upon looking at it i guess its a normal reaction to understand what's in there or else its like looking in a blank page with a blank mind. haha but there are times that upon looking at something, i just look it in the simplest way that i can interpret it, i want to have a simple and happy life and so i don't want to make things complicated...but i do understand that all of us have different interpretation and understanding to things.
@ckyera (17332)
• Philippines
30 Jun 10
hmm, so you ask her why she's showing that to you? didn't she ask anything after she showed that picture to you?
@annavi23 (6522)
• Philippines
30 Jun 10
yes,it's kinda pointless to me also.but i still would like to understand what is really the picture she wants to show me. yeah,i agree that when you look at a certain thing it is automatically needed to understand it,or you just don't have the capacity to understand things when you look depends on your psychological thinking. yes,all of us have different interpretations when looking at things. but i think that she just don't want to show me the big size,so it's enough to have the small size.yeah,i can see it but i just hoped that i can understand the whole thing so i can make a good impression on it.
@annavi23 (6522)
• Philippines
1 Jul 10
she's showing me what her brother and sister looks like but i can't see things clearly.she knows it,i told her so.but yeah,she don't want to send the file so i just let it pass.that's all.what can i do if she doesn't want me to see it clearly? i just kinda annoyed cause what's the purpose of showing it when you don't want others to see clearly?
@Canellita (12029)
• United States
29 Jun 10
If you have ever looked at abstract art it is a prime example of not needing to understand something in order to look at it. People can try to put all kinds of meanings on what the artist produced but ultimately it comes down to whether you like what you see or not. It is the same with listening to music from other countries. You don't have to understand the language of the lyrics to enjoy the sound.
@Canellita (12029)
• United States
8 Jul 10
I think your friend was just being impatient with you. Your friend may not think about things as much as you do and therefore just wanted you to look and enjoy looking for the sake of it and nothing more. The fact that you weren't clearly able to see who was in the picture makes it difficult for you or anyone else to look at it and just smile and say "it's nice." It's one thing not to understand what you're seeing but another to not be able to see what you're seeing.
@annavi23 (6522)
• Philippines
8 Jul 10
hmmm,nice thought you got there,canellita! abstract shows different meanings for the ones who can see it. though the artist have their own interpretation on how the picture goes. it takes a lot of understanding to see what's really in the picture.but all i have from my friend is a picture of his brother,which i thought it was her. so i asked her,and gave a comment on it.though i really can't see the whole face how it looks like.i just want to understand it.
@annavi23 (6522)
• Philippines
9 Jul 10
how can you say it's nice if it wasn't?hahah better say what you can see for them to understand what you are looking at.
@saphrina (31552)
• South Africa
27 Jun 10
I cannot think why you have to look at something that you don't have to understand. TATA.
@saphrina (31552)
• South Africa
30 Jun 10
You know sweetie, we will always have that problem. We won't get the same glimpse as others, no matter how hard we try. Next time, try to either glance or look.
@annavi23 (6522)
• Philippines
30 Jun 10
cheers,my friend! some people just don't mind what they see,or what they are sharing for someone else to see. i think it's also in your own perceptions on how you take a good look at certain thing. just imagine,when you are walking on the street,you look at places or people but just a glance won't let you understand things clearly,right? it's as if my friend was saying that i just have to glance..not look!
@annavi23 (6522)
• Philippines
30 Jun 10
ahahaha! well,i can say,i did glance and even looked at it close enough but yeah,as you said,maybe we just have different kinds of perceptions and interpretations regarding that matter.
@tomitomi (5429)
• Singapore
27 Jun 10
There was this table calendar which I saw once. There was a picture to accompany every month, bright, colorful, somewhat gaudy. I took a good one minute to look at it to see and understand what it was just like what the instruction said. Unfortunately I couldn't make out what it was. I returned not satisfied with my first attempt but realized I just couldn't make it out. This was nonsense I thought because even abstract painting does convey something. If I can't see it then it's not worth to understand it.
@tomitomi (5429)
• Singapore
28 Jun 10
It was something meant for that purpose, to understand by looking which I couldn't actually get the message. I've never seen it in the market anymore. Perhaps that speaks for itself. Thanks for the topic. It brought back a memory to share here.
@annavi23 (6522)
• Philippines
30 Jun 10
yes,it's fun to remember things we've seen or experienced in the past,for somehow it would give us knowledge and made us think of what we are now.
@annavi23 (6522)
• Philippines
27 Jun 10
some pictures really are hard to understand.well,those of like paintings is much harder to understand specially abstract ones you really have to concentrate and stare for minutes to identify what it's like. maybe the picture in your table calendar was not properly well taken.or it's just you that doesn't understand what it's like?
• Philippines
29 Jun 10
we are not required to understand everything..but it is our responsibility to ourselves to understand the things that we are looking at..also it's like a challenge for us to decipher things that we are seeing..there's a saying that "a picture paints a thousand words"..so we can't say that we don't have any idea of what is going on in a certain picture..the only thing is that we are not sure whether our understanding is correct..
@annavi23 (6522)
• Philippines
8 Jul 10
you have a point there,my friend.but what is the purpose of showing the picture when i can't see things clearly and asking me to comment on it.dear,i'm so confused?
• United States
30 Jun 10
How can we appreciate a thing if we don't have some understanding of it?
@annavi23 (6522)
• Philippines
3 Jul 10
yes,we have to understand things we are looking at cause without understanding we don't have mind at all!hehe
@yresh12 (3212)
• Philippines
30 Jun 10
Hey anna! Everyone has different ways of looking at pictures some just skim through it some just go to every detail of it. As for me it really depends on my mood if I'd look at the picture like i'm checking it out heavily. I hope you would to.. goodluck
@annavi23 (6522)
• Philippines
8 Jul 10
i just want to see how the picture really looks like.maybe i don't have to understand the whole picture but i want to see how the friend's brother looks like.she was showing me pics of her brother that time.the main reason why we are showing pics is because we want others to know what is there at the picture.then i thought it was her all of a sudden it was her brother.which makes sense when you really want to know what's the picture all about.
@MDG2211 (711)
• Argentina
29 Jun 10
One always interpreting this one what looking at this one, if you are interested him ready in major attention, you analyze and try it to come to a conclusion, but simply you remain with this first look and follow your life as if nothing, it is as that you look without looking.
@annavi23 (6522)
• Philippines
8 Jul 10
yeah,you are right.when it comes to looking at things there is really understanding needed.if you look then don't bother to see things beyond,what's the purpose of looking?it's nonsense!
@mauie0918 (337)
• Philippines
28 Jun 10
Just look at the picture! Take time to look at it then picture what you see then that's it!
@annavi23 (6522)
• Philippines
2 Jul 10
so you mean you still have to understand right? every picture has details everyone must enjoy,even how good or bad it is,there's meaning to it.
@noside13 (58)
• Philippines
27 Jun 10
for some reason, all of us differ in interpretting things. pictures are something lilke a painting. "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". some people just picture things because it amuses them, or maybe just want to capture the beauty of it, or from some abstract reason it has a lot deeper meaning to it.
@annavi23 (6522)
• Philippines
27 Jun 10
hello there,yeah all of us has different perceptions with regards to looking things. but i'm just stating here is you have to understand what you are looking. for looking is always combined to understanding,right?
• Philippines
28 Jun 10
So you're like saying hearing is the same as listening? Looking isn't the same as understanding Anna... Here's my example: In cooking, you can just look at someone cooking Chinese food without understanding why it is being tossed, mixed in such a way... It's quite complicated to just even look at it that you don't really need to understand why... you just get so hooked on with the taste that you don't really bother to ask why they put this, why they do that, etc... when you ask with the how's and why's, that's the time you're trying to understand... Get it? :)
@annavi23 (6522)
• Philippines
30 Jun 10
hi there,gail! you got me thinking there. i have read your post since you first post it,but i have no time to get back. i can say you really are right with what you have said. hearing is different from listening but still if you try to understand it,it's like listening also,right?all comes to understanding. what we see in front of us yeah,sometimes you don't need to understand but when it comes to your mind,it's like thinking and understanding at the same time. when you try to watch a cooking show,you carefully look at the details if you are really interested on it. but as i have said,when it comes to your mind,you may suddenly think about the thing you saw then that's the time you'll understand things. ok,i got your point there... but let's go back to my situation,i have this friend who shared her pics in her avatars in ym. yeah,and the pictures appeared small to me of course.that's why i told her i can't see clearly.but she hesitated to send me the pictures.so what can i do,since she is showing it,might as well look at it,then of course i am in the urge of understanding it cause it's my first time to see it.
• United States
29 Jun 10
All i kind say is that is pretty.
@annavi23 (6522)
• Philippines
8 Jul 10
how can you say that it's pretty if the picture isn't? you're like fooling people for that,i can say! for me,if i have nothing good to say,i just shut my mouth for no one to be hurt. but if it's my friend,i can talk to her in a nice way for her not to be hurt.
@june2001 (15)
• China
29 Jun 10
hi annavi! I don't think ti's necessary to make an interpreting to every thing what we looking at. if we need to give a comment,we shuold kown it clearly. your friend shared a picture with u, means that she wanted to get your comment even though the picture isn't clear. so i think you can guess the content and tell her your first imagination.
@annavi23 (6522)
• Philippines
8 Jul 10
yes,i have told her what i can see and how my interpretation goes with that picture.but she was my friend and i want to understand what she was trying to share,cause someday we might know i would have bumped to her brother,where she was showing me the picture is her brother. as of now,i just can't figure the way how he really looks like in that picture.
@dpk262006 (58675)
• Delhi, India
28 Jun 10
Hello ann! I think photographs are meant to be seen and enjoyed, there is noting in a photograph, which could be understood, without actually seeing it or have a closer look at it. I do not agree with your friend, if s/he has to show you a photograph, it has to be of a good quality and clarity.
@annavi23 (6522)
• Philippines
1 Jul 10
yes,what's the use of showing it when you dont want to see the whole thing? by looking at a certain thing,you might as well understand it not just look at it.
@smiley83 (1534)
• Malaysia
28 Jun 10
Awh my gosh Vivi that is really weird!! my gosh wot is the purpose of showing up the pictures if they don't want us to understand the details? There is no point in showing if they are not willing to explain out! I would really get sad if I was in your shoe
@annavi23 (6522)
• Philippines
30 Jun 10
exactly,my dear! what's the purpose of showing it when you don't really want to share it? i think if you are looking at a certain thing you automatically understand what it is.yeah,i guess my friend just don't want to share it out at first...
• United States
28 Jun 10
well if they wanted me to look at a picture and i didn't know what i was looking at i would have to tell them the truth i dont know what it is so how can they except you to respond
@annavi23 (6522)
• Philippines
2 Jul 10
yes,by telling them that you don't understand it's easier to let them know that they won't expect good response.that's it!
• Philippines
28 Jun 10
I disagree... Understanding is deeper that just merely looking at an object/a picture in this case... For photographs, it depends... If its abstract or like an illusion, you have to understand it to appreciate it and respond to what it being portrayed in it... But if it's just an old family pic, i guess it's ok to just look at it and not totally understand it... maybe your friend reacted that way because you responded in a way that's quite confusing too (sorry for that)... You could have said, "i can't see clearly what's in this pic.." or "this pic's too small for me to figure out who this is.." ... sometimes people react differently because of misinterpretations of what you really mean when you utter something, y'know... ;)
@annavi23 (6522)
• Philippines
1 Jul 10
yes,i know that! but what is the purpose of showing the picture when you don't want them to understand it? yes,it's just a photo of family members i think it's impolite if i just let it pass,right? i have told her that i can't see clearly but yeah,then i let it pass.
• India
28 Jun 10
annavi, it happens when we see abstract art. Most of us say, "We cannot understand the picture". To comprehend abstract art one needs an open and inquiring mind. Abstract art is open to interpretation; and that is one of the beautiful things about it. You have to assign your own meaning to the piece you are viewing. That is why an abstract art makes many uneasy because they are not used to assigning their own meaning to what they see before them.
@annavi23 (6522)
• Philippines
1 Jul 10
thanks for the wonderful thought there,my friend! i guess i just want to understand the details in the picture shown but since it's too small,my friend just want me to look at it,not understand the whole thing!
@micaruss (48)
27 Jun 10
its better to understand the things that we are looking at. Pictures have details for us to understand and explains every details on it. people capture pictures on they're own reason. if you see people on the picture you can see whether if they are happy or not; the place, beautiful of not.
@annavi23 (6522)
• Philippines
30 Jun 10
yes,it's better to understand things that we are looking at. when you don't want to understand it,it will also come to your mind,so there is always understanding to things. about pictures, my friend showed me pictures of her family members,i can't see clearly cause it's too small.but she don't want me to understand what's with the picture she is showing me.what do you think should i do? just let it pass,okay.then why do you have to show pictures when you don't want them to understand it?