Posts Tagged "reality"

Does your survey reflect reality, or is it just wishful thinking?: Lessons from the Mirror of Erised

Posted by on Sep 9, 2010 in Doing Research | 0 comments

One of my favourite devices in the first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, is the Mirror of Erised.   Harry comes upon this old mirror one day, and when he looks into its depths, he sees his (dead) parents standing behind him.   His friend Ron sees himself winning at Quidditch.  The mirror, it is explained, distorts: it shows the viewer their heart’s desire rather than ordinary reality.   (Incidentally, Harry nearly wastes away gazing into this mirror, hungry for the vision it shows him. But that’s by the by). Only the perfectly happy person...

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