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But the number you report for the level of pain is a thought in your mind; it is the state of your mind, or a summary of it. If you report a different number, y

• daveFNbuck 5y ago
  Sure, every time anything happens to you, your state of mind is different. My point is that the relevant part of your state of mind doesn't necessarily change. If you report a different number, that means some things in your mind changed. Those things may or may not include the level of pain you're experiencing. Let's take an example with a bit more objectivity. If you ask me to rate how long a tv show is on a scale of 1-10 and I know the show is 30 minutes, how do I turn that into a 1-10 scale? Suppose I mostly watch shows with 12-minute episodes. This is relatively long, so I give it an 8. Later I start watching hour-long shows. You ask me again how long this show is on a 1-10 scale. Now I put it at a 5. I don't think the show got shorter, and I don't experience it as being shorter. I just changed how I contextualize the length of shows for a 1-10 scale. It would be silly to say that watching hour-long shows is a good way to shorten the mental experience of watching a 30-minute show.