Engineers, medical people, scientific people, have an obsession with solving the problems of reality, when actually … once you reach a basic level of wealth in society, most problems are actually problems of perception.

Source: "Life Lessons from an Ad Man." TEDGlobal2009. Jul. 2009. Conference Presentation. Additional Information: This quote is from advertising guru Rory Sutherland's 2009 TED Talk about how advertising adds value by changing our perception. The quote means that while many people have careers dedicated to solving life's problems, as long as you are not living in abject poverty, it is the way you perceive your situation that determines whether it is actually problematic. Sutherland goes on to give examples of how perception affects our reality in powerful ways -- such as in the case of the placebo effect. Watch the full TED Talk here: Rory Sutherland - Life Lessons from an Ad Man

“Life Lessons from an Ad Man.” TEDGlobal2009. Jul. 2009. Conference Presentation.