Before-After Pictures: Something Happened!

It's hard for me to say exactly why before-after pictures make me happy, but I could certainly venture a guess. The feeling is likely related to those that cause people to write in the sand, graffiti on the wall, carve on a tree, or build a statue; all these signs indicate the presence of some intelligent (or at least sentient) agent. "Someone was here." Combine that feeling with that of a video or action shot, and you get the emotional equivalent of "someone did this." If it is your own handiwork, then of course there is the minute but inevitable ego boost. If it is someone else's, we nevertheless derive some enjoyment out of documenting what has come to pass.

On the other hand, perhaps the joy of before-and-after has nothing to do with agency at all. It has long been known that brains, be they those of a human or any other animal, are attuned to change. And what is a before-after picture if not simply a documentation of change in the most minimalist visual manner? This is what was; this is what is. :)