Go ahead, watch that movie again - research shows you'll enjoy it more than you think
By reflexively seeking out novelty instead of returning to the tried-and-true, we may be leaving many of life’s enjoyments unenjoyed
If you’ve spent any time around little kids, you’ve probably noticed they have an almost limitless capacity to repeat activities they enjoy: getting tossed in the air by an obliging adult, say, or watching the same movie over and over and over again.
New research from Ed O’Brien at the University of Chicago suggests that adults could stand to learn from the toddlers in their lives. In controlled experiments involving hundreds of volunteers, O’Brien has found that people typically enjoy repeating leisure activities much more than they thought they would.
Those who repeat enjoyable activities, like watching a movie or going to a museum, seem to pick up on nuances and dimensions of the experience they missed the first time around, the study found. By reflexively seeking out novelty instead of returning to the tried-and-true, we may be leaving many of life’s enjoyments unenjoyed.
Many previous studies have shown that, when it comes to leisure time, people have a general tendency to seek out novel experiences. In the language of social science, O’Brien said, “Filling leisure with novel experiences indeed disrupts adaptation and promotes discovery."
Or, in the more poetic formulation of 18th-century English poet William Cowper, “Variety’s the very spice of life, that gives it all its flavour.”
I've noticed this some time back with books, movies, museums, and even places I've visited. I don't catch everything the first time and I notice new things the second or third time. Also things I've seen towards the end help me notice things in the beginning the second time that make more sense in how it ties together. My family likes going to a new vacation spot every time but there are some spots I'd like to go back and revisit because I liked it so much.
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It really brings home how fragile and malleable memories can be.
We think they are set in concrete and then get slammed in the face with one that just isn't what we thought it was at all.
And lucky us, it just gets worse the older you get. Yippee.
through "Justified" (FX series with Timothy Olyphant) for the second time. Perhaps "working my way" isn't the proper description - I'm loving it. As someone said earlier in this thread, I'm seeing things I missed the first time as well as having a better understanding of all of the relationships that are used throughout the series.
Watching it all a second time really shows the thought and planning that the writers put into a series.
To be honest, I could never understand how someone could stand to watch something twice - now I know! 
