I'm sorry to disappoint. This is in fact a thread about how people love these inane little threads (I changed the title, so now this makes very little sense) . I'm sorry to be deceptive, but it's the only way to get people to come into a thread. Indeed, this thread may be a challenge in itself for you to not run away from a small wall of text and actually give an opinion.
People don't like to think.
I know, I know, you all believe you are the sane little champion of the world. Everyone else is an idiot, no one else analyses things as deeply as you and everyone else is causing some imaginary downward spiral of the world into disarray and/or moral corruption.
Yep, I've heard it all before and it's more than I can stand. I came across some study cases in researching for university that said that the vast majority of us feel this way, thinking that everyone else isn't thinking the same things we are; they are, but you can't read their thoughts so you go on assuming. Nobody is as smart as they think they are, and the masses are not quite as stupid as they are made out to be, though desire to conform can make them act strangely or counterintuitively in some aspects of life.
But, I digress, the point of this thread is to point out how almost everybody, given a choice between quick meaningless reward for minimal effort or thinking hard for greater benefit, will almost invariably go for the easy option.
Now, I don't want to lump anyone in on this, but I will because people fail again and again to prove themselves right and it is easier to explain if I just deal with absolutes. Hell, I'll lump myself in too; I'm an offender a lot of the time and I won't deny it.
So, you are wondering what exactly I am talking about. Well it crossed my mind in reading the thread about great song intro's that almost all of you consider a good introduction five seconds of drum beats followed by the remainder of the instruments chiming in. I'd challenge this and say that a good introduction, nay a great introduction, is one that teases you and holds you in anticipation for the release of the build-up. Not to push across this personal view too much, but it got me thinking onto other things; that people are pretty damn content watching, reading or listening to things that do not challenge them in any way, more content than they would be observing something that gives them a new, unique perspective at the cost of a little mental exertion. Yes, go ahead and make your objections now.
I take music first, as it was the first carriage in my train of thought. I like to think I am as patient as they come (but I know that I have room to improve). I listen to 30 minute songs, and the patience put into listening to the whole well created and cohesive array of chords to a point of climax is a lot more rewarding than a quick kick into a catchy riff followed by endless repetition. Now, I wouldn't go saying I am any different than anyone else because firstly; this is just a point of view like you all have, and secondly; I am a great offender in different forms which I will explain now, and thirdly; this is all a part of a horrible divergent rant. I know, also, that there are certain situations where a type of music may be inappropriate, but my problem is not that people don't listen to long songs, it is that they cannot appreciate as objectively as possible that a song with structure is a great work of art, and a three note riff provides a quick albeit mediocre satisfaction.
It is no secret that truly awful TV shows, popcorn flicks at the cinema and trashy books like Twilight sell by the bucketload. Why is it that shows like Arrested Development, which offered a non-stop episode of quip after quip get shut down, and Two and a Half Men gets top spot on tv? It is simply because people lack the patience to decipher a line and get a joke, they want it up front with canned laughter to let them know when to laugh.
With literature, great books get cast aside for mass marketed trash and the power of conformity. I am a great offender with this one, and the sad thing is I know that I am doing it. I know there are great books out there, but I have not developed enough patience and maturity to take them on yet, so I get my entertainment from more mainstream books. A good author is rarely rich, because their books fill the market for a small group of people who are willing to put in the effort for their novels, which are themselves very rich. I am trying to correct this, I look for hidden gems now, but I'm only just gathering the patience to get through them. They don't always offer quick one liners, but the overall story eclipses those momentarily satisfying lines with meaning. Some might say good art shouldn't be hard to understand, but I'd counter that it should, and that anything that makes you think about or question your current beliefs is something to be held close and cherished. You won't see the benefit of anything unless you put in some effort on your own behalf, but if you do you will be pleasantly surprised.
Then I got to thinking about you, the Escapists. I've made a few threads here and there on various accounts over the past year and a bit, but none of them fail quite so spectacularly as the ones that try and provoke some sort of new discussion. As time wore on, I made the threads simpler and simpler until the other day when I asked a simple question, about how spoiled you were as children. I was amazed to see that only 1 person responded to the poll, and none even replied to the thread. Now, here was I thinking that something that didn't come up in the search function might be appreciated for not being overused, though I'll admit it wasn't the most compelling thread. But then I remembered, people love to say "Search first", and deep down, you all seem to want to hear the same ridiculously narrow threads over and over again out of some weak comfort they give you. You all want to listen to MaxTheReaper say the same nihilistic response to every post. There are maybe 15 different threads that come up in one form or another every day or week.
The threads that pop up almost daily are so popular because everyone wants their opinion heard, but almost no one seems to want to put any thought into their opinion. I find it more than mildly ironic that given the amount of repeat discussion going on, and the severe lack of anything original popping up, that people complain all the time about how the forum is degenerating and threads are always repeats. I don't think the forum is any worse, I think it is exactly the same, and that is the problem. You are all a year older, a year wiser, and have a years worth of the same threads being hammered into you daily. I think the problem most of you have is that the forum is exactly the same, but you are not.
If you want better discussion, make a thread yourself. Don't just complain about it and ignore the threads that do some up that are not rehashing the same material for the 10th time. I've seen so many people complain that the forum was better in the good ole' days, yet often I'll watch a thread go by with barely a reply because it was too taxing to write out a quick paragraph. If you want that discussion then fucking save it by contributing a bit.
I don't care that my opinion is often wildly outspoken, and ignored by the majority, I'd rather offend someone and get them questioning or defending their own view than to just continue adding pointlessly to a thread. I am so happy that some rare few on the Escapist have been able to change my view on matters. That is really why I am here, to grow as a person by learning and interacting, and have fun while doing it. I would be so glad if I happened to influence someone elses views on a particular matter, but it seems that people see more than four words and run away. I sometimes just make a long and intentionally counterintuitive statement to see if anyone even bothers to read it, and most of the time they don't. It is pretty sad, but it brings me back to my main point; Everyone is so happy with their own preset or inherited values that they will almost ignore anything that goes against them, or elsewise only seek posts that confirm their own held values.
I'm sorry this was so long, and quite possibly contradictory. I wrote enough that I might have rebutted one of my own points, but I don't expect any of you to even read it.
A penny for your thoughts, if you did?
People don't like to think.
I know, I know, you all believe you are the sane little champion of the world. Everyone else is an idiot, no one else analyses things as deeply as you and everyone else is causing some imaginary downward spiral of the world into disarray and/or moral corruption.
Yep, I've heard it all before and it's more than I can stand. I came across some study cases in researching for university that said that the vast majority of us feel this way, thinking that everyone else isn't thinking the same things we are; they are, but you can't read their thoughts so you go on assuming. Nobody is as smart as they think they are, and the masses are not quite as stupid as they are made out to be, though desire to conform can make them act strangely or counterintuitively in some aspects of life.
But, I digress, the point of this thread is to point out how almost everybody, given a choice between quick meaningless reward for minimal effort or thinking hard for greater benefit, will almost invariably go for the easy option.
Now, I don't want to lump anyone in on this, but I will because people fail again and again to prove themselves right and it is easier to explain if I just deal with absolutes. Hell, I'll lump myself in too; I'm an offender a lot of the time and I won't deny it.
So, you are wondering what exactly I am talking about. Well it crossed my mind in reading the thread about great song intro's that almost all of you consider a good introduction five seconds of drum beats followed by the remainder of the instruments chiming in. I'd challenge this and say that a good introduction, nay a great introduction, is one that teases you and holds you in anticipation for the release of the build-up. Not to push across this personal view too much, but it got me thinking onto other things; that people are pretty damn content watching, reading or listening to things that do not challenge them in any way, more content than they would be observing something that gives them a new, unique perspective at the cost of a little mental exertion. Yes, go ahead and make your objections now.
I take music first, as it was the first carriage in my train of thought. I like to think I am as patient as they come (but I know that I have room to improve). I listen to 30 minute songs, and the patience put into listening to the whole well created and cohesive array of chords to a point of climax is a lot more rewarding than a quick kick into a catchy riff followed by endless repetition. Now, I wouldn't go saying I am any different than anyone else because firstly; this is just a point of view like you all have, and secondly; I am a great offender in different forms which I will explain now, and thirdly; this is all a part of a horrible divergent rant. I know, also, that there are certain situations where a type of music may be inappropriate, but my problem is not that people don't listen to long songs, it is that they cannot appreciate as objectively as possible that a song with structure is a great work of art, and a three note riff provides a quick albeit mediocre satisfaction.
It is no secret that truly awful TV shows, popcorn flicks at the cinema and trashy books like Twilight sell by the bucketload. Why is it that shows like Arrested Development, which offered a non-stop episode of quip after quip get shut down, and Two and a Half Men gets top spot on tv? It is simply because people lack the patience to decipher a line and get a joke, they want it up front with canned laughter to let them know when to laugh.
With literature, great books get cast aside for mass marketed trash and the power of conformity. I am a great offender with this one, and the sad thing is I know that I am doing it. I know there are great books out there, but I have not developed enough patience and maturity to take them on yet, so I get my entertainment from more mainstream books. A good author is rarely rich, because their books fill the market for a small group of people who are willing to put in the effort for their novels, which are themselves very rich. I am trying to correct this, I look for hidden gems now, but I'm only just gathering the patience to get through them. They don't always offer quick one liners, but the overall story eclipses those momentarily satisfying lines with meaning. Some might say good art shouldn't be hard to understand, but I'd counter that it should, and that anything that makes you think about or question your current beliefs is something to be held close and cherished. You won't see the benefit of anything unless you put in some effort on your own behalf, but if you do you will be pleasantly surprised.
Then I got to thinking about you, the Escapists. I've made a few threads here and there on various accounts over the past year and a bit, but none of them fail quite so spectacularly as the ones that try and provoke some sort of new discussion. As time wore on, I made the threads simpler and simpler until the other day when I asked a simple question, about how spoiled you were as children. I was amazed to see that only 1 person responded to the poll, and none even replied to the thread. Now, here was I thinking that something that didn't come up in the search function might be appreciated for not being overused, though I'll admit it wasn't the most compelling thread. But then I remembered, people love to say "Search first", and deep down, you all seem to want to hear the same ridiculously narrow threads over and over again out of some weak comfort they give you. You all want to listen to MaxTheReaper say the same nihilistic response to every post. There are maybe 15 different threads that come up in one form or another every day or week.
The threads that pop up almost daily are so popular because everyone wants their opinion heard, but almost no one seems to want to put any thought into their opinion. I find it more than mildly ironic that given the amount of repeat discussion going on, and the severe lack of anything original popping up, that people complain all the time about how the forum is degenerating and threads are always repeats. I don't think the forum is any worse, I think it is exactly the same, and that is the problem. You are all a year older, a year wiser, and have a years worth of the same threads being hammered into you daily. I think the problem most of you have is that the forum is exactly the same, but you are not.
If you want better discussion, make a thread yourself. Don't just complain about it and ignore the threads that do some up that are not rehashing the same material for the 10th time. I've seen so many people complain that the forum was better in the good ole' days, yet often I'll watch a thread go by with barely a reply because it was too taxing to write out a quick paragraph. If you want that discussion then fucking save it by contributing a bit.
I don't care that my opinion is often wildly outspoken, and ignored by the majority, I'd rather offend someone and get them questioning or defending their own view than to just continue adding pointlessly to a thread. I am so happy that some rare few on the Escapist have been able to change my view on matters. That is really why I am here, to grow as a person by learning and interacting, and have fun while doing it. I would be so glad if I happened to influence someone elses views on a particular matter, but it seems that people see more than four words and run away. I sometimes just make a long and intentionally counterintuitive statement to see if anyone even bothers to read it, and most of the time they don't. It is pretty sad, but it brings me back to my main point; Everyone is so happy with their own preset or inherited values that they will almost ignore anything that goes against them, or elsewise only seek posts that confirm their own held values.
I'm sorry this was so long, and quite possibly contradictory. I wrote enough that I might have rebutted one of my own points, but I don't expect any of you to even read it.
A penny for your thoughts, if you did?
