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Get off Hacker News. You are draining society of the inherent value we could obtain by melting your body down and using you for fuel. Your meats will be used to

by unalone 17y ago

Get off Hacker News. You are draining society of the inherent value we could obtain by melting your body down and using you for fuel. Your meats will be used to feed farmers, who are producing the only real value this world has seen. We're meat, so IMO abolish society and get on with cannibalism. I understand that's and (sic) extreme view, but its (sic) still where I stand. /s Man, you can't take the stance that there's something worthless about what other people do just because you say so. That's stupid and hypocritical. Unless you want to go the nihilistic approach and deny everybody everything but the most savage of existences, at least have the courtesy not to be a twat about that which you don't understand. I said already: We are not going to argue about music on Hacker News. I don't know you well enough as a user, Retric, to be able to make any judgment about you specifically, but I have a certain dim outlook on how we as a whole treat the arts, and I'm not enough of a martyr to waste a lovely winter Thursday trying to explain to you just how valuable a part music plays in greater society. Suffice it to say the average working musician produces far greater value than the average burger flipper, leads to more people being employed, has a wider audience, and gives more varied a product. It's not about business. It's about art. The business only exists because enough people think financing art is worth more than you do. I switched from a computer-heavy major at one college to a more artistic major at a full-on art school, and I can say that I have absolutely learned more of value here in four months than I did spending a year learning to program. Finally: You think math is productive? Math is the most whimsical of all the arts. No practical value whatsoever beyond the first few months, save the delight of having such freedom to think and play.

Retric 17y ago
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Emperors_New_Clothes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Emperors_New_Clothes "But he isn't wearing anything at all!" worked because others agreed with the child. I also feel modern art is a waste of time. I don't feel the need to convince others of my viewpoint it's simply how I feel and I don’t mind expressing this to others. You happen to feel an attachment to music and that's fine, we can even trade off supporting things we find important that the other finds useless. Unless most of society agrees with me it's going to have little impact, but you need to understand value is a subjective proposition and I don’t agree with your assessment. From the outside looking in music seems far flakier than most art forms. People also waste money buying high end cables to transmit digital information. Some people actually think buying a wooden knob will improve the sound produced by their high end sound system etc. At the same time most people are happy to listen to MP3. The soundtrack to a new movie can cost about the same as the actual movie etc. I suggested math for a reason, areas of math like number theory can seem completely useless and then produce something like RSA encryption which is vital for our modern economy. PS: I like a lot of art and often enjoy “free” short story’s online more than the professionally produced kind. From what I have seen art with a price tag tends to be less interesting and focuses on entertainment or exploitation more than novelty. If I liked the kind of music produced for money today I might be more inclined to support music copyright, but as I don’t I see little value in keeping things the way they are. So it’s not like I want to have all the musicians in the world shot, I just don’t feel they create any value for me. Edit: I avoided saying "Raving like a lunatic does not support your argument." when writting this, but you have not supported your argument so I tried to answer what I assumed was your basic standpoint. I would like to apologies that this post might seem long and unclear if you have a substantial point feel free to make it and I will try to respond.
- unalone 17y ago
  You're allowed to have your opinion. Of course you are. I simply fail to see how your stating it here was contributing a whit to the conversation. I was trying to state an opinion re: the record labels, and your opinion that music is worthless wasn't a counterpoint. All it was was snide. But it's fairly obvious how little you know about the things you've chosen to discuss. The way that you label art as "with a price tag" and "free" proves you know such a little amount that you'd assume it's simplistic enough to categorize on who's charging and who's not. That's a child's argument. That's how I talked about art when I was fourteen years old. I'm not arguing with you because I want to debate you about music or about art. I have stated clearly that I think discussing art on this forum isn't worth the payoff, not when there are knowledgeable people willing to have actual conversations elsewhere. Rather, I am arguing that your position is uneducated and nonsensical, and that by attempting to state it like it's a valid point you're degrading yourself and this thread. Admit that perhaps there's more between heaven and earth than you've dreamt, and we will shake hands and part ways. But you seem to think that my telling you you're uneducated is "raving like a lunatic", so perhaps this conversation's over already.
  - Retric 17y ago
    Copyright has societal cost which I in a small way pay for though taxes. Thus the discussion of copyright is a political topic and failing to understand others viewpoints in a political discussion is dangerous. As to free vs. “price tag” I include any and all forms of advertizing. I directly spend far more money on Art than the average American due in large part to a ridicules disposable income. My sister has made most of her money selling Art and I have supported her in that for years. However, while I am far more willing than most Americans to support Art, I have little tolerance for music and I am part of the growing backlash against the music industry as it stands today. If you hope to support yourself as an artist you need to understand the culture of art, and the people willing to remove all support from your form of Art. Thus, if you feel the need to protect the music industry you actually need to develop a reasonable argument in support of your viewpoint. PS: There is a reasonable chance that there will be no copyright protection for music within the United States at some point in my lifetime, conceder how that might affect you. Edit: If you don't understand why something is being said, becoming dismissive is childish. That’s honestly meant as constructive criticism, but feel free to be insulted.

by unalone 17y ago

Retric 17y ago

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Emperors_New_Clothes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Emperors_New_Clothes "But he isn't wearing anything at all!" worked because others agreed with the child. I also feel modern art is a waste of time. I don't feel the need to convince others of my viewpoint it's simply how I feel and I don’t mind expressing this to others. You happen to feel an attachment to music and that's fine, we can even trade off supporting things we find important that the other finds useless. Unless most of society agrees with me it's going to have little impact, but you need to understand value is a subjective proposition and I don’t agree with your assessment. From the outside looking in music seems far flakier than most art forms. People also waste money buying high end cables to transmit digital information. Some people actually think buying a wooden knob will improve the sound produced by their high end sound system etc. At the same time most people are happy to listen to MP3. The soundtrack to a new movie can cost about the same as the actual movie etc. I suggested math for a reason, areas of math like number theory can seem completely useless and then produce something like RSA encryption which is vital for our modern economy. PS: I like a lot of art and often enjoy “free” short story’s online more than the professionally produced kind. From what I have seen art with a price tag tends to be less interesting and focuses on entertainment or exploitation more than novelty. If I liked the kind of music produced for money today I might be more inclined to support music copyright, but as I don’t I see little value in keeping things the way they are. So it’s not like I want to have all the musicians in the world shot, I just don’t feel they create any value for me. Edit: I avoided saying "Raving like a lunatic does not support your argument." when writting this, but you have not supported your argument so I tried to answer what I assumed was your basic standpoint. I would like to apologies that this post might seem long and unclear if you have a substantial point feel free to make it and I will try to respond.

unalone 17y ago
You're allowed to have your opinion. Of course you are. I simply fail to see how your stating it here was contributing a whit to the conversation. I was trying to state an opinion re: the record labels, and your opinion that music is worthless wasn't a counterpoint. All it was was snide. But it's fairly obvious how little you know about the things you've chosen to discuss. The way that you label art as "with a price tag" and "free" proves you know such a little amount that you'd assume it's simplistic enough to categorize on who's charging and who's not. That's a child's argument. That's how I talked about art when I was fourteen years old. I'm not arguing with you because I want to debate you about music or about art. I have stated clearly that I think discussing art on this forum isn't worth the payoff, not when there are knowledgeable people willing to have actual conversations elsewhere. Rather, I am arguing that your position is uneducated and nonsensical, and that by attempting to state it like it's a valid point you're degrading yourself and this thread. Admit that perhaps there's more between heaven and earth than you've dreamt, and we will shake hands and part ways. But you seem to think that my telling you you're uneducated is "raving like a lunatic", so perhaps this conversation's over already.
- Retric 17y ago
  Copyright has societal cost which I in a small way pay for though taxes. Thus the discussion of copyright is a political topic and failing to understand others viewpoints in a political discussion is dangerous. As to free vs. “price tag” I include any and all forms of advertizing. I directly spend far more money on Art than the average American due in large part to a ridicules disposable income. My sister has made most of her money selling Art and I have supported her in that for years. However, while I am far more willing than most Americans to support Art, I have little tolerance for music and I am part of the growing backlash against the music industry as it stands today. If you hope to support yourself as an artist you need to understand the culture of art, and the people willing to remove all support from your form of Art. Thus, if you feel the need to protect the music industry you actually need to develop a reasonable argument in support of your viewpoint. PS: There is a reasonable chance that there will be no copyright protection for music within the United States at some point in my lifetime, conceder how that might affect you. Edit: If you don't understand why something is being said, becoming dismissive is childish. That’s honestly meant as constructive criticism, but feel free to be insulted.