3 ms·

Some things are just easier to reply to. On my way from work I see tonnes of people, all with their phones out, just flicking up, like, up, like, up, like, with

by wvh 9y ago

Some things are just easier to reply to. On my way from work I see tonnes of people, all with their phones out, just flicking up, like, up, like, up, like, without even checking what's in the pictures. I'm not sure I understand the value of receiving "x likes". I'm too old and a(media)social to know the platforms people use these days, but I guess those platforms don't lend themselves to the writing of large insightful essays. On a bus. With a phone. And I think most people won't, anyway. I think you really need to be a certain kind of person to want to see and reply something trite to every picture of your "inner circle"; as I'm really on the other side of that spectrum, I can't really understand the motivation of the replier or happiness of the content poster. If you want to kill yourself, please come and talk to me, but please don't bore/harass me with pictures of your breakfast. I have a baby girl; I don't understand why I'd post pictures and check how many people like them. I don't see the value; (to me) it's nothing more but a social charade. Maybe I'm too far on the autistic spectrum to be certain types of social. Luckily, when you don't crave the attention yourself, you don't have to be part of the game.

rayiner 9y ago
> I'm too old and a(media)social to know the platforms people use these days, but I guess those platforms don't lend themselves to the writing of large insightful essays. On a bus. With a phone. And I think most people won't, anyway. I'd much rather look at pictures of your kids than read your "insightful essays." Most essays, even ones appearing in respectable publications, are little more than a patchwork of spin, guessing, and questionable assumptions connected with questionable reasoning.[1] I'm probably on the other side of the spectrum, but I don't really want to hear your ideas. I want to share your human experiences. That feeling when you watch your toddler develop enough motor skills to pick up food, but not enough to put it in her mouth. The happiness at your wedding. Your pride at cooking a meal for your family. Those are the things that are real, genuine, and true. [1] Think about how inaccurate every article you read in the press is about any scientific topic you come across. They are no more accurate about the topics you know less about. For example, this article has been making the rounds on my Facebook: https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/07/canada-america-taxes/533847 https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/07/canada-.... It's based entirely on a false premise: that because U.S. tax rates are lower than in Canada, U.S. public spending is lower. In reality, per-capita non-military public spending in the U.S. is quite significantly higher than in Canada. And this is a "respectable" author appearing in a "respectable" publication! This is the trash clogging up the Internet; not baby pictures.
- wvh 9y ago
  Well, I'd say both articles and pictures can be good or bad... I guess it's about your mind. I want to decipher the world, in scientific terms, and I don't care about personal angles. Yes, you have to filter a lot of opinion and filler, but I want real information. I probably could live easier without personal information at all than without interesting stuff to study. Mind you, I'm somewhat on the autistic scale, and I am well aware that most people have a greater need for personal connection and social inclusion. I can't look at pictures of a social event and not see the mechanics behind the behaviours, like it's hard to enjoy a movie if you can't suspend disbelief. To me, a baby trying to eat is mostly just an image of neurons trying to organise. I don't understand wedding pictures because I don't understand marriage, why people have to go through a weird social routine/tradition to declare that they want to be together. I have feelings and emotions of course, but stuff gets very boring very quickly if there's no "actual" information to go with it.
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by wvh 9y ago

rayiner 9y ago

> I'm too old and a(media)social to know the platforms people use these days, but I guess those platforms don't lend themselves to the writing of large insightful essays. On a bus. With a phone. And I think most people won't, anyway. I'd much rather look at pictures of your kids than read your "insightful essays." Most essays, even ones appearing in respectable publications, are little more than a patchwork of spin, guessing, and questionable assumptions connected with questionable reasoning.[1] I'm probably on the other side of the spectrum, but I don't really want to hear your ideas. I want to share your human experiences. That feeling when you watch your toddler develop enough motor skills to pick up food, but not enough to put it in her mouth. The happiness at your wedding. Your pride at cooking a meal for your family. Those are the things that are real, genuine, and true. [1] Think about how inaccurate every article you read in the press is about any scientific topic you come across. They are no more accurate about the topics you know less about. For example, this article has been making the rounds on my Facebook: https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/07/canada-america-taxes/533847 https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/07/canada-.... It's based entirely on a false premise: that because U.S. tax rates are lower than in Canada, U.S. public spending is lower. In reality, per-capita non-military public spending in the U.S. is quite significantly higher than in Canada. And this is a "respectable" author appearing in a "respectable" publication! This is the trash clogging up the Internet; not baby pictures.

wvh 9y ago
Well, I'd say both articles and pictures can be good or bad... I guess it's about your mind. I want to decipher the world, in scientific terms, and I don't care about personal angles. Yes, you have to filter a lot of opinion and filler, but I want real information. I probably could live easier without personal information at all than without interesting stuff to study. Mind you, I'm somewhat on the autistic scale, and I am well aware that most people have a greater need for personal connection and social inclusion. I can't look at pictures of a social event and not see the mechanics behind the behaviours, like it's hard to enjoy a movie if you can't suspend disbelief. To me, a baby trying to eat is mostly just an image of neurons trying to organise. I don't understand wedding pictures because I don't understand marriage, why people have to go through a weird social routine/tradition to declare that they want to be together. I have feelings and emotions of course, but stuff gets very boring very quickly if there's no "actual" information to go with it.
- deleted 9y ago
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