3 ms·

This is also a Bay Area thing. I've noticed that almost everything must have a bit of hyperbole to even be "Normal"... Imagine if someone says "How did you lik

This is also a Bay Area thing. I've noticed that almost everything must have a bit of hyperbole to even be "Normal"... Imagine if someone says "How did you like X movie?" and you say "Yeah, I liked it". In the bay area that response would be assumed negative. Why go to a certain movie if it's not "Amazing"? Why spend $50 on sushi if it's not "Life changing"? Why wear shoes that are not "The best!" ? This is bay area culture. (it maybe else where too, but I particularly noticed it here)

hardwaregeek 6y ago
I 100% absolutely totally utterly agree with you. It took a bit to get used to people saying "I totally agree with you" only for that to mean that they didn't agree with me. I don't consider myself particularly blunt but in comparison I certainly come off that way.
gumby 6y ago
It’s an American thing.
ZephyrBluu 6y ago
Is there a particular reason for this becoming a cultural norm? My country (NZ) has the opposite culture. It would be really weird to hear people talk with that much hyperbole.
- intellirogue 6y ago
  Yep, in NZ everyone would assume you were being sarcastic.
- WJW 6y ago
  I imagine that the Bay area is more than usually filled with aggressively ambitious people, projecting "fake it till you make it" success to both themselves and others. If everyone around you does the same, anything less than "perfect" makes you a loser, which conflicts with the self image you are cultivating. Therefore, everything must be as amazing as possible just to keep up with the rest. A sort of real life instagram syndrome if you will. NZ (and other parts of the world as well, like the Nordic countries) have a similar reinforcing loop but in reverse. Excess boasting is seen as offensive, so nobody does it, so the average behavior trends towards modesty, making boasting stand out even more.
mattigames 6y ago
I despite such level of hyperbole, I would just twist all those sayings if I lived there just to mess with people: "This sushi is so non-life changing! Still worth it tho" "This kebab is not to die for, but definitely at least to suffer for!" "This shoes are the best, not like with capital B but still the best"

hardwaregeek 6y ago

I 100% absolutely totally utterly agree with you. It took a bit to get used to people saying "I totally agree with you" only for that to mean that they didn't agree with me. I don't consider myself particularly blunt but in comparison I certainly come off that way.

gumby 6y ago

It’s an American thing.

ZephyrBluu 6y ago

Is there a particular reason for this becoming a cultural norm? My country (NZ) has the opposite culture. It would be really weird to hear people talk with that much hyperbole.

intellirogue 6y ago
Yep, in NZ everyone would assume you were being sarcastic.
WJW 6y ago
I imagine that the Bay area is more than usually filled with aggressively ambitious people, projecting "fake it till you make it" success to both themselves and others. If everyone around you does the same, anything less than "perfect" makes you a loser, which conflicts with the self image you are cultivating. Therefore, everything must be as amazing as possible just to keep up with the rest. A sort of real life instagram syndrome if you will. NZ (and other parts of the world as well, like the Nordic countries) have a similar reinforcing loop but in reverse. Excess boasting is seen as offensive, so nobody does it, so the average behavior trends towards modesty, making boasting stand out even more.

mattigames 6y ago

I despite such level of hyperbole, I would just twist all those sayings if I lived there just to mess with people: "This sushi is so non-life changing! Still worth it tho" "This kebab is not to die for, but definitely at least to suffer for!" "This shoes are the best, not like with capital B but still the best"