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Why does every post on here need someone coming in explaining how it's wrong in some way. It's not only disingenuous, but outright wrong to assume the author w

Why does every post on here need someone coming in explaining how it's wrong in some way. It's not only disingenuous, but outright wrong to assume the author was saying "be weird for the sake of being weird." He's saying he is weird, and that's OK, just he won't see a lot of good in it in high school. You're acting like he's advocating becoming a hipster, a straw man you invented.

endersshadow 15y ago
Did you come in looking for a fight? Daniel clearly stated that he thought the argument was a good one, but it's too easy to take the extreme from the headline (or miss the point of the essay entirely), and say that being "weird" is good in and of itself. It's not, clearly. What he's saying is, find your passion and damn the social torpedoes, because it'll all work out in the end. Daniel's point was that being "weird" for the sake of it is not really the point of the essay. He was not creating any type of straw man. You read it too fast or not at all if you think he was.
- dclowd9901 15y ago
  "But I'd be careful not to take this argument too far into sophistry." "But there's nothing to be gained in being different in itself." The essay needed no cautionary caveat, and that's what Daniel purported it was missing. I posit it was missing nothing at all, and that only the most hopelessly pedantic interpretation of it would call for an explanation of exception. So, no, not looking for for a fight, just a little tired the "making a point for the sake of making a point."
  - knowtheory 15y ago
    A difficulty i have is that it sounds like you're nit-picking OP, claiming that he's nit-picking. The reason why I bring this up is that i don't think Daniel's point is a small one. And perhaps he hasn't couched it in the most benign of ways (although it is pretty benign), there is a difference between saying "Be true to yourself" and "Being different is okay". It may well be the case that these two things coincide occasionally, but i agree with Daniel that conflating the two misstates what sucks about high school, and how life may change in the future.
ucr 15y ago
Why does every post on here need someone coming in explaining how it's wrong in some way. Because that's how conversations are built. You either find something to agree with, or you find something to disagree with. Both are useful; even better is doing both at the same time. But if you notice, you basically did the same exact thing you're complaining against.
pascalr 15y ago
I barely look at comments now because it's too often about little flaws and rarely about the main idea. You don't learn by arguing, it's pointless. Someone cannot be told the truth, he has to learn it by himself. "I can only show you the door, you have to walk through it.", Morpheus. I'd like to see comments about how to improve the idea and making even better, but I haven't found a single comment that does this yet.. The only valuable comments I found were links to other documents or a joke once.
- Retric 15y ago
  Don't read to far into kids's movies. http://xkcd.com/566/ http://xkcd.com/566/
  - pascalr 15y ago
    It isn't just a kid's movie. You should watch it again. Check on Google for "best philosophical movies" and it's always in the top 10.
    - Retric 15y ago
      If you want deep science fiction that's still accessible, I would suggest 'the cold equations'. It's not a high budget film, but it captures the essence of classic science fiction instead of the Disneyland crap that makes up most of those lists.
earbitscom 15y ago
Completely agree. Inspiring post. The author never said anything besides, don't conform, stay true to yourself. A disclaimer wasn't needed, and I rolled my eyes the minute I started reading the parent comment.

endersshadow 15y ago

Did you come in looking for a fight? Daniel clearly stated that he thought the argument was a good one, but it's too easy to take the extreme from the headline (or miss the point of the essay entirely), and say that being "weird" is good in and of itself. It's not, clearly. What he's saying is, find your passion and damn the social torpedoes, because it'll all work out in the end. Daniel's point was that being "weird" for the sake of it is not really the point of the essay. He was not creating any type of straw man. You read it too fast or not at all if you think he was.

dclowd9901 15y ago
"But I'd be careful not to take this argument too far into sophistry." "But there's nothing to be gained in being different in itself." The essay needed no cautionary caveat, and that's what Daniel purported it was missing. I posit it was missing nothing at all, and that only the most hopelessly pedantic interpretation of it would call for an explanation of exception. So, no, not looking for for a fight, just a little tired the "making a point for the sake of making a point."
- knowtheory 15y ago
  A difficulty i have is that it sounds like you're nit-picking OP, claiming that he's nit-picking. The reason why I bring this up is that i don't think Daniel's point is a small one. And perhaps he hasn't couched it in the most benign of ways (although it is pretty benign), there is a difference between saying "Be true to yourself" and "Being different is okay". It may well be the case that these two things coincide occasionally, but i agree with Daniel that conflating the two misstates what sucks about high school, and how life may change in the future.

ucr 15y ago

Why does every post on here need someone coming in explaining how it's wrong in some way. Because that's how conversations are built. You either find something to agree with, or you find something to disagree with. Both are useful; even better is doing both at the same time. But if you notice, you basically did the same exact thing you're complaining against.

pascalr 15y ago

I barely look at comments now because it's too often about little flaws and rarely about the main idea. You don't learn by arguing, it's pointless. Someone cannot be told the truth, he has to learn it by himself. "I can only show you the door, you have to walk through it.", Morpheus. I'd like to see comments about how to improve the idea and making even better, but I haven't found a single comment that does this yet.. The only valuable comments I found were links to other documents or a joke once.

Retric 15y ago
Don't read to far into kids's movies. http://xkcd.com/566/ http://xkcd.com/566/
- pascalr 15y ago
  It isn't just a kid's movie. You should watch it again. Check on Google for "best philosophical movies" and it's always in the top 10.
  - Retric 15y ago
    If you want deep science fiction that's still accessible, I would suggest 'the cold equations'. It's not a high budget film, but it captures the essence of classic science fiction instead of the Disneyland crap that makes up most of those lists.

earbitscom 15y ago

Completely agree. Inspiring post. The author never said anything besides, don't conform, stay true to yourself. A disclaimer wasn't needed, and I rolled my eyes the minute I started reading the parent comment.