4 ms·

Hobbies are hobbies. It is bizarre the ways in which people pretend that certain hobbies are more of a waste than others. If this article was about the downfa

by slg 2y ago

Hobbies are hobbies. It is bizarre the ways in which people pretend that certain hobbies are more of a waste than others. If this article was about the downfall of PC Gamer magazine or something similar, I bet the top comment here wouldn't effectively be "good riddance, video games are a waste". I can't help feel that this is in part because of latent misogyny that views hobbies disproportionately enjoyed by women as lesser than those enjoyed by men.

kstrauser 2y ago
[flagged]
- kweingar 2y ago
  Reading HN is caring about what other people do, no?
  - kstrauser 2y ago
    That's an interesting interpretation. I'd be more likely to describe it as engaging in conversation.
    - slg 2y ago
      And you can't engage in conversation about celebrities? You can't learn anything about life, society, your friends, or yourself from reading about and discussing celebrities? It is all a waste, but video games, now that is really doing something.
      - kstrauser 2y ago
        No, I don't think you can get meaningful inside from random celebrity news. As I write this, the front page of people.com features "Jessica Alba's Daughters Look All Grown Up as They Rewear Mom's Decade-Old Dresses: 'Throwing It Back'". I don't think there's anything whatsoever self-improving to take from that. If Taylor Swift has something interesting to say about the economics of music production, I'm all ears. That's something I don't have a view into, and she has a reputation for being smart. I bet she could teach us some things about that. I can't talk myself into having an opinion on her relationship with Travis Kelce beyond "good for them, hope they're happy together". Also, no one else is talking about video games. But yes, I'd find someone passionately talking about gaming -- something they participate in -- more interesting than another person talking about what they'd read about some mundane thing that another person had done. Henry Buckle said[0] > “Men and women range themselves into three classes or orders of intelligence; you can tell the lowest class by their habit of always talking about persons; the next by the fact that their habit is always to converse about things; the highest by their preference for the discussion of ideas.” To each their own, but I'm on Hank's side on this. [0]https://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/11/18/great-minds/ https://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/11/18/great-minds/
        slg 2y ago
        I mean this article is about "What Happened To People Magazine?" and not "People Magazine Is Just As Great And Insightful As It Has Always Been". It seems a little silly to ask me to defend the merits of specific articles on the site now. However, I will point out the strong irony in that appeal to authority you are doing there. Why is what Henry Buckle said any more important than the soon-to-be president like the article's example of the Gerald Ford cover story in People's 4th issue? I guess being born two centuries ago means he isn't a "celebrity" so we can trust him?
BLKNSLVR 2y ago
I would straight up state that celebrity news garbage magazines are of less value to society than PC Gamer. Following celebrity, cough, news, cough, is the precursor to the toxicity of social media. It's not a hobby, it's an inducement of the negative base motivations of humanity; normalisation of negativity. Disclaimer: my understanding of People magazine is as celebrity gossip. I'm not sure if it was more wholesome earlier in it's life. In fact, celebrity gossip itself may have been somewhat more wholesome back in the days when society overall seemed a bit more polite.

by slg 2y ago

kstrauser 2y ago

[flagged]

kweingar 2y ago
Reading HN is caring about what other people do, no?
- kstrauser 2y ago
  That's an interesting interpretation. I'd be more likely to describe it as engaging in conversation.
  - slg 2y ago
    And you can't engage in conversation about celebrities? You can't learn anything about life, society, your friends, or yourself from reading about and discussing celebrities? It is all a waste, but video games, now that is really doing something.
    - kstrauser 2y ago
      No, I don't think you can get meaningful inside from random celebrity news. As I write this, the front page of people.com features "Jessica Alba's Daughters Look All Grown Up as They Rewear Mom's Decade-Old Dresses: 'Throwing It Back'". I don't think there's anything whatsoever self-improving to take from that. If Taylor Swift has something interesting to say about the economics of music production, I'm all ears. That's something I don't have a view into, and she has a reputation for being smart. I bet she could teach us some things about that. I can't talk myself into having an opinion on her relationship with Travis Kelce beyond "good for them, hope they're happy together". Also, no one else is talking about video games. But yes, I'd find someone passionately talking about gaming -- something they participate in -- more interesting than another person talking about what they'd read about some mundane thing that another person had done. Henry Buckle said[0] > “Men and women range themselves into three classes or orders of intelligence; you can tell the lowest class by their habit of always talking about persons; the next by the fact that their habit is always to converse about things; the highest by their preference for the discussion of ideas.” To each their own, but I'm on Hank's side on this. [0]https://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/11/18/great-minds/ https://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/11/18/great-minds/
      - slg 2y ago
        I mean this article is about "What Happened To People Magazine?" and not "People Magazine Is Just As Great And Insightful As It Has Always Been". It seems a little silly to ask me to defend the merits of specific articles on the site now. However, I will point out the strong irony in that appeal to authority you are doing there. Why is what Henry Buckle said any more important than the soon-to-be president like the article's example of the Gerald Ford cover story in People's 4th issue? I guess being born two centuries ago means he isn't a "celebrity" so we can trust him?

BLKNSLVR 2y ago

I would straight up state that celebrity news garbage magazines are of less value to society than PC Gamer. Following celebrity, cough, news, cough, is the precursor to the toxicity of social media. It's not a hobby, it's an inducement of the negative base motivations of humanity; normalisation of negativity. Disclaimer: my understanding of People magazine is as celebrity gossip. I'm not sure if it was more wholesome earlier in it's life. In fact, celebrity gossip itself may have been somewhat more wholesome back in the days when society overall seemed a bit more polite.