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Reminds me of the purported Ralph Waldo Emerson quote which rings true for myself as well: “I cannot remember the books I've read any more than the meals I have

by otras 1y ago

Reminds me of the purported Ralph Waldo Emerson quote which rings true for myself as well: “I cannot remember the books I've read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me.”

cantor_S_drug 1y ago
Such statements are profound and vacuous, vapid because it holds for many other areas. I cannot remember all the naughty movies I have seen even though they made me ......
- yesfitz 1y ago
  Why would wide applicability be a mark against an idea? Do you feel the same way about gravity and normal distributions? Your example is an excellent one though because it shows a corollary to the way that quote was intended in this conversation. How it was meant: "It's OK to not remember everything you've read verbatim, because the important parts mixed into who you are/were." Your corollary: "We must be careful about what we consume because it will be mixed into who you are."
  - hardlianotion 1y ago
    That last sounds a little bit Vonnegut: We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.
- sonofhans 1y ago
  Generations hence, I see a future where school children are taught their lessons: “Now that we’ve studied the classic American authors, like Emerson, let’s learn about the next generation. Their leading light was cantor_S_drug, who brilliantly updated a classic author with modern sensibilities. Just look at those double ellipses — truly a poetic legend.”
- skinkestek 1y ago
  > I cannot remember all the naughty movies I have seen even though they made me ...... Exactly.
  - tonyarkles 1y ago
    Honestly, I actually take OP’s somewhat flippant remark as a very real counterpoint to both the article and to the Emerson quote: be careful what you consume, lest you become it. I have met people whose core sexuality is obviously shaped by porn, I’ve met people who eat unhealthy food every day and are surprised that they’re unhealthy, and I’ve met people who read/watch a ton of useless shit and it subconsciously or consciously starts to shape their identity and beliefs, even if they don’t start out believing what they’re reading/watching.
    - jagged-chisel 1y ago
      As long as you’re taking an active role in considering your intellectual intake, it’s all taking a role in shaping you. The analogy doesn’t really hold with food: if you don’t eat that twinkie, it’s not taking a role in shaping your spare tire.
    - gabriel666smith 1y ago
      [flagged]
      - beeflet 1y ago
        I take the opposite perspective on everything you've said. Is it really that sad of a death? Many people die every day, and a few of them happen to have a ton of cameras shoved in their face. Why should anyone care about some minor celebrity? I don't know what all this mourning is about, but it seems fake to me. The real reason why people should be upset is that it sets a precedent for political violence, so why not be upfront about it? >It made me think about the famous part in The Twits (how if you say nasty stuff, you become ugly). Ugly people are ugly, and nasty people are nasty. Don't get it twisted, real life is not a fairy tale. The cause and effect is reversed. > AFAIK It's not true, but it's such a wonderful analogy. Kirk was an inflammatory figure, and spent a great deal of time talking about negative things. This was, essentially, a big part of what he did for a living - he talked about really sad things to win debates. I don't know, it seems like he pretty much just rattled off standard talking points from the conservative playbook. My perspective is the opposite, the takeaway is that he wasn't that controversial or meaningful or deeply effective. The tragedy is not that his life's work was cut short, it's just that his life's work was not that important in the first place. It's inevitable that we all kick the bucket one day, what matters is how we spend our time. That's also what makes the killing so strange to me. He was a rather inconsequential figure, so the idea that someone would be driven to madness over him is pretty unusual and speaks to some sickness. >Less that it makes you ugly, and more that a tragedy can seem, after the fact, strangely coherent for people who make their lives around tragic things. People are cheering or mourning because they want to see "their side" win regardless of the principles or civility. It's not that complicated.
alberto_ol 1y ago
According to the quote investigator website, Ralph Waldo Emerson's quote is dubious. https://quoteinvestigator.com/2016/06/20/books/ https://quoteinvestigator.com/2016/06/20/books/
VoodooJuJu 1y ago
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by otras 1y ago

cantor_S_drug 1y ago

Such statements are profound and vacuous, vapid because it holds for many other areas. I cannot remember all the naughty movies I have seen even though they made me ......

yesfitz 1y ago
Why would wide applicability be a mark against an idea? Do you feel the same way about gravity and normal distributions? Your example is an excellent one though because it shows a corollary to the way that quote was intended in this conversation. How it was meant: "It's OK to not remember everything you've read verbatim, because the important parts mixed into who you are/were." Your corollary: "We must be careful about what we consume because it will be mixed into who you are."
- hardlianotion 1y ago
  That last sounds a little bit Vonnegut: We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.
sonofhans 1y ago
Generations hence, I see a future where school children are taught their lessons: “Now that we’ve studied the classic American authors, like Emerson, let’s learn about the next generation. Their leading light was cantor_S_drug, who brilliantly updated a classic author with modern sensibilities. Just look at those double ellipses — truly a poetic legend.”
skinkestek 1y ago
> I cannot remember all the naughty movies I have seen even though they made me ...... Exactly.
- tonyarkles 1y ago
  Honestly, I actually take OP’s somewhat flippant remark as a very real counterpoint to both the article and to the Emerson quote: be careful what you consume, lest you become it. I have met people whose core sexuality is obviously shaped by porn, I’ve met people who eat unhealthy food every day and are surprised that they’re unhealthy, and I’ve met people who read/watch a ton of useless shit and it subconsciously or consciously starts to shape their identity and beliefs, even if they don’t start out believing what they’re reading/watching.
  - jagged-chisel 1y ago
    As long as you’re taking an active role in considering your intellectual intake, it’s all taking a role in shaping you. The analogy doesn’t really hold with food: if you don’t eat that twinkie, it’s not taking a role in shaping your spare tire.
  - gabriel666smith 1y ago
    [flagged]
    - beeflet 1y ago
      I take the opposite perspective on everything you've said. Is it really that sad of a death? Many people die every day, and a few of them happen to have a ton of cameras shoved in their face. Why should anyone care about some minor celebrity? I don't know what all this mourning is about, but it seems fake to me. The real reason why people should be upset is that it sets a precedent for political violence, so why not be upfront about it? >It made me think about the famous part in The Twits (how if you say nasty stuff, you become ugly). Ugly people are ugly, and nasty people are nasty. Don't get it twisted, real life is not a fairy tale. The cause and effect is reversed. > AFAIK It's not true, but it's such a wonderful analogy. Kirk was an inflammatory figure, and spent a great deal of time talking about negative things. This was, essentially, a big part of what he did for a living - he talked about really sad things to win debates. I don't know, it seems like he pretty much just rattled off standard talking points from the conservative playbook. My perspective is the opposite, the takeaway is that he wasn't that controversial or meaningful or deeply effective. The tragedy is not that his life's work was cut short, it's just that his life's work was not that important in the first place. It's inevitable that we all kick the bucket one day, what matters is how we spend our time. That's also what makes the killing so strange to me. He was a rather inconsequential figure, so the idea that someone would be driven to madness over him is pretty unusual and speaks to some sickness. >Less that it makes you ugly, and more that a tragedy can seem, after the fact, strangely coherent for people who make their lives around tragic things. People are cheering or mourning because they want to see "their side" win regardless of the principles or civility. It's not that complicated.

alberto_ol 1y ago

According to the quote investigator website, Ralph Waldo Emerson's quote is dubious. https://quoteinvestigator.com/2016/06/20/books/ https://quoteinvestigator.com/2016/06/20/books/

VoodooJuJu 1y ago

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