4 ms·
I guess a lot of it comes down to quality of instruction. One of my most eye opening experiences as an English major was when I turned an essay about a religio
by lemmsjid 13y ago
I guess a lot of it comes down to quality of instruction. One of my most eye opening experiences as an English major was when I turned an essay about a religious text (honestly I forget which one). The essay used a writing style that intentionally aped Nietzche's "Twilight of the Idols" to eviscerate the idea of religiosity. It was the type of essay I was used to getting an A on, because I was showing off all of my pedestrian literary and rhetorical flourishes to please an already-converted audience.
I got a fail on the paper and a summons to the professor's office. He raked me over the coals for failing to do the most important thing--respect the material. After all, what was I trying to achieve? Ultimately, nothing--I was just spewing my anger at religion, in the same way that stereotypical fundamentalists spew their anger at infidels. Like a hurt animal, I was using my best offensive skill--a young adroitness with language--to make a childish swipe at something beyond my understanding.
In other words, he called me out for my empty intellectual exercises. I was hurt and broken. Then I mended myself, and I thank him forever for doing that.
- pjbrunet 13y agoWould you like fries with that?
- nooron 13y agoHe or she wrote a sincere and earnest comment. Please show yourself out.
- abraininavat 13y agoConsider that maybe you missed pjbrunet's point.
- nooron 13y agoPerhaps so. If pjbrunet was making a clever joke, I suppose I owe them an apology.
- lemmsjid 13y agoI dunno, I missed it too. Maybe something to do with the economic use of a personal epiphany? Either way I appreciate your response, and your openness to be wrong.
- foobarbazqux 13y ago> Would you like fries with that? This was a snide remark about education as emotional entertainment, a bourgeois pleasure if there ever was one. Alternatively, it was about some claim that English majors are likely to be employed at fast food establishments. Alternatively alternatively, it was about the fast food nature of the life experience gained in an English course. Any other interpretations?
- VLM 13y agoHow about, you can make fun of religion while working at mcdonalds, get yelled at for it, and improve your life and outlook. From a systems analysis perspective for that one small task its a more efficient vehicle/tool than education. It is a pretty simple and straightforward lesson that doesn't need to be needlessly complicated. I can get insights from literature... and other things. I can also DO other things. Lit as the only source of insight is inaccurate, misleading, and inefficient. Don't confuse this with the logical opposite and assume I'm saying there's no insight in lit... I love to read, especially the "good stuff". I just acknowledge there's a whole world out there.
- pjbrunet 13y ago"At the time, if anyone had asked me "what are you going to 'do' with that? what about the economics?" (and I know this, because they did), I would have said that economics aren't everything. Are they?" While I was in art school, I can't count the number of times I heard the phrase: "Would you like fries with that?" #2 was always something about underwater basketweaving. I guess the humor/affirmation didn't translate. Maybe I hit "reply" too far down, took a while for the fries thing to bubble up from 19 years ago. Maybe not such a common phrase in this context as it was back then.
- nooron 13y agoHaha, oh goodness. It seems an apology is actually due. Sorry, pjbrunet-- I thought your remark quite mean-spirited on the first go. But I'm delighted to know my interpretation was incorrect!
- pjbrunet 13y agoWhoever initially decided to repurpose McDonald's sales language, I passed the downvotes to them. Coincidentally, my girlfriend/classmate worked at McDonald's through college. She took no student loans. (Her father was kicked out of our school for clearing the dean's desk in response to "Poor boys like you don't belong here.") I expected to make six-figures as a digital artist (somewhere like ILM) straight out of college and the economy was thriving. Maybe that's why I blew off the basketweaving jabs. But as this thread demonstrates, maybe those were missed opportunities to discuss artistic ideals, why potential suffering would be worth it. At that point I had no idea some writers literally ate dog food to survive while working on their books or that an artist like DeKooning nearly lost his teeth from starvation. What was the real intent behind "Would you like fries with that?" I don't know. But it has a ring to it ;-)
- pondababa 13y agoThis is one of the reasons I hate Nietzche.