4 ms·

I am like this guy with most things. I like good tools. Though one thing that the author does not mention is that expensive is not necessarily better. As a stu

I am like this guy with most things. I like good tools. Though one thing that the author does not mention is that expensive is not necessarily better. As a student I used a cross pencil because they provided the most comfortable pencil(The cushion tip is a mandatory feature in my mechanical pencils). Now I switched to a cheaper draft/matic mechanical pencil that provides a superior writing experience at a more reasonable price point.

jodrellblank 17y ago
Liking good tools isn't the same thing as being an upyourself arse. Being the most discerning doesn't make you a better person, it just makes you less happy more of the time. The recent X-Men: Origins film is a good point - look around the net at some reviews, there's an awful lot of criticism going on. I enjoyed it, discerning people didn't. We're both out two hours and the cost of a ticket. Which is a better situation to be in?
- tlrobinson 17y ago
  I would agree, even though I consider myself one of those people (for certain things). My problem isn't with the discerning characteristic, it's the attitude of superiority that often comes with it. Of course I probably give off that attitude sometimes...
- dkarl 17y ago
  The person who is discerning has a more active and challenging experience. Plus, a person with critical ability (one step further) can discuss the experience with another such person. For instance, I can't really talk about a cup of coffee I just drank, but I can talk about a movie I just saw. That adds an extra dimension to seeing a movie with someone: talking about it afterwards. Of course a lot of the motivation for being discerning, especially in regard to food and drink, is class aspiration. Money isn't enough. Urban and suburban Americans engage in a lot of competition to see who can live the most enlightened and refined lifestyle. It isn't the most productive way that energy could be channeled, but considering it's an expression of some of our basest, most ruthlessly hierarchical human tendencies, we could do a hell of a lot worse.
  - jodrellblank 17y ago
    The person who is discerning has a more active and challenging experience Eh? Surely it's more challenging to enjoy a mediocre film than a really enjoyable one? To create a good picture from a point and shoot camera than a $4k DSLR? To be happy with a $800 used car is more challenging than being happy with a $60k luxury car. Isn't it?
    - dkarl 17y ago
      Discernment is about perception, about recognizing a difference between things. It's only harder to enjoy an inferior product if you can discern the difference. Discernment can offer some advantages, though. A movie can be bad in interesting ways, or simply interesting in spite of being bad. Plus, the more qualities you can appreciate about something, the more likely you are to find something redeeming about it.

jodrellblank 17y ago

Liking good tools isn't the same thing as being an upyourself arse. Being the most discerning doesn't make you a better person, it just makes you less happy more of the time. The recent X-Men: Origins film is a good point - look around the net at some reviews, there's an awful lot of criticism going on. I enjoyed it, discerning people didn't. We're both out two hours and the cost of a ticket. Which is a better situation to be in?

tlrobinson 17y ago
I would agree, even though I consider myself one of those people (for certain things). My problem isn't with the discerning characteristic, it's the attitude of superiority that often comes with it. Of course I probably give off that attitude sometimes...
dkarl 17y ago
The person who is discerning has a more active and challenging experience. Plus, a person with critical ability (one step further) can discuss the experience with another such person. For instance, I can't really talk about a cup of coffee I just drank, but I can talk about a movie I just saw. That adds an extra dimension to seeing a movie with someone: talking about it afterwards. Of course a lot of the motivation for being discerning, especially in regard to food and drink, is class aspiration. Money isn't enough. Urban and suburban Americans engage in a lot of competition to see who can live the most enlightened and refined lifestyle. It isn't the most productive way that energy could be channeled, but considering it's an expression of some of our basest, most ruthlessly hierarchical human tendencies, we could do a hell of a lot worse.
- jodrellblank 17y ago
  The person who is discerning has a more active and challenging experience Eh? Surely it's more challenging to enjoy a mediocre film than a really enjoyable one? To create a good picture from a point and shoot camera than a $4k DSLR? To be happy with a $800 used car is more challenging than being happy with a $60k luxury car. Isn't it?
  - dkarl 17y ago
    Discernment is about perception, about recognizing a difference between things. It's only harder to enjoy an inferior product if you can discern the difference. Discernment can offer some advantages, though. A movie can be bad in interesting ways, or simply interesting in spite of being bad. Plus, the more qualities you can appreciate about something, the more likely you are to find something redeeming about it.