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Related to his original idea: I think it's simply fantastic. Not only does it help avoid writers block (You constantly have a stream of stories to create), but
by adt2bt 13y ago
Related to his original idea: I think it's simply fantastic. Not only does it help avoid writers block (You constantly have a stream of stories to create), but it's forced practice. Nobody says Mozart's first few works were brilliant. It wasn't until he practiced for years that he became a virtuoso. An approach like this, while easy to view from the lens of simply making people happy, is an investment in one's creativity and writing skill that will pay off in leaps and bounds years down the line.
It's just so unfortunate that the internet makes it so hard. You're either loved, hated, or ignored. He, thanks to an unlucky picture angle and loss of context, fell into the 'hated' category by many. I applaud the effort to just do it. It is funny how many view the real world as hard and the internet as an easy escape, yet in his experience, it was just the opposite.
- abraininavat 13y agoYou're either loved, hated, or ignored I'm curious what you'd suggest as an alternative. To have strong, passionate, but neutral, feelings about people?
- resu_nimda 13y agoThe alternative is to have less strong and passionate feelings. Like "Oh I wouldn't really do that but that's cool that he is." Why would one need to have such strong opinions about a random guy in a picture? I think the point is that the hivemind/bandwagon/mob mentality pushes everything to an extreme, because the people with more neutral opinions aren't very motivated to post them.
- txutxu 13y agoIn the little town where I did born, you're loved or hated. You can't be ignored in a little town. I've noticed more and more about this, as I move across the world.
- adbachman 13y agoHow about strong passionate acceptance or tolerance? A resolute desire to give strangers the same consideration you hope to receive from people who don't know you.
- the_french 13y agoBesides, using a typewriter is really the only viable way for him to do this. If he used a computer he would have to deal with power, printers etc... If he handwrote it then there would be the issue of legibility, consistency and fatigue. A typewriter is a great for the purpose he used it for, it allows him to print his story as he writes it with no additional equipment.
- bryanlarsen 13y ago"Nobody says Mozart's first few works were brilliant. It wasn't until he practiced for years that he became a virtuoso." Are you trying to be ironic? Mozart's first work was http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andante_in_C_for_Keyboard_%28Mozart%29#Andante_in_C.2C_K._1a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andante_in_C_for_Keyboard_%28Mo..., written when he was 5 years old. Mozart's the canonical example of somebody who didn't have to practice for years. Obviously he did spend thousands of hours practising as he grew up, but that's a nuanced argument. You'd be much better choosing pretty much anybody else for your example.
- keammo1 13y ago"Mozart's the canonical example of somebody who didn't have to practice for years." I'm assuming the parent was referring to information presented in the book Outliers, which provides a counter-argument to this
- adt2bt 13y agoYou are correct. In fact, I just drove x-country and Outliers was one of the books I listened to on the way. I haven't had the time to cross-check much of the information, as I just took most of what Gladwell wrote as fact (even if this was just an opinion).
- gcanyon 13y agoNot to beat on Gladwell (more than a bit) but I tend to double-check most of what he says.
- bqe 13y agoI love Gladwell's writing (he writes some of the most entertaining non-fiction around), but it is wise to take some of his more outlandish claims with a grain or two of salt. He takes anecdotes to be almost evidence, especially in Outliers.
- eigenvalue 13y ago