Norm, we went back and forth recently about the notion that "Comedy is tragedy plus time." Perhaps "Comedy is radical insecurity fully exposed." Your variations of "All Kinds of Funny" are, well, funny.
In the same way that confident (looking) folks turn you off, the same can be said for certainty. The biggest dipshits I know are certain about everything. (And, to my credit, I may be wrong...)
Man, do I agree with this. Give me hope. Give me optimism. Back both of those up with effort and kindness. But take that certainty and shove it up your ass.
Thanks! I'm endlessly baffled and amused by people who lack self-awareness, i.e. they think they're firefighters and have no clue that they're pyromaniacal turds.
Norm, what's the difference between someone who "want(s) evidence. Not just a little proof... a pattern of evidence that’s been kicked and stepped on... a history that’s been shaken, poked, and prodded", and "conspiracy theorists who “do their own research.”? I think you're more confident than you'd like to admit.
This is a great question! I think the difference is that conspiracy theorists have a narcissistic inclination. They want to believe they're in the know, that they put the pieces together and figured out something that everyone else has missed. And I have definitely fallen into that trap--I'm no angel. But it feels singular to me, which is to say it's got a hubristic quality in so much as it denies or ignores other people and their ideas if those people and ideas interfere with the dopamine spike. Compare that to a peer-reviewed scientist who submits to others, all of whom agree on reason and logic and a process for arriving at the truth. This approach is contingent upon plurality--people, not a person. There's a collective in pursuit of reality versus the lone wolf who thinks he knows better than historians, scientists, experts in the field, etc. I say all this, and I concede that I might be wrong. Most conspiracist theorists I've met don't make that concession. Their certainty is... unsettling. :)
So many great points here. There are certainly people who fall into the category of being myopic about their findings, and they can get very dogmatic about sharing it. That said, sometimes (and I’m not talking about extreme behaviours here) they just need someone to be willing to have a conversation. I think that more people need to be sceptical about two things: believing what they’re told by “experts” (meaning people who appear to have more knowledge about something - key word being ‘appear’), and that what we see is what we get. There is so much we don’t know - sometimes that’s to our benefit and sometimes it’s not. If more people were willing to humbly accept that they don’t have all the answers, we could all get on much better.
Confidence has variations. The genuine confidence is the top banana. The narcissist lives at the bottom. Retainer dude sounds like the latter.
Definitely the latter.
Retainer dude's confidence is borrowed, like the money to lease, not buy, the cars. The swagger is all his.
This is a perfect extended metaphor. No notes.
Where is he today? Hope his teeth are straightened.
I sort of hope they're not. He lacked character. A snaggletooth would do his soul some good.
Norm, we went back and forth recently about the notion that "Comedy is tragedy plus time." Perhaps "Comedy is radical insecurity fully exposed." Your variations of "All Kinds of Funny" are, well, funny.
In the same way that confident (looking) folks turn you off, the same can be said for certainty. The biggest dipshits I know are certain about everything. (And, to my credit, I may be wrong...)
Man, do I agree with this. Give me hope. Give me optimism. Back both of those up with effort and kindness. But take that certainty and shove it up your ass.
Then again… I could be wrong.
My LOL moment came at "people mistake your grease fire for an unusually warm kitchen."
Thanks. I needed the laugh.
Thanks! I'm endlessly baffled and amused by people who lack self-awareness, i.e. they think they're firefighters and have no clue that they're pyromaniacal turds.
Right on the money Leonard.
Just don't invest that money in an adjustable-rate mortgage. ;)
Norm, what's the difference between someone who "want(s) evidence. Not just a little proof... a pattern of evidence that’s been kicked and stepped on... a history that’s been shaken, poked, and prodded", and "conspiracy theorists who “do their own research.”? I think you're more confident than you'd like to admit.
This is a great question! I think the difference is that conspiracy theorists have a narcissistic inclination. They want to believe they're in the know, that they put the pieces together and figured out something that everyone else has missed. And I have definitely fallen into that trap--I'm no angel. But it feels singular to me, which is to say it's got a hubristic quality in so much as it denies or ignores other people and their ideas if those people and ideas interfere with the dopamine spike. Compare that to a peer-reviewed scientist who submits to others, all of whom agree on reason and logic and a process for arriving at the truth. This approach is contingent upon plurality--people, not a person. There's a collective in pursuit of reality versus the lone wolf who thinks he knows better than historians, scientists, experts in the field, etc. I say all this, and I concede that I might be wrong. Most conspiracist theorists I've met don't make that concession. Their certainty is... unsettling. :)
So many great points here. There are certainly people who fall into the category of being myopic about their findings, and they can get very dogmatic about sharing it. That said, sometimes (and I’m not talking about extreme behaviours here) they just need someone to be willing to have a conversation. I think that more people need to be sceptical about two things: believing what they’re told by “experts” (meaning people who appear to have more knowledge about something - key word being ‘appear’), and that what we see is what we get. There is so much we don’t know - sometimes that’s to our benefit and sometimes it’s not. If more people were willing to humbly accept that they don’t have all the answers, we could all get on much better.
Agreed! I think the three most important sentences in the English language all have three words.
I love you.
I am sorry.
I don’t know.
And the fourth is: A rabbi, a priest, and a minster walk into a bar…
Wise man, and funny!