Introspection and Self-Discovery

[tyrannosaurus vex]

I just realized something about myself.

- I often value humor over thoughtful discussion, even when humor is clearly inappropriate or disruptive.
- I have the attention span of a gnat trapped in my deadbeat cousin's bag of meth.
- I am twice as likely to try to convince you of my position than to listen to your position, for fear that I might agree with it.
- I cruise the Internet in search of funny pictures, many times to the exclusion of everything else.
- I begin at least half of my sentences with I.

On their own, each of these things is awful, but together, they can only mean one thing. One terrible thing.

I am a Facebook Discordian.

This sounds like I'm just being silly, and I am because it's part of my condition.

But is there hope?

[The Dark Monk]

Nope.

[The Johnny]

How old are you?

Those elements yuo mention sure are bad for discussion, but now that you realized it you can do something about it.

Also, the internet, for me at least, can be cheap use of leisure time. It can also be an efficient research support technique that is conveniently neighboured by a word processor.

When im working on something i have to turn in, my work is 70% computer sided.

When im on leisure time, i prioritize staying healthy (cooking, working out) and if i have the money and somewhere fun or nice to go, rather do that.

[tyrannosaurus vex]

How old are you?

Those elements yuo mention sure are bad for discussion, but now that you realized it you can do something about it.

Also, the internet, for me at least, can be cheap use of leisure time. It can also be an efficient research support technique that is conveniently neighboured by a word processor.

When im working on something i have to turn in, my work is 70% computer sided.

When im on leisure time, i prioritize staying healthy (cooking, working out) and if i have the money and somewhere fun or nice to go, rather do that.

I'm 30, so dead, more or less.

The Internet stopped being informative probably 5 or 6 years ago. It was around that time that it became increasingly unidirectional, like TV, as opposed to the Good Old Days™ of BBS and Usenet and IRC, when the whole thing was a bunch of people on connections so slow they only data they could consume was information from other users in the form of actual words. Today, information is free but worthless. Back then, information was free, worthless, and informative.

I do not know what leisure time is.

[Bu☆ns]

Could you do the discordian thing the most effective way if you continued to use the old way of going about things?  Considering the medium, the only way to be effective is to operate under the conditions you listed above beginning with "I."

[tyrannosaurus vex]

Could you do the discordian thing the most effective way if you continued to use the old way of going about things?  Considering the medium, the only way to be effective is to operate under the conditions you listed above beginning with "I."

Every good revolution begins with a troll? Maybe, but why is the Internet like that? Is it information overload that short-circuits people's attention span and priorities? Is it the illusion of having a permanent soapbox that makes people stop listening, because they're too busy barking out their own half-cocked ideas? Is responding in kind really the only way to counteract that? It seems counterproductive.

Recent events on this forum alone show that people shouting past each other doesn't get anywhere, and you have to have already arrived at something like mutual respect (or at least recognition) to even get to that dead-end.

Is there any form of in-depth, meaningful discussion that the masses aren't already completely immune to?

[The Johnny]

I'm 30, so dead, more or less.

The Internet stopped being informative probably 5 or 6 years ago. It was around that time that it became increasingly unidirectional, like TV, as opposed to the Good Old Days™ of BBS and Usenet and IRC, when the whole thing was a bunch of people on connections so slow they only data they could consume was information from other users in the form of actual words. Today, information is free but worthless. Back then, information was free, worthless, and informative.

I do not know what leisure time is.

Well, i personally think the older one gets, the harder or less one tends to change... but the potential always exists to mold one's habits and behaviour.

I dont think blaming "how the internet is now" is useful, rather you should focus the "locus of control" upon yourself, because thats what you can change, the internet wont change for anyone it just is what it is.

Leisure time is free time. I have noticed that when i have only about 2 hours of free time a day, or im under a lot of stress, i fall back into just watching crappy memes or random useless entertaining trash, not anything learnful or useful... when i have a bit more time i do research on stuff i like, like music trivia, reading articles, or even sometimes writing.

Leisure time under stress just seems to be used on relaxing, kind of like indirect meditation by watching funny things, because the main focus is survival.

[Bu☆ns]

Could you do the discordian thing the most effective way if you continued to use the old way of going about things?  Considering the medium, the only way to be effective is to operate under the conditions you listed above beginning with "I."

Every good revolution begins with a troll? Maybe, but why is the Internet like that? Is it information overload that short-circuits people's attention span and priorities? Is it the illusion of having a permanent soapbox that makes people stop listening, because they're too busy barking out their own half-cocked ideas? Is responding in kind really the only way to counteract that? It seems counterproductive.

In my adulthood I've learned more about change through recognizing people who were worth emulating specific to my own personal growth and by following their example.  Their teaching was more through a kind of social osmosis than through a meaningful discussion.  If you want to cause change in others, in my opinion, be a leader and demonstrate how to be.

With that said...

I understand what you're getting at though. I'm not suggesting that we respond in kind necessarily.  One of the things I've learned from being a father is to parent the child I have not the one I want...that is to say work at the kids level and not at the level where I wish him to be.  I think the same formula applies here.  If their attention spans are short, then use that as a component in your master plan.

Recent events on this forum alone show that people shouting past each other doesn't get anywhere, and you have to have already arrived at something like mutual respect (or at least recognition) to even get to that dead-end.

Is there any form of in-depth, meaningful discussion that the masses aren't already completely immune to?

The masses? Probably not...

As far as the PD thing goes, I have no idea.  AFAIK I've had some pretty decent discussions with folks around here. 

[tyrannosaurus vex]

Could you do the discordian thing the most effective way if you continued to use the old way of going about things?  Considering the medium, the only way to be effective is to operate under the conditions you listed above beginning with "I."

Every good revolution begins with a troll? Maybe, but why is the Internet like that? Is it information overload that short-circuits people's attention span and priorities? Is it the illusion of having a permanent soapbox that makes people stop listening, because they're too busy barking out their own half-cocked ideas? Is responding in kind really the only way to counteract that? It seems counterproductive.

In my adulthood I've learned more about change through recognizing people who were worth emulating specific to my own personal growth and by following their example.  Their teaching was more through a kind of social osmosis than through a meaningful discussion.  If you want to cause change in others, in my opinion, be a leader and demonstrate how to be.

With that said...

I understand what you're getting at though. I'm not suggesting that we respond in kind necessarily.  One of the things I've learned from being a father is to parent the child I have not the one I want...that is to say work at the kids level and not at the level where I wish him to be.  I think the same formula applies here.  If their attention spans are short, then use that as a component in your master plan.

Recent events on this forum alone show that people shouting past each other doesn't get anywhere, and you have to have already arrived at something like mutual respect (or at least recognition) to even get to that dead-end.

Is there any form of in-depth, meaningful discussion that the masses aren't already completely immune to?

The masses? Probably not...

As far as the PD thing goes, I have no idea.  AFAIK I've had some pretty decent discussions with folks around here. 

Eh yeah, I'm kind of lazily blurring two ideas there with the PD thing. I don't mean to lump PD with "the masses" so much as my frustration at the masses - not in 'changing' them (lol) but with the fact that most people out there are impenetrable fortresses of ignorance and self-righteousness. I've come to the conclusion that there is no saving them, only making fun of them. And that rubs off on my interactions here, which it shouldn't but it does anyway. There are always better discussions here than on Facebook or at work, to be sure.

[Bu☆ns]

Could you do the discordian thing the most effective way if you continued to use the old way of going about things?  Considering the medium, the only way to be effective is to operate under the conditions you listed above beginning with "I."

Every good revolution begins with a troll? Maybe, but why is the Internet like that? Is it information overload that short-circuits people's attention span and priorities? Is it the illusion of having a permanent soapbox that makes people stop listening, because they're too busy barking out their own half-cocked ideas? Is responding in kind really the only way to counteract that? It seems counterproductive.

In my adulthood I've learned more about change through recognizing people who were worth emulating specific to my own personal growth and by following their example.  Their teaching was more through a kind of social osmosis than through a meaningful discussion.  If you want to cause change in others, in my opinion, be a leader and demonstrate how to be.

With that said...

I understand what you're getting at though. I'm not suggesting that we respond in kind necessarily.  One of the things I've learned from being a father is to parent the child I have not the one I want...that is to say work at the kids level and not at the level where I wish him to be.  I think the same formula applies here.  If their attention spans are short, then use that as a component in your master plan.

Recent events on this forum alone show that people shouting past each other doesn't get anywhere, and you have to have already arrived at something like mutual respect (or at least recognition) to even get to that dead-end.

Is there any form of in-depth, meaningful discussion that the masses aren't already completely immune to?

The masses? Probably not...

As far as the PD thing goes, I have no idea.  AFAIK I've had some pretty decent discussions with folks around here. 

Eh yeah, I'm kind of lazily blurring two ideas there with the PD thing. I don't mean to lump PD with "the masses" so much as my frustration at the masses - not in 'changing' them (lol) but with the fact that most people out there are impenetrable fortresses of ignorance and self-righteousness. I've come to the conclusion that there is no saving them, only making fun of them. And that rubs off on my interactions here, which it shouldn't but it does anyway. There are always better discussions here than on Facebook or at work, to be sure.

I dunno, I changed my dad's opinion about art the other day in an email and, shit that's like winning a gold metal.  Sometimes getting through the impenetrable fortresses of ignorance and self-righteousness comes down to adjusting your frame to something that's closer to theirs.  It might look and feel like cowtowing but it's really more like packet control.

[AFK]

People can always change, age is a cop-out.  I've seen my parents change quite a bit over the years.  (aka loosening up a bit). Start with one or two of these bars you've discovered and try to come up sith some small shifts you can make and see what happens.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

I just realized something about myself.

- I often value humor over thoughtful discussion, even when humor is clearly inappropriate or disruptive.
- I have the attention span of a gnat trapped in my deadbeat cousin's bag of meth.
- I am twice as likely to try to convince you of my position than to listen to your position, for fear that I might agree with it.
- I cruise the Internet in search of funny pictures, many times to the exclusion of everything else.
- I begin at least half of my sentences with I.

On their own, each of these things is awful, but together, they can only mean one thing. One terrible thing.

I am a Facebook Discordian.

This sounds like I'm just being silly, and I am because it's part of my condition.

But is there hope?

Actually, I don't consider you a FB Discordian.  While there are some exceptions (Cram, etc), most of them still seem stuck on the law of fives, etc.

It's kinda dismal, actually.

[Placid Dingo]

I just realized something about myself.

- I often value humor over thoughtful discussion, even when humor is clearly inappropriate or disruptive.
- I have the attention span of a gnat trapped in my deadbeat cousin's bag of meth.
- I am twice as likely to try to convince you of my position than to listen to your position, for fear that I might agree with it.
- I cruise the Internet in search of funny pictures, many times to the exclusion of everything else.
- I begin at least half of my sentences with I.

On their own, each of these things is awful, but together, they can only mean one thing. One terrible thing.

I am a Facebook Discordian.

This sounds like I'm just being silly, and I am because it's part of my condition.

But is there hope?

Actually, I don't consider you a FB Discordian.  While there are some exceptions (Cram, etc), most of them still seem stuck on the law of fives, etc.

It's kinda dismal, actually.

Yeah... it's a different form of communication altogether.

[Faust]

No one actually reads anything on facebook.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

No one actually reads anything on facebook.

That's because it's engineered so that you can't say much.  Character limits, etc...And if you write in notes, nobody sees it.

Also, FB is far more prone to towering rages of butthurt than PD is, so people tend to be non-confrontational.