100TH POST!!!!!!!
A great finish to an all-around worthless use of cyberspace ;)
Illuminable Soda =o
Day in Review
probably a good decision
unless…wait for it…
Thing I did most today: eat.
Thing I did least today: work.
Worst thing I did today: not buy presents.
Best thing I did today: unfollow illuminablesoda.
Haven’t posted one of these in a while ;)
Arguments on the Internet…
very well, i concede the point: watching sporting events is not irrational, but it is extremely selfish
and i must further concede: i am a hypocrite in many ways - but this does not invalidate the force of my opinions! but only shows the weakness of my own character
=o <me, so glad we worked this out
1. i never said i didn’t enjoy watching the basketball game
Okay, so I’m confused why it’s irrational…
2. i never have said all people should lead the rational life; that was Socrates
I like how you don’t actually take a stance on this, so let’s assume by the way you said it you meant that we have no obligation to lead the rational life, in which case this argument is moot, because calling anything irrational vs. rational has no consequence, and really has no meaning…
1. if all the people who spent every friday, sunday and monday watching some game (hundreds of thousands of people) instead did something useful for other people, there might be a greater return in goodness
Ditto for video games, wasting time doing other things, etc.
2. if all the money that was spent to fund the sports team and all the money that went into purchasing team-logo paraphernalia was spent on something useful to people, there may be a greater return in goodness in the world
Ditto for video games, spending money on any luxury, etc.
So I think you have no argument, unless you just say that it doesn’t matter if we’re rational or not, then calling something irrational in the first place was stupid, and just self-indulgent.
Arguments on the Internet…
here’s why i’m not a hypocrite:
1. i never said i didn’t enjoy watching the basketball game
2. i never have said all people should lead the rational life; that was Socrates
that being said, here’s why sporting events are good:
1. it is pleasurable to watch particularly skilled athletes
2. it is pleasurable to watch said athletes with other people
3. it is pleasurable to win in a competition
4. it is educational to watch skilled people
5. it is beneficial to spend time with other people
6. it is good practice for the competitive impulse
here’s why sporting events may be irrational:
1. if all the people who spent every friday, sunday and monday watching some game (hundreds of thousands of people) instead did something useful for other people, there might be a greater return in goodness
2. if all the money that was spent to fund the sports team and all the money that went into purchasing team-logo paraphernalia was spent on something useful to people, there may be a greater return in goodness in the world
Here’s why what you are saying is most likely hypocritical.
You said “it is more intended to brainwash the spectators so they don’t reflect on what they’re doing and why they like something so irrational.” I can only conclude that “what they’re doing” means watching a sporting event live, and that what “they like” is sports in general, or perhaps watching a sporting event live.
So we must now ask ourselves, if you like something equally “irrational” as watching a sporting event live.
You like playing video games. You enjoy watching a skilled person do speed runs of video games.
Other people enjoy playing sports. Other people enjoy watching a skilled person play sports.
The only difference here is between video games and sports. Sports are “irrational” to enjoy, video games are apparently “rational” to enjoy.
We can reasonably assume that watching a speed run of Sonic has no real story telling aspect, the same way fast forwarding through Casablanca has no real story telling.
So video games without story is just game-play: the ability of a human being to use his body to direct input to a controller to yield desired results.
Sounds awfully similar to sports, except the controller is a basketball and hoop, or soccer ball and goal.
The final difference could be that watching a sporting event live is the “irrational” thing. In your case of watching speed runs of video games, there is not much to be gained by watching the person perform it live. You perhaps get to see the fast movements of the person’s finger on a controller, but with a tool-assisted speed run you don’t even get that.
However a live sporting event gives the person an opportunity to see the athletes up close and personal. I speak only from my own experience, but watching a basketball game live is a different beast than watching it on T.V. The sounds of the game are more intense, you can focus on any part of the game, you can catch the small fouls that go unseen by refs, it’s a great experience. So I think there is something to gain from seeing it live, so it wouldn’t be “irrational” for someone to want to go watch their favorite team live.
The only recourse I can see is you dislike that people have almost a cult-like devotion to their home team. I agree it can become extreme, but I have to also argue that the best part of any sporting event is the tension, and there can be no tension without devotion.
Let me explain. I have to care about my team winning or losing, I have to be invested in my team, in order to be worried whether they win or lose. When your team wins a close game, there is the thrill that can only come when you’ve invested part of yourself into the outcome of something outside of your control. The downside exists, trading the thrill of winning for the bitter taste of defeat, but overall I think most sports fans agree that it’s worth it.
So perhaps that’s what you find “irrational”? Caring about something that you don’t have control over. But we have so little control over our lives, sometimes it’s nice to be rewarded for your blind faith, and not just disappointed that you’ve been dealt a shit hand and there’s nothing you can do about it.
And perhaps it’s a little late now to say this, considering this is almost all one long ad hominem attack, but not to be too personal, for someone who devoutly believes in a Christian God, is it that “irrational” that some people would like to invest part of themselves in something external?
So that’s my long internet rant about why you’re being hypocritical towards sports. I haven’t even listed all the ways sports are great.
you seem to make the mistake of supposing because i’m not good at athletics that i dislike them. yet, you admit that i enjoy simplistic video games, and you would surely admit that i’m not good at them. from this case, we see that the lack of skill i have in a particular activity does not directly affect the enjoyment i take in it. and then we see that none of what you said has any actual bearing on whether or not i think it is rational to do said activities or to watch people doing them, no matter how skilled those people themselves may be
and to watch people take advantage of new technology to complete old console video games really quickly and expertly, visit this website
and if you’re familiar with Sonic, his are usually pretty fun runs to watch
I think you’re just mad I pointed out your hypocrisy.
one again you mis-characterize me, to my dismay
you seem to make the mistake of supposing because i’m not good at athletics that i dislike them. yet, you admit that i enjoy simplistic video games, and you would surely admit that i’m not good at them. from this case, we see that the lack of skill i have in a particular activity does not directly affect the enjoyment i take in it. and then we see that none of what you said has any actual bearing on whether or not i think it is rational to do said activities or to watch people doing them, no matter how skilled those people themselves may be
and to watch people take advantage of new technology to complete old console video games really quickly and expertly, visit this website
and if you’re familiar with Sonic, his are usually pretty fun runs to watch
I think you’re just mad I pointed out your hypocrisy.
one again you mis-characterize me, to my dismay
Jersey Shore
no, i saw a dvr’d episode
yea, that show is definitely the worst thing to have ever graced the airways.I saw an episode of the Jersey Shore last night and I can definitively say it is the absolute worst show ever created in the history of television; it made me alternate between wanting to throw up and wanting to shoot myself in the face.
Jersey Shore
I saw an episode of the Jersey Shore last night and I can definitively say it is the absolute worst show ever created in the history of television; it made me alternate between wanting to throw up and wanting to shoot myself in the face.
