--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb <no_reply@...> wrote:
>
> --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bob Price <bobpriced@> wrote:
> >
> > > I'm curious what everyone thinks is
> > > the difference between cognitive
> > > dissonance ("people have a motivational
> > > drive to reduce dissonance") and what
> > > F. Scott Fitzgerald said: "the true test
> > > of a first rate mind is the ability to hold
> > > two contradictory ideas at the same time".
>
> An excellent question, one of the best here in
> some time. I would have to say that it probably
> depends -- as does so much else -- on predilection.
>
> I think that for many people, possibly the majority,
> cognitive dissonance is perceived as uncomfortable,
> and thus the "rule" might be true. On the other hand,
> I thrive on cognitive dissonance; it defines for me
> some of the highest, most profound moments of my life.
> I actually seek it, as much as I seek anything.
Anybody here surprised that Barry would hasten to put
himself in the "first rate mind" category?
Actually, whether he thrives on cognitive dissonance
depends on whether he's defending himself from the
charge of self-contradiction, or putting down those
whom he perceives to have contradicted themselves (a
meta-contradiction he has no problem with).
As an example of the latter, we need only recall his
extreme difficulty dealing with the idea that we have
no free will, and how he mocked and demonized those who
espouse that idea. It's pretty much a litmus test of
one's ability to tolerate cognitive dissonace, and he
failed, miserably.
(This may be a duplicate; I think Yahoo ate the first
try.)
