I share your lament about the homogenization of culture. As I get older, I pine for those early days of requesting files through ftpmail and e-mail addresses with lots of ! in them. Back then, the internet was fun and cool. Now it's a cesspool of TL;DR people like me yapping about stuff nobody cares about or people uploading pictures of their food in centralized databases used by corporations to deny them employment.
But, analogous to TV, there's a certain beauty lurking deep in the horror. Personally, I'm grateful to be a part-time inhabitant of the cesspool and I am constantly amazed by the sanctimonious who hold themselves above the cesspool. I probably wouldn't be so amazed if I were totally immersed in it. Using your analogy, my tendency to "tunnel" from one deme to another gives me the added perspective that comes from being able to partly immerse myself in the cesspool, but still escape sporadically and immerse myself in other pools. I stand in awe of the evolution of culture, just as I do with the evolution of the universe. But I don't let my awe prevent me from getting a little "cess" on me on a regular basis. It's difficult for me to imagine _wanting_ to isolate myself any more than I'm already isolated. But to each his own, I suppose. On 05/07/2013 04:30 PM, Steve Smith wrote: > Glen - > > Obviously you find your Television useful and feel you can thoughtfully > mitigate any negative side-effects having it in your life might > present. I was mostly making fun of your (deliberately idiosyncratic?) > choices of programming as described. You are not alone, and I recognize > that at least half the (relatively small number of) people who share my > own response to TV are bigger cranks than I am. > > It is the constant stream of pop-culture and push-advertising (not just > commercial, but all kinds of social and political agendas embedded > everywhere) that I respond so negatively to. I am not desensitized as > are people who watch/listen to it regularly. I get edgy when in a big > city bustling with advertisements, loud cars, pushy people, beggars and > streetwalkers. Having a TV on is a bit like that to me. > > Not being desensitized, when I am exposed, I immediately notice the > worst elements.... whether it is the infomercials, the regular > commercials, the inane game shows, the yammering (not just talking) > news-heads, the Jerry Springer-style talk shows, the soap operas, or the > "reality" shows. We *do* (now) watch made for TV movies and series > when they catch our interest through the magic of Netflix and iTunes. > But rather than having to operate the *off* button when crap starts > spewing out of the screen, we simply operate the *on* button, choosing > *what* to watch rather than *what not to* watch. > > I was not socialized to TV. I grew up in places where there was no > reception to speak of, and my parents had little interest in it when we > did. I (once again) live somewhere where there is no reception > (neither pre-digital nor post). My wife came to me with a TV which she > used very little (mostly with a VHS player). We read a lot. > > Once we had alternative methods for watching video tapes (then DVDs), > the TV set went into the shed. On 9/11/2012 my wife pulled it out, > dusted it off, plugged it in and made me order up a satellite dish. A > week later she took it back to the shed. I tried to cancel the > Satellite service (ha! one year contract!). It was giving her nothing > (that she wanted) that she couldn't get by A) reading a daily paper, B) > listening to a modicum of radio when driving into town (every day or > two), C) searching on the internet (dialup at the time!), D) talking to > friends who were more plugged in. We found the TV news stations to be > highly repetitious, redundant and often inane. We found the rest to > be ... mostly just sad. Neither of us follow sports. We read a lot. > > I watch maybe 10-30 minutes of TV a week with the sound turned down and > subtitles (sometimes) turned on. It may be while standing in line > waiting where one is on, at the barber, the mechanic or in a bar, etc. > I am often intrigued by the flashing lights, the semi-attractive talking > heads (speaking quite authoritatively about something, but I suspect > more likely nothing) and the level of hyperbole being emitted in a > constant stream. This is usually *more* than enough for me. > > TV is to me like leaded paint or leaded gasoline, or maybe at best like > white sugar and white flour. The former has been outlawed and I think > few people pine for "the good ole days of leaded gas/paint"... it is > recognized as an anachronism... the lead served an important function, > but the risks were eventually recognized and alternatives found. I > don't need to keep a gallon of each around to remind me of "the good ole > days". I *do* keep white sugar and white flour in my cabinet and even > use the sugar often in my coffee. I use the flour occasionally to make > up some biscuits and/or some gravy. Some people use white sugar and > white flour as the core of their nutrition as others use Television as > the core of their entertainment/distraction/news. > > When we stay in a motel, I hide the remote to the TV and my wife makes > me (sometimes involving physical violence) produce it and we proceed to > binge on hours of the stuff that gushes out, usually with one thumb (my > wife's) on the remote flipping through channels in morbid > fascination... then we fall into a fitful slumber filled with > advertising jingles, flashy logos, and talking heads (remember Max > Headroom?). > > The internet has become as bad (or worse really) as commercial TV in > many ways, except that is for the most part still not a push medium. I > obviously spend way too much time on my computer/internet. I should > read more. Or get out in the sunshine. Or both. -- glen =><= Hail Eris! ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
