[lit-ideas] Re: The Medium is the Message
- From: Andy <mimi.erva@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 25 Oct 2011 06:30:23 -0700 (PDT)
Fair enough. I wonder though, if someone in an experience is the best judge of
that experience. Sometimes an outsider's view is the more accurate one. My
guess is that on Facebook there is no irritation, no dissenting view, nothing
to get in the way of the fun. A lot of people doing something doesn't
necessarily redeem it; the Nazi party, the tulip bubble among a litany of mass
hysterias. In a meaningless universe, maybe fun is the ultimate answer.
However, I think we need to define fun. If the choice is an endless walk
through an amusement park as opposed to some intellectual hedonism, I
will pontificate for the latter.
Andy
________________________________
From: John McCreery <john.mccreery@xxxxxxxxx>
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tuesday, October 25, 2011 8:45 AM
Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: The Medium is the Message
There you go again, Andy, pontificating about something you know, at best,
second hand. And in this case, the fault is particularly egregious, since
trying out Facebook for a week or two to see how people actually use it is
free. All it costs is a little time. Why, pray tell, do you think that anyone
should pay the slightest attention to what you say? Except, of course, for the
irritation felt on encountering mindless babble?
Grumpy in Yokohama,
John
On Tue, Oct 25, 2011 at 9:31 PM, Andy <mimi.erva@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I understand that Facebook seems to be absorbing a lot of conversational
energy. Just some thoughts, but first a disclaimer. I don't have a Facebook
account, have never had one, and don't participate as a 'friend' on any other
Facebook account, including those of relatives. For what it's worth, my
understanding of Facebook is that it's all about posting pictures of how much
fun you're having. It's not about having fun, it's about proving you're having
fun, especially for the younger crowd. Based on my vicarious
understanding, I can't imagine having an intelligent conversation on Facebook.
Certainly I couldn't have one with my relatives (and that's with two nephews in
med school), or for that matter with most of my flesh and blood friends. Lit
ideas people who have Facebook accounts are certainly excepted, but generally
Facebook to me is a pure pomo experience, reality as if. Worse, it's a
reflection of the general dumbing down of
everything, a great big huge Twitter with pictures. 'Reality as if' requires
no depth of understanding, which would make Facebook and Twitter the media for
the times. A vicarious understanding, yes, but I think unfortunately accurate.
> Andy
--
John McCreery
The Word Works, Ltd., Yokohama, JAPAN
Tel. +81-45-314-9324
jlm@xxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.wordworks.jp/
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