In Favor of Sincerity

I've been following the ebay wolfman posting thread and also posted on it - the attitude displayed by the ebay fellow made me think of an article I read recently (see link below) but I thought I should post it in the Lounge.  The article is In Favor of Sincerity and discusses how modern technology has now made it evolutionarily unnecessary for humans to be smart and the rise of sarcasm and cultural irony in online spaces is evidence of that.  Some well meaning individual posts an articulate and well reasoned opinion on some subject and in march the trolls to "burn" him with derisive remarks, irony, sarcasm, metaphor, like the Piranha Brothers* the trolls are masters of the low brow dig. No attempt to engage in discussion or debate or to address points of contention with equally articulate well reasoned arguments, just a burn - and those watching say "ouch" and are glad they weren't the subject of the troll's sarcastic barb.  

In any case, its an interesting read:

https://medium.com/@dailyzen/in-favor-of-sincerity-d5313e5a3193#.jyjnr93ee

Marko




(* Monty Python, specifically Doug)

I read it and don't see how anyone can disagree that people should be sincere.

Where did he get that 40% number from? I'm not sure I buy into that number. Without an authoritative reference, its just true because he says its true, which is meaningless. I don't know if its more or less, just wondering.

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I got to admit I find this part disturbing. "The key to intellectual and spiritual sincerity is returning to what really matters in life. It’s why old books, classical music, and ancient philosophy are so refreshing. ... What did people care about before culture ravaged us and left us thirsting for silly fads, material goods, hedonistic pleasures and half-baked philosophies? "

I don't know about anyone else but sitting down with a copy of the Illiad, in the original classic Greek, rather than watching say "Big Brother" on a warm Summer night sure stirs my fires. In the last year I can't tell you how many times I've heard some advertisement for some company selling classes in languages.  Its pitch is something like Wouldn't you rather learn a new language instead of buying that new Big Screen TV?  EVERY time I hear that I think? Seriously?

100%, No question asked, I'll take the TV, Every time, Any Day.

How else can I watch Big Brother in the summer?   What really matters is what Taylor Swift is wearing and what the Kardeshians are up to. Duh.

The internet is killing us...