The Guilty Truth: There's Too Much Content

I have never once felt guilty about not keeping up with TV shows, their characters and plots. Never. I cannot even tell you what is on television. I don't watch it and I don't miss it. Not even a little.

Couldn't agree more! Such shows are nothing more than 'elaborated' soap-operas:
"Who's doing what to whom?"
"Who's doing whom?"
"Who's having what done TO them by whom?"

And the commercials seem to do NOTHING anymore but try and make one feel "inadequate": (i.e., "Are you getting your share lately?", "Do you get it up often enough?", "Do you stay erect long enough for your wife or lover?", "Are you ready when SHE is?", "Have you ever pleased your gal for 4 hours or more?!" REeeallly, now...!)

A *few* items came to me, when Dad passed away (and, a choice few will be shared here, "in due time"...)

ONE thing he gave me long-ago was a "desk-front-statement-plaque":

Great Minds discuss Ideas.
Average minds discuss events.
Small minds discuss people.

After a trial period of Cable-TV, I had it disconnected. Shortly thereafter, I was convinced to engage-in a trial-offer of satellite-tv. Last June I terminated THAT service when the contract ended (which pleased me no end, allowing me to increase my 'tithe').

There is FAR more to enjoy (and be "moved-by" / "impressed-by" / and "educated-by") reading ... whether in print, or online, than will EVER be achieved by the twit-minded shenanigans of "boob-tube's-finest".

"Amen"...

I watched the first episode. I thought it was derivative and boring. I kept wondering why it was called 'Abbey' when the place was never occupied by Catholic nuns.

It all started when I was at a bar and accosted by three women

Yea, I hate when that happens.

OK - Cnet was two steps ahead of Gizmodo, now it is only one. Neither are worth the time.

I, too, can't stand anything from Gizmodo, or any Gawker media site for that matter. What engineering or technology related sites do you regularly check and find interesting?

At this point I am S.O.L. as far as good engineering sites. Still looking.

Gizmag is pretty good.

Link

Quite a wide variety of articles, but mostly new and concept products which interest those of us in product development Engineering.

CR4. It's were all MY friends hang out. And they are mostly an intelligent bunch, even if I don't always agree with them. So TV and popular media are not on my radar. I find a great deal of, and better, mental stimulation here!!

And if I want to know what is happening on other engineering or technology related sites, I get links to that FROM CR4, so I don't need to start there and surf the garbage.

Occasionally, it is true, the garbage comes here, to me. But mostly, the quality filters are already in place at CR4.

What's "Downton Abbey"?

Why would the author admit to buying Wolfe's latest Miami book after being told it was terrible?

One of the healthiest attitudes, for both your sanity and your wallet, is to realize that you can leave a movie theater partway through the movie, you can close a book without finishing it, you can change the channel or turn off the TV in the middle of the program. Even if others find some enjoyment in it, it can be a waste to you.

My children and grandchildren can't believe I have never seen the "Lord of the Rings" movies. Why would I need to? I've read the books five times, not counting the times I read them to my kids when they were young. Harry Potter? I got through the first three books, but somehow never had any inclination to finish that series.

Is there too much content?

It is a subset of the broader question, "What should I be doing with my time (at any given moment)?" With a limited spending account, how best to spend it?

I have a book (now packed away) that seemed interesting when I bought it, but somehow, at that time in my life I was not able to finish it. It's called "Information Anxiety." (The reviews seem to be for the revised edition, "Information Anxiety 2.") One could easily guess the gist of the book by it's title. Browsing related titles, I found another book that seems an awful lot like the first 2 books -- "Too Big To Know." (Reading reviews and comments on them is an argument/demonstration for us becoming "saturated" with our knowledge. A large number of us have become comedians, logicians, and experts in knowledge in general. Most any of us can make a case for a viewpoint on almost any subject. Witness the attempt of this post. Guilty as assessed. We are, largely a reflection of our own creation, like images in a pair of opposite mirrors.) At this point in my life I don't feel any great motivation to read books on this particular subject.

For much of my adult life I have felt like just about every subject has been addressed in movies, TV, music, and books, many times over. Most of it is rehashing with a slightly different angle -- if we're lucky. A few new facts thrown in, but usually not revolutionary, to the point of negating everything that came before it. I used to tell people who I thought would understand, that I felt like there should be a moratorium on the arts in general, as far as public dissemination. I was already feeling the indigestion. What would happen if TV, movies, music and book production were stopped for, say, a year? I realize now how impractical (practically impossible) that would be. It would certainly affect the economy, but otherwise, likely, go unnoticed, since we already have so much available. And that's the point. Would we really miss the "new" rehashing that much? Still, I wonder (Who'll Stop the Rain?).

The article is an example/argument that people in large enough numbers would never do that on their own. Some here have voluntarily eliminated TV with no addictive repercussions. But I think this is a minority by a long shot. Remember the panic when a segment of the population lost their "texting" ability? Most of us have become dependent (another word for addiction?) on technology.

It leads to another musing... the Nature vs. Nurture debate. They seem to be linked. How else can we explain the culture of information? Our genetic makeup has resulted in brains that have created the world around us. And the brain apparently did so because of some addictive nature to the product. Was man driven to refine sugar, because the brain craves it, and would eat it to the (potential) demise of the rest of the body? (A whole subject in itself.) Does the brain "crave" information in the same way? A possible flaw in the assumption that evolution is always "upward" in its result. Or at least, a ceiling might exist, whereby the creature crumbles under the weight of its creation.

The saving grace could be the limitation of ingestion. We do have an overload sensor. Unfortunately, by the nature of addiction, we keep repeating the indulgence after the overload subsides. Is there an overload of overloads?

Obviously, the answer most have settled on for what to do with one's time, is to rehash. A compulsion or deep-seated need?

I would alter the article title to be: "The Embarrassing Truth: Too Much 'Stuff,' Very Little Content, (But We're Suckers For It Anyway)." and rewrite it accordingly.

"The Embarrassing Truth: Too Much 'Stuff,' Very Little Content, (But We're Suckers For It Anyway)." and rewrite it accordingly.

That sounds like a plan of action, to me. I like it.

Publish it, and I'll put it on my bookshelf. To read (or not) later. But I'll be proud to have it.

I appreciate the comment, but I can't convince myself (at the moment, anyhow) that I would want to spend my time on such an endeavor. My posts are all for now; a thinking out loud, mostly. And is a detailed case really necessary? After all, this analysis is not new. I'm sure one could find any number of articles/books conveying the same or similar outlook. More rehash. And one can't escape the fact that that all the rehash (century upon century) hasn't altered our conditions much. The Bible is still considered the most widely read book in the world. (One list -- note the other books in the Top Ten -- and I consider #2 an outlier, for obvious reasons. I'm not sure how the compiler(s) certify that owning a book means one reads it and digests it. But the list does gauge something about literate, world culture. And what of indigenous oral traditions? Are they lesser because they aren't printed?)

If knowledge becomes wisdom, the logical extension of the "winner" on the list, implies we should be living in a virtual paradise. (A related link. Do we always have to frame everything as a competition??) Wisdom, like beauty in science, should shine in simplicity and be easily agreed upon. But take a simple quote, "The meek shall inherit the Earth." Do a web search and there are a myriad of commentaries on one phrase. Which leads back to the idea of rehash. Common sense tells me the "meek" won't inherit many CEO or political positions. And these rule, and/or set major boundaries of our lives.

I wonder... is it true that "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words..." ? Words often escalate into actions, usually driven by the baser passions of lust, anger, greed, etc. As was noted by one famous writer, the spirit may be willing, but the flesh is weak. In most of these cases, all the writing in the world is, or would be, tossed aside.