Asturiel's Weekly: Individualism

[Asturiel]

And now for my weekly thread.

Individualism, is it hurting overall human progression or aiding it? With people becoming more "entitled" and educated in more ways this is leading to people feeling they are the most important thing that is. This also leads to people questioning authority figures perhaps when not necissary. Like House and many other people have said

Spoiler

Wait shit!

Spoiler

Everybody is a doctor

There we are.

Now with that technical difficulty out of the hand back to business, with people knowing more and becoming more empowered were going to see our greatest flaw as a species, alot of us are fucking dumb! Give an idiot a textbook and he can spout facts, give an ignorant person a textbook and they gain knowledge. But if you have an ignorant stupid person a textbook your boned! Also with the chance of becoming famous from anywhere people are becoming more desperate and not necessarily contributing to society.(*cough* Balloon boy *cough*)

However as a plus this means more people have an opportunity to become something great to society, as Ego said "Not everybody can become a great chef, but a great chef can come from anywhere". More people becoming empowered brings people who would be in lower situations and stuck there up to a greater place to help us as a whole. Then again that leaves the other bunch of tards clogging up the wheel of progress!

So after all that, what do you think Escapist? Is "Individualism" a determent or an aid to mankind?

 

[j0z]

I think it, in the long run, can be an aide.
Look, without individuals that defied their role in society (like Einstein and Galileo) what would the world be like today?
People are selfish creatures, but when rewards are offered to them, and them alone, for excelling, they will do their best to excel.
"Anthem" is an interesting story that explores this, and Objectivism in general.

 

[delet]

I'm loving these weekly threads. Keep 'em up!

OT: Yea, it's a double edged sword. You can have idiots running around thinking they're the next big (whatever they aspire to be), but luckily the end up getting humiliated pretty quickly. A terrific example of that is American Idle. I hate the show but in its' early stages the biggest selling point of the show is watching the hopefuls who genuinely think they're the new Jesus to music and then they're turned on their asses and given the truth.

There's that one law that "90% of everything is crap" that applies to this idea greatly. We've got a ton of idiots in the world but at least there's a small amount of actual good that we can produce to keep the wheel turning.

 

[Asturiel]

I think it, in the long run, can be an aide.
Look, without individuals that defied their role in society (like Einstein and Galileo) what would the world be like today?
People are selfish creatures, but when rewards are offered to them, and them alone, for excelling, they will do their best to excel.
"Anthem" is an interesting story that explores this, and Objectivism in general.

We could theoretically be all Nazi's, or we could be a unified republic in space *shrug*.

What if scenarios can go so badly...so badly!

I'm loving these weekly threads. Keep 'em up!

OT: Yea, it's a double edged sword. You can have idiots running around thinking they're the next big (whatever they aspire to be), but luckily the end up getting humiliated pretty quickly. A terrific example of that is American Idle. I hate the show but in its' early stages the biggest selling point of the show is watching the hopefuls who genuinely think they're the new Jesus to music and then they're turned on their asses and given the truth.

There's that one law that "90% of everything is crap" that applies to this idea greatly. We've got a ton of idiots in the world but at least there's a small amount of actual good that we can produce to keep the wheel turning.

Thank you, Ill try to get these out at more reasonable times!

Very true with Idol, Simon Cowel however much of a dick he is, he's thinning the herd so that the show is better. Which as a third person who has no relation and therefor no bias, I think it's amazing from evolutionary mind on a smaller scale. The week die off(leave in tears) and the strong survive and prosper(get careers and publicity!)

True law, if only we could get the fuck us over part less sharp!><

 

[Insanum]

The thing is, Everyone wants to be popular & special, And "Standing out from the croud" is usually the best way of doing it.

...Unfortunately, The croud are already fairly cool & awesome, So the only way to do it is to act like a dick. *sigh*

In all, Hating people that exert themselves tends to be the "in" trend.

 

[Asturiel]

The thing is, Everyone wants to be popular & special, And "Standing out from the croud" is usually the best way of doing it.

...Unfortunately, The croud are already fairly cool & awesome, So the only way to do it is to act like a dick. *sigh*

In all, Hating people that exert themselves tends to be the "in" trend.

So what your saying is that it works because the weak will be shot down instantly from those they are trying to impress?

 

[Insanum]

The thing is, Everyone wants to be popular & special, And "Standing out from the croud" is usually the best way of doing it.

...Unfortunately, The croud are already fairly cool & awesome, So the only way to do it is to act like a dick. *sigh*

In all, Hating people that exert themselves tends to be the "in" trend.

So what your saying is that it works because the weak will be shot down instantly from those they are trying to impress?

Well they would, But unfortunately people like to laugh at freaks (its a negative human trait in some people, Not all), Hence why people that do terrible on those talent shows become minor celebs.

 

[Asturiel]

Well they would, But unfortunately people like to laugh at freaks (its a negative human trait in some people, Not all), Hence why people that do terrible on those talent shows become minor celebs.

I would say humans in general, it's mechanical thinking to keep what works and shun what is new correct? Just some people control it better than others. True but they never become big enough to affect anything, if somebody you just have up there to make fun of does something they might win their way up or just have you laugh more. At that point it's their job and if they do well then they did well!

 

[UnusualStranger]

I am sure that individualism is not a detriment to society. Leaders do need to be questioned, sometimes when it isn't necessary, because it allows us to closely examine the action that is about to be taken. The real trick is knowing when you are dealing with a individual, or when you are dealing with an idiot.

 

[2012 Wont Happen]

Individualism in personal life is a good thing. The economy and public life should, in my opinion, be viewed through a collectivist lens.

 

[Sightless Wisdom]

That's kind of a funny topic. It's hard to say exactly what effect individualism is having on society because that really all depends where and how you draw the lines between beneficial and adverse. I personally enjoy progress towards further individualism simply because the common person does not seem... competent.

 

[BonsaiK]

Is "Individualism" a determent or an aid to mankind?

Societies where people have been free to pursue their own personal ideological path (within reasonable limits) have always held a greater quality of life and more opportunities for their citizens than societies where adherence to a strict mode of expression is required.

 

[Sir Strange Of The House Lycan]

Gut feeling says Aide.

 

[Asturiel]

I am sure that individualism is not a detriment to society. Leaders do need to be questioned, sometimes when it isn't necessary, because it allows us to closely examine the action that is about to be taken. The real trick is knowing when you are dealing with a individual, or when you are dealing with an idiot.

True say, when people can question stupid shit all the time it leaves the chance it might be justified.

But so many people are idiots how do I tell?!?!?!

Individualism in personal life is a good thing. The economy and public life should, in my opinion, be viewed through a collectivist lens.

So a kinda thing where your rights work when you are in the privacy of your own home but outside your a robot?

That's kind of a funny topic. It's hard to say exactly what effect individualism is having on society because that really all depends where and how you draw the lines between beneficial and adverse. I personally enjoy progress towards further individualism simply because the common person does not seem... competent.

I strive to make odd topics, they usually arnt already made yet!

You put that in the nice way and that is kind of you. But you can call people fucking dumb, it's fine

Societies where people have been free to pursue their own personal ideological path (within reasonable limits) have always held a greater quality of life and more opportunities for their citizens than societies where adherence to a strict mode of expression is required.

While that is true, how well has the nation done as a whole for the time? I'm more thinking as mankind as a body not the kneecap. That if we put less stress on the small indiviudal and more on the gargantuan we call people.

Magic the gathering folks would say I'm questioning the effect of white vs red.

Gut feeling says Aide.

Gut slap says..."slap"!

On a serious note why does your gut make you vomit think that?

 

[Asturiel]

Well, I have no problem with individualism, but this whole thing about everybody being 'unique' isn't a great thing. Sure, it's probably true, everyone is unique, but there's something about the way it's phrased that gives people this superiority complex.

If you've ever watched a show like Popstars (and don't, don't ever) or the X-Factor or any of that shit, you'll notice that a lot of the time, when the talentless drudgeons inevitable lose, they'll say things like "I will be famous! It's my destiny!" (Yes, I have heard them say that).

No, it isn't. Just accept it. This is all due to their parents raising them in such a way that even when they were dreadful they were still praised.

This is why I agree with the way my parents raised me. Sure, they were supportive, but if I did something and it was crap, they were sure to let me know, and tell me how to improve it, not congratulate every single moment of my childhood as some kind of achievement.

So individuality is fine, but not when it leads to arrogance.

Very true, raising children badly is like not diciplining dogs. They dont know how to act and they are bad because of it. Like a dog you need to reward them when they do something good and fucking law down the law when they dont!

Also I was more going for is Individualism making us worse in terms of human progression. Although I do agree with fucking "uniqueness" stressing is terrabad! Damn Opra, that wench.

 

[Riobux]

It has it's pros and cons. Individualism leads to more selfish behaviour, more crime and more prejudice (after all, there's more and more social scenes as individualism happens more and more). However, on the other hand, it allows a greater range of creativity can only lead to society progressing more and more as they find more ways to entertain and solve current problems.

 

[BonsaiK]

Societies where people have been free to pursue their own personal ideological path (within reasonable limits) have always held a greater quality of life and more opportunities for their citizens than societies where adherence to a strict mode of expression is required.

While that is true, how well has the nation done as a whole for the time? I'm more thinking as mankind as a body not the kneecap. That if we put less stress on the small indiviudal and more on the gargantuan we call people.

I don't think your human body analogy is very well thought out. I'm also not sure what you mean by "stress".

Innovative ideas that bring society forward come from innovative thinkers. For those people to perform at their peak, there needs to be within the society a certain amount of freedom of expression, freedom for debate, economic freedom, and incentives that reward innovation. People respond to incentives, whether material, ideological, moral, social, etc. A freer society has greater scope to offer greater variety of incentives to the high achievers in society, and to reward individual endeavour. The most powerful societies in the world have always been those where autonomous activity is encouraged and rewarded, because those type of societies are more likely to nurture independent, innovative thinkers from within, and also attract them from other, more restricted societies.

 

[Asturiel]

I don't think your human body analogy is very well thought out. I'm also not sure what you mean by "stress".

Innovative ideas that bring society forward come from innovative thinkers. For those people to perform at their peak, there needs to be within the society a certain amount of freedom of expression, freedom for debate, economic freedom, and incentives that reward innovation. People respond to incentives, whether material, ideological, moral, social, etc. A freer society has greater scope to offer greater variety of incentives to the high achievers in society, and to reward individual endeavour. The most powerful societies in the world have always been those where autonomous activity is encouraged and rewarded, because those type of societies are more likely to nurture independent, innovative thinkers from within, and also attract them from other, more restricted societies.

Yeah I think that one is not well well thought out either. How about less importance put on the single hair vs the wig. Better?

But that is true, the restrictive society will not do as well because the freer society where Individuals are stressed will be more desirable, so they will either leave or die trying thus loosing that potential anyways.

 

[Tharwen]

When people say they are individual what they usually mean is 'attention seeking' or 'different because I can be'.

It is these people who MUST BE PURGED!

 

[TheNamlessGuy]

DELETED