

Stop Lying About What You Do - zdw
http://booktwo.org/notebook/stop-lying/

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colomon
"Recorded music has run its course."

Am I completely dense? I utterly fail to understand the quotes on recorded
music in the article. I could easily buy "the record industry has run its
course," but that's a completely different idea. With the ease of having a
recording studio in your home, or carrying around an affordable better-than-
CD-quality recording device in your pocket, I would certainly expect recorded
music to become even more common, not go the way of the dinosaurs.

Did I miss a trend where kids today only listen to live music?

~~~
nolanw
The quotes on recorded music in the article are further examples of people
lying to themselves about what they do. They're another example of, as the
article quotes, "Evidence that doesn’t fit my beliefs is wrong."

------
dwc
I'm not sure what to make of this ramble. I eat meat; I'm nowhere close to
vegetarian. I'm pretty ok with that. I have 2 TVs. Both are connected to DVD
players, and have no antenna or cable connections. I read a lot, and finish
books. I try not to lie to myself, and when I catch myself doing it I try to
come clean. So...

~~~
zdw
Some context: The author is a writer, and his blog often covers both writing
and the publishing industry.

What he's getting at is that often we idealize our actions, and then act in
ways that go against these ideals, thus the lying part. Most of the examples
given are of this nature.

The other part is that new technology is allowing these changes to happen
sooner than people consciously perceive and internalize them.

Thus, the author exhorts people to analyze their behavior, especially with
regards to new technology, and to come to grips with it in a non-kneejerk
manner.

~~~
dwc
Yes, it's a pervasive problem. People have enough trouble with this, even in
areas where things _don't_ change rapidly. As someone who's lately steeped in
science (vocationally) and skepticism (avocationally), I've had to confront
some previously unexamined areas of my philosophy. Though I'm naturally more
introspective than many, I must say it can be difficult at times.

Despite being a writer, the author would do well to read your comment and
learn from it. :)

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warrenwilkinson
I wonder: are these people lying to themselves, or just lying to him? I eat
meat, but if I thought it would upset a vegan who'd brought it up, I'd
probably 'enhance' the truth.

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JoeAltmaier
Doesn't say Why we need to stop. If it helps us get thru the day, avoids
hurting people, acknowledges what we Should be instead of simply what we are.
Maybe there are reasons to stop but the article doesn't go that far.

------
bmelton
I actually like this article, because it's something that I recognized in
myself and have tried to overcome. I still find myself reconciling disparate
facts, on occasion, and sometimes it's just hard to say "I don't know."

Perhaps one of the most epiphanous moments in my life was when I realized that
saying "I don't know" is hard to do for most, easy to do for myself, and
generally appreciated. "I don't know" is generally regarded as an honest
answer, and it's hard to imagine somebody is bullshitting you when they use
it.

Long story short though, being completely honest with yourself is HARD. The
one thing the author gets wrong is in thinking that people tell themselves
these lies deliberately. Most of the time it isn't, or it's borne out of a
lack of self-understanding. Having the TV on all day, but only ACTIVELY
watching the occasional show might lead one to believe that they don't watch
much TV. Whether or not I liked Lord of the Rings, there are certainly parts
of it that I admired, even though I didn't like the work on the whole. I can
be both excited to see the movie, and have low expectations for it at the same
time. I can support the Libertarian ideals while, at the same time,
questioning whether or not we have enough data to actually know if a free-
market capitalist society can ever actually work.

------
swombat
Strawman, meet axe.

~~~
rbarooah
Is it still a strawman if you don't have an opponent?

~~~
swombat
That's sort of the whole point. A strawman argument is one where you make up
an opponent to better knock it down.

"Yes, did you see that man? I just knocked him down good!"

~~~
rbarooah
I thought a strawman was a rhetorical device where you _make up a weak version
of your opponents argument_ and knock that down as a way of winning an
argument in the eyes an audience who doesn't spot the flaw you introduced.

~~~
msbarnett
A strawman argument is one which you specifically constructed for the purposes
of knocking it down.

A strawman _fallacy_ is a fallacy in which you replace your opponent's actual
argument with a strawman argument, and then assert that defeating the strawman
argument defeats the opponent.

