

Why the lucky stiff: when you don't create things... - gaika
http://twitter.com/_why/statuses/881768089

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seregine
I wish most of the blog posts I see linked here would condense their message
like this, rather than rambling self-indulgently.

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bootload
_"... condense their message ... rather than rambling self-indulgently ..."_

And in the process discard you discard the layering of supported ideas.
Instead you get a fragment of an idea that you have no idea how it was
formulated. Real life isn't like this. You have to sort the noise from the
signal. An essay is one way you can do this. If all you want are the short
_"tell me the answer"_ type posts you are susceptible to relying on others to
think for you and hence be manipulated.

~~~
seregine
If your reader is filtering noise from your signal, they're getting more out
of your writing than you are.

~~~
bootload
_"... If your reader is filtering noise from your signal ..."_

In the processing of writing you are filtering your own ideas into words. This
for writers is the main benefit. Through writing you clarify your own ideas.
The difference between brevity and verbosity between writers could indicate
greater skill in writing converting the ideas into words.

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jamesbritt
"you become defined by your tastes rather than ability."

Oh? How so?

" your tastes only narrow & exclude people."

Again: How so?

(Yes, these are semi-rhetorical)

I mean, I'm all for creating over not creating, but this sounds like feel-good
but completely unsupported assertions. The sort of thing people _want_ to
believe, perhaps because people want to see themselves as creative.

(Also, are there any people who do not in fact create _anything_?)

~~~
kaens
For the first, I know that it's true for me that if I don't actively create
things, my ability stagnates. If I actively create things right at my skill
level, I stay the same, and if I actively try to learn new methods to deal
with problems my ability increases. If my ability were to stagnate far enough,
all I would have left would be opinions about the methods that made up my
previous ability. I could probably still argue in their favor, but not do much
else than that.

For the second, it's a bit vague to me. I guess if you don't have much in the
way of ability, you may start defining yourself by your opinions - which can
lead to narrow-mindedness and exclusion because you are stuck in a mindset
where your opinion is "correct" and have not experienced the other side of the
debate, whatever it may be.

I'm pretty sketchy on my guess on that second one.

"I mean, I'm all for creating over not creating, but this sounds like feel-
good but completely unsupported assertions."

You may be right, but I have the feeling that it has more to do with the
format of twitter than anything else.

"(Also, are there any people who do not in fact create anything?)"

Unless you're speaking of the obvious physical limitations on "not creating
anything", yes - tons of them.

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jrockway
Most Mac users need to read this. Choosing to use something is different from
creating that thing.

~~~
shiranaihito
How do you even connect the dots from what Why said to using a Mac?

Since when does using a Mac mean you're an aspiring artist who fails to
actually create anything?

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gunderson
It's the idea that the person sitting there working on a mac must be creative
b/c he has the good taste to own a mac, the machine of choice of graphic
designers, marketers, and other creative types.

~~~
unalone
See, maybe it's where I hail from (New Jersey), but I've never seen the
mindset that Apple = creative. Me and other Mac users talk a lot about our
Macs because a lot of us are just finding out how to do stuff, and if somebody
else brings up the stereotype of artsy-fartsy we jump into character... but I
haven't seen anybody walking around with this "I own a Mac" self-importance.
There's a lot of "Boy am I glad I have a Mac" mentality, but that's about it.

Actually, the most pretentious lad I know uses a Windows because he's too
artsy to use something that's accepted by the artistic majority.

~~~
gunderson
That's hilarious... the guy who uses windows...

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13ren
_Your tastes only narrow_

But even if they do narrow, the more you look, the more you see... a world in
a grain of sand.

------
gunderson
I am not a huge fan of cartoon foxes, but he really nails it with that tweet.
Maybe cartoon foxes aren't so bad after all.

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hugh
This would be better if it were lengthened out to a proper article.

It would probably still sound pretentious, self-important and platitudinous,
though.

~~~
gunderson
Your post? Or why's tweet?

~~~
jshen
it's the platitudinous that sounds platitudinous

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brandonkm
I really like that quote. Probably one of the more insightful quotes i've read
recently. If more people created things that were a fan of the scene in which
they made something would only improve. On the flip side, you have to
acknowledge the quality of the creations, which can only improve with the
number of creative contributions.

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axod
Well that was a waste of time clicking... I feel empty and used.

Who would have thought it'd come to sharing fortune cookie soundbites.

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brianmckenzie
I really needed to hear this today. Thanks!

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tamersalama
Not sure I'm getting thick or the css work is eating my brain.

I think he meant "confined" rather than "defined".

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jodrellblank
Sketchy, Fitful Why

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xenoterracide
11 points? 11 points!!!!

man I'm really thinking about leaving this site. people ask questions on here
and sometimes they don't get past 1... (when they are legit) and things like
this... get 11!!

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rewind
If you're going to leave, just leave. There's no need to waste our time
telling us about it. I'm not trying to be (overly) harsh, but I'm pretty sure
there are far more people than just me who are tired of wasting time reading
comments from people threatening to leave or bitching about a post that got
too high on the homepage.

~~~
froo
I know I'm going to get voted down for this, but your comment is fair - I was
going to vote it up until I realised its current points....

11 points - irony is a wonderful thing :)

