Stepping out of the Pool: Human Thinking

**Universal Mind** · 05-17-2008 04:17 AM

Originally Posted by Vance

I think movies and plays are a complete waste of time. There is no point to them whatsoever but expending energy and time to something that will not further humanity in the end. That same money could be put into cancer research and space program funding, as well as healthcare and enviromental awareness. I firmly believe that the people who produce this kind of entertainment are wasting their time and ours in the end.

Stop right there.

You have already formulated that you dissent to this idea, but you don't know how. As you begin to type your post, you start trying to think of reasons to back your dissent. This is what ends up spilling out:

I don't think that movies are a waste of time at all. Humans need entertainment in their lives, and it helps keep our emotions under control. We are members of an emotional race that needs outlets, and without entertainment we are essentially just robots.

Essentially the post would be something like that.

Stop right there.

You might dissent to that sentence. You may think that you would agree with the original poster now, because that statement just challenged you to take a stand.

What just happened there was this:

a.You dissented to the original post.

b.When I said that your response would be along these lines, your position shifted.

You are now on the defensive, and may now say:

I think everyone has their own opinions and beliefs, and if you like movies you go to them, if you don't you don't. Everyone has their different tastes.

Stop right there.

This is a typical post that would probably appear 4 or 5 posts down from the OP. The poster will have scanned the negative and positive responses, and decided to try and stick out by acting as a mediator.

Stop right there.

By now, your responses to my full post, Stepping out of the Pool: Human Thinking is either:

a. You're over-analyzing

b. Interesting idea, but...

c. That made no sense

d. That was genius

The purpose of this post was to get you thinking outside the box. I think forums are very interesting to analyze, because people really want to get an opinion out, maybe even one they don't completely agree with. This may step on some toes, but I believe many people take "quick stands."

A quick stand is an opinion formulated on no other basis than trying to sound smart. Think about the time it takes you to think up your conclusion. Do you sit down and think about it? No, you make it up as you read the OP and skim over the replies, then post something that would be formulated over a period of 8 or so seconds. When another poster puts you on the defensive, you resort to tooth and nail to win that fight. Now, it's about sounding more mature than the other person. People don't flame "screw you!" back, they take time in formulating blocks of text while checking back on the post to find those little innacuracies that you can use agains him. Eventually people try to jump off the boat while they are ahead, saying "I'm done with this" even though they check back to see the aftermath. You know you do.

a. You're over-analyzing

b. Interesting idea, but...

c. That made no sense

d. That was genius

Pick one.

Wrong. Repeatedly wrong.

**ray** · 05-17-2008 08:18 PM

lmao. You do know he is watching the aftermath as i type don't you? I hope you do, if not the human race is doomed. In reply to vance's original post; I agreed with you completely and utterly before even reading the aftermath of your d.) genius.No, you are not over analyzing anything just simply stating the observed but seldom contemplated and mostly ignored truth of human nature as we are molded to think in our current society.

**Vance** · 05-17-2008 09:22 PM

Originally Posted by Abra

Stop right there. I didn't read past the second paragraph. My response to the first paragraph was "A play and a movie, although they do not directly further humanity, react to the individual's unique brainwiring to produce a specific flicker of inspiration of thought and emotion. Due to the inumerable outcomes of human thought, a movie or play does not elicit the same response in everyone. In this way, movies and plays aren't reiterations of archetypal, repetitive thought, but vessels for the modification and evolution of individual thought."

I stopped reading the first time at the second "Stop right there," as I felt I already knew the jist of the post. I find it ironic that my reaction to the first paragraph now has dual meaning.

Now, aside from your assumption that I will continue reading the post due to curiosity, give me a good reason to finish reading the post.

I will know if you don't.

**Vance** · 05-17-2008 09:25 PM

Originally Posted by Universal Mind

Wrong. Repeatedly wrong.

And so are all the other people that support it, I suppose?

**Abra** · 05-18-2008 09:20 PM

I read it now~

Your thread attempts to direct the thoughts of the reader. You used phrasing that would invoke dissent, and put us under the suggestion that we would hold a dissentful opinion. You generalize our actions, and support it with nothing but words and assumptions of our behavior. Really, it's nothing special. I could make a thread parody with the same argument, only instead of dissent with "the uselessness of movies," it could be dissent with "whether or not to post in a thread." In the end, I could also use generic reasoning to generalize two outcomes:

a. You post in the thread for reason yada yada.
b. You don't post in the thread for reason yada yada.

Clever idea, but the execution was predictable. Also, you never state how to help us "step out of the pool."