# Nothing Special lives up to his username. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 5, 2006, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nothing-special-lives-up-to-his-username/382898 "2006-12-05T02:37:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nothing-special-lives-up-to-his-username/382898/1 "2006-12-05T02:37:58Z")
He or she is just that. In addition to a [troll](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=398725). Please stop feeding it. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nothing-special-lives-up-to-his-username/382898/2 "2006-12-05T02:50:10Z")
Help out us lazy folks - what post or posts make you think he or she does not actually hold the beliefs he or she is putting forth, but is only trying to get a reaction? ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nothing-special-lives-up-to-his-username/382898/3 "2006-12-05T02:59:33Z")
[QUOTE=Revtim] Help out us lazy folks - what post or posts make you think he or she does not actually hold the beliefs he or she is putting forth, but is only trying to get a reaction? [/QUOTE] That would be the repetition of “every major sport causes inevitable major damage to the body” with absolutely nothing offered to back up the statement even when asked several times. Not to mention calling volleyball and tennis “inherently violent sports,” which if not trolling is certainly idiotic. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nothing-special-lives-up-to-his-username/382898/4 "2006-12-05T03:01:20Z")
I have known people that believe that sports have no merit. I have an uncle that thinks music has no merit. It can happen and that is hardly the most extremist view that I have seen some honestly take in GD. Some people take a position that they only hold a little and turn it into a debate just to see how all the arguments, including their own, unfold. There is nothing wrong with that. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nothing-special-lives-up-to-his-username/382898/5 "2006-12-05T03:26:40Z")
Kind of reminds me of myself in high school. 1. Start with a premise of something people should want (usually just something that _I_ really wanted) 2. Go to illogical extremes of how everyone should think and behave to bring about (1) 3. Declare that everyone not doing and believing (2) is irrational and unenlightened compared to me Needless to say, I didn’t date much then. Life gets better when you understand that real people don’t act like the aliens of the week on Star Trek. ---
**Author:** ![Mbossa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@Mbossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mbossa)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nothing-special-lives-up-to-his-username/382898/6 "2006-12-05T03:36:55Z")
[QUOTE=Garfield226] That would be the repetition of “every major sport causes inevitable major damage to the body” with absolutely nothing offered to back up the statement even when asked several times. [/QUOTE] A little help here? I can’t find a single place where he/she makes that claim. I’ve found these claims: “Baseball, football, basketball, and hockey are all taken for granted as a risk for major bodily injury” “Athletics carried to the extreme of the “professional” (not to mention some amateurs) are generally quite damaging to the individual over time” “Running in the manner required for tennis causes inevitable damage over time” But nothing saying that _every_ major sport causes _inevitable major_ damage to the body. ---
**Author:** ![Nothing\_Special](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9f8e36/32.png) [@Nothing\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nothing_Special)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nothing-special-lives-up-to-his-username/382898/7 "2006-12-05T03:38:22Z")
[QUOTE=Garfield226] He or she is just that. In addition to a [troll](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=398725). Please stop feeding it. Thanks. [/QUOTE] Now, now, I think you should face up to your lack of subtlety. By referring to myself as **Nothing Special** I am saying that I am BOTH **Nothing** AND **Special**! These are somewhat contrary terms. Chew on it for awhile. Oh, and I‘m male, but thanks for the compliment of your uncertainty. ---
**Author:** ![Nothing\_Special](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9f8e36/32.png) [@Nothing\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nothing_Special)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nothing-special-lives-up-to-his-username/382898/8 "2006-12-05T03:44:12Z")
[QUOTE=Revtim] Help out us lazy folks - what post or posts make you think he or she does not actually hold the beliefs he or she is putting forth, but is only trying to get a reaction? [/QUOTE] I believe in everything that I post! There is no alternative! ---
**Author:** ![Nothing\_Special](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9f8e36/32.png) [@Nothing\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nothing_Special)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nothing-special-lives-up-to-his-username/382898/9 "2006-12-05T03:56:56Z")
[QUOTE=Sublight] Kind of reminds me of myself in high school. 1. Start with a premise of something people should want (usually just something that _I_ really wanted) [/QUOTE] I wanted to be a good athlete in high school. I did it. It was a bad thing for me to try to do. [QUOTE=Sublight] 2. Go to illogical extremes of how everyone should think and behave to bring about (1) [/QUOTE] It is a bad thing for anyone to try to do. So, why do people try to do it? [QUOTE=Sublight] 3. Declare that everyone not doing and believing (2) is irrational and unenlightened compared to me Needless to say, I didn’t date much then. Life gets better when you understand that real people don’t act like the aliens of the week on Star Trek. [/QUOTE] Those who engage in normal sports are inherently irrational. They have to be to risk such damage. I dated a lot back then, and now. Athletes often do. It is normal athletics that destroy you, not dating. And people behave very much as the characters on Star Trek (at least TOS). TOS constitutes many excellent object lessons in human behavior. ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nothing-special-lives-up-to-his-username/382898/10 "2006-12-05T04:03:46Z")
[QUOTE=Mbossa] A little help here? I can’t find a single place where he/she makes that claim. I’ve found these claims: “Baseball, football, basketball, and hockey are all taken for granted as a risk for major bodily injury” “Athletics carried to the extreme of the “professional” (not to mention some amateurs) are generally quite damaging to the individual over time” “Running in the manner required for tennis causes inevitable damage over time” But nothing saying that _every_ major sport causes _inevitable major_ damage to the body. [/QUOTE] Here: [ > [@Nothing Special](#): > > > [@John Mace](#): > > > > And who said damaging onesself is fun? Athletes go to great lengths to make sure they don’t get damaged. > > And they end up getting badly damaged, inevitably. Is it only the money, or is it something else, on both the part of the participant and the observer? ]([http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=8023299&postcount=14](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=8023299&postcount=14)) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nothing-special-lives-up-to-his-username/382898/11 "2006-12-05T05:16:01Z")
Yeah, he’s either a troll or incredibly dense. We should stop feeding it and hope it goes away. I hear that participationg in message boards inevitably leads to damage. Why do people keep doing it? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Nothing\_Special](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9f8e36/32.png) [@Nothing\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nothing_Special)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nothing-special-lives-up-to-his-username/382898/12 "2006-12-05T05:37:50Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] Yeah, he’s either a troll or incredibly dense. We should stop feeding it and hope it goes away. I hear that participationg in message boards inevitably leads to damage. Why do people keep doing it? :rolleyes: [/QUOTE] A thoroughly useless and pointless response. Can anyone do better? Defeatism is fatal! We must avoid it! ---
**Author:** ![Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/c4cdca/32.png) [@Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quiddity_Glomfuster)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nothing-special-lives-up-to-his-username/382898/13 "2006-12-05T05:55:25Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] Yeah, he’s either a troll or incredibly dense. We should stop feeding it and hope it goes away. I hear that participationg in message boards inevitably leads to damage. Why do people keep doing it? :rolleyes: [/QUOTE] At this point I’m guessing that the severe damage he suffered because of sports must’ve involved several heavy slams to the noggin. ---
**Author:** ![lokij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5e9695/32.png) [@lokij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lokij)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nothing-special-lives-up-to-his-username/382898/14 "2006-12-05T05:56:44Z")
> [@](#): > > 1. Sex. It’s relatively easy for me since my preference, as a male, is for adult women. Society sanctions that, so it’s a-ok in anyone’s book, as long as my partner isn’t married. If she is, there are potential problems. > > 2. Yoga. It’s worked for me every time I’ve tried it, which is almost every day for the last 15 years. It feels good. > > 3. Walking/hiking. I walk, I think, I look around, and eventually write things down. Much fun, for me. > > 4. Eating raw vegetables, and drinking raw vegetable juice. Both are a real rush. > > 5. Breaking into an occasional, brief run while I’m walking/hiking. This can sometimes disconcert other people around, but fuck ‘em. This was my favorite post by him in that thread. He relates what he does for fun. Basically, Nothing Special, you live your life like a cow. You walk, you eat vegetables, you occasionally run, you stretch to feel good and you indulge in your generative instincts. You also seem to think people should be more like yourself so I’ll chalk that up to herd mentality. There is a difference between life and living, from existing and experiencing the opportunities and pleasures of this world as human beings. We get one shot at this and the last thing I want on my tombstone is “He was pretty safe while he existed”. Sports aren’t my thing either but in a near infinity of human experiences to share in and contribute to, the ones that are without risk and really noteworthy are a minute fraction of what is available. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nothing-special-lives-up-to-his-username/382898/15 "2006-12-05T06:06:33Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] I have known people that believe that sports have no merit. I have an uncle that thinks music has no merit. It can happen and that is hardly the most extremist view that I have seen some honestly take in GD. Some people take a position that they only hold a little and turn it into a debate just to see how all the arguments, including their own, unfold. There is nothing wrong with that. [/QUOTE] The problem is that he’s not arguing, just repeating himself and making more and more loony statements, occasionally ignoring counter-arguments. It looks like it’s an attempt to provoke a reaction, not a debate. Before my last post in the thread, he said > [@](#): > > Running in the manner required for tennis causes inevitable damage over time. We aren’t designed to withstand such repeated activity for long. So he’s not generally claiming that sports are bad. He’s specifically claiming that all sports lead directly to severe injury. Therefore, somehow, it’s bad to do them or watch them. ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nothing-special-lives-up-to-his-username/382898/16 "2006-12-05T06:29:40Z")
[QUOTE=Quiddity Glomfuster] At this point I’m guessing that the severe damage he suffered because of sports must’ve involved several heavy slams to the noggin. [/QUOTE] I’m voting for “fielded line drives with his forehead.” ---
**Author:** ![Nothing\_Special](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9f8e36/32.png) [@Nothing\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nothing_Special)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nothing-special-lives-up-to-his-username/382898/17 "2006-12-05T06:41:07Z")
[QUOTE=lokij] This was my favorite post by him in that thread. He relates what he does for fun. [/QUOTE] I was asked for the top 5 of what I do for fun. I reported them. They are all good things. You don’t care for one or more of them, that’s tough shit for you. [QUOTE=lokij] Basically, Nothing Special, you live your life like a cow. You walk, you eat vegetables, you occasionally run, you stretch to feel good and you indulge in your generative instincts. [/QUOTE] Do cows write? If so, I want to know about it. Please cite. [QUOTE=lokij] You also seem to think people should be more like yourself so I’ll chalk that up to herd mentality. [/QUOTE] I’m clearly a herd of one, and that doesn’t constitute much of a herd. Your own herd I will leave you to. [QUOTE=lokij] There is a difference between life and living, from existing and experiencing the opportunities and pleasures of this world as human beings. We get one shot at this and the last thing I want on my tombstone is “He was pretty safe while he existed”. Sports aren’t my thing either but in a near infinity of human experiences to share in and contribute to, the ones that are without risk and really noteworthy are a minute fraction of what is available. [/QUOTE] And on your own tombstone, what? “He was an idiot who ended his own life far earlier than need be through his own self destruction? And a bunch of people paid him well for it, too! Too bad he was always in such pain, but there you are.” ---
**Author:** ![lokij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5e9695/32.png) [@lokij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lokij)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nothing-special-lives-up-to-his-username/382898/18 "2006-12-05T06:57:11Z")
[QUOTE=Nothing Special] And on your own tombstone, what? “He was an idiot who ended his own life far earlier than need be through his own self destruction? And a bunch of people paid him well for it, too! Too bad he was always in such pain, but there you are.” [/QUOTE] Hmm let me see if I can speak to you in a language you will understand. Mooo.. Moo moo.. Mooo mooo mooo moo… Mooooooooooo. Fuck off… Moooooo. I imagine that they’ll put something about not suffering fools gladly on my tombstone, though smiting them sometimes cause me pain it was always worth it. ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nothing-special-lives-up-to-his-username/382898/19 "2006-12-05T07:16:51Z")
[QUOTE=Nothing Special] And on your own tombstone, what? “He was an idiot who ended his own life far earlier than need be through his own self destruction? And a bunch of people paid him well for it, too! Too bad he was always in such pain, but there you are.” [/QUOTE] You got picked last for kickball a lot in elementary school, didn’t you? ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nothing-special-lives-up-to-his-username/382898/20 "2006-12-05T10:54:09Z")
> [@](#): > > 1. Eating raw vegetables, and drinking raw vegetable juice. Both are a real rush. I prefer my vegetables preprocessed in the form of a burger or steak. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nothing-special-lives-up-to-his-username/382898.md?page=2)