Stop feeling superior for being ignorant

[Really_Not_All_That_Bright]

Well, there’s a reasonable basis for that: anything that gets played on Top 40 radio gets played 400 times a day, and quickly goes from cool to vomitous.

[Guinastasia]

True, but I’m talking about people who dislike things soully BECAUSE they’re popular.

[Really_Not_All_That_Bright]

That’s not totally unreasonable in itself. Love and justice may be blind, but music listeners are not. Image is a big part of the industry. Besides, lots of people like things solely because they’re popular, so it’s unsurprising that the reverse is true.

Plus, there are an awful lot of retarded people out there. If 40% of the population likes something, chances that it doesn’t suck are slim.

[Measure_for_Measure]

@Little_Nemo

@Measure_for_Measure

Sherlock Holmes prided himself on what he didn’t know: IIRC, that included basic astronomy. Doyle included that discussion with Watson to display Holmes’ peculiarity I think.

Holmes only got away with this because Doyle covered for him. He made sure Holmes never got involved in a case where basic astronomical information was needed for the solution. He also made sure that the obscure trivia that Holmes did study, like cigarette ashes, was relevant to the cases he was called in for.

A Study In Scarlet, which introduces the learned detective, is public domain so I can quote it at length. FWIW only:

He [Holmes] was not studying medicine. He had himself, in reply to a question, confirmed Stamford's opinion upon that point. Neither did he appear to have pursued any course of reading which might fit him for a degree, in science or any other recognized portal which would give him an entrance into the learned world. Yet his zeal for certain studies was remarkable, and within eccentric limits his knowledge was so extraordinarily ample and minute that his observations have fairly astounded me. Surely no man would work so hard or attain such precise information unless he had some definite end in view. Desultory readers are seldom remarkable for the exactness of their learning. No man burdens his mind with small matters unless he has some very good reason for doing so.

His ignorance was as remarkable as his knowledge. Of contemporary literature, philosophy and politics he appeared to know next to nothing. Upon my quoting Thomas Carlyle, he inquired in the naivest way who he might be and what he had done. My surprise reached a climax, however, when I found incidentally that he was ignorant of the Copernican Theory and of the composition of the Solar System. That any civilized human being in this nineteenth century should not be aware that the earth travelled round the sun appeared to me to be such an extraordinary fact that I could hardly realize it.

"You appear to be astonished," he said, smiling at my expression of surprise. "Now that I do know it I shall do my best to forget it."

"To forget it!"

"You see," he explained, I consider that a man's brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose. A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across, so that the knowledge which might be useful to him gets crowded out, or at best is jumbled up with a lot of other things, so that he has a difficulty in laying his hands upon it. Now the skillful workman is very careful indeed as to what he takes into his brain-attic. He will have nothing but the tools which may help him in doing his work, but of these he has a large assortment, and all in the most perfect order. It is a mistake to think that that little room has elastic walls and can distend to any extent. Depend upon it there comes a time when for every addition of knowledge you forget something that you knew before. It is of the highest importance, therefore, not to have useless facts elbowing out the useful ones."

"But the Solar System!" I protested.

"What the deuce is it to me?" he interrupted impatiently: "you say that we go round the sun. If we went round the moon it would not make a pennyworth of difference to me or to my work."

I was on the point of asking him what that work might be, but something in his manner showed me that the question would be an unwelcome one. I pondered over our short conversation however, and endeavoured to draw my deductions from it. He said that he would acquire no knowledge which did not bear upon his object. Therefore all the knowledge which he possessed was such as would be useful to him. I enumerated in my own mind all the various points upon which he had shown me that he was exceptionally well informed. I even took a pencil and jotted them down. I could not help smiling at the document when I had completed it. It ran in this way:

Sherlock Holmes -- his limits 1. Knowledge of Literature. -- Nil. 2. "" Philosophy. -- Nil. 3. "" Astronomy. -- Nil. 4. "" Politics. -- Feeble. 5. "" Botany. -- Variable. Well up in belladonna, opium, and poisons generally. Knows nothing of practical gardening. 6. Knowledge of Geology. -- Practical, but limited. Tells at a glance different soils from each other. After walks has shown me splashes upon his trousers, and told me by their colour and consistence in what part of London he had received them. 7. Knowledge of Chemistry. -- Profound. 8. "" Anatomy. -- Accurate, but unsystematic 9. "" Sensational Literature. -- Immense. He appears to know every detail of every horror perpetrated in the century. 10. Plays the violin well. 11. Is an expert singlestick player, boxer, and swordsman. 12. Has a good practical knowledge of British law.

When I had got so far in my list I threw it into the fire in despair. "If I can only find what the fellow is driving at by reconciling all these accomplishments, and discovering a calling which needs them all," I said to myself, "I may as well give up the attempt at once." 

I’m unclear on whether Holmes’ understanding of human memory is even remotely accurate, but perhaps some dubiousness is in order.

[billfish678]

@Really_Not_All_That_Bright

Plus, there are an awful lot of retarded people out there. If 40% of the population likes something, chances that it doesn’t suck are slim.

True enough.

Now cue “you may be a redneck voice”:

You too may be a retard if all of a sudden all the other retards out there start liking the stuff you did before it became popular

[Nzinga_Seated]

@Thudlow_Boink

While I do indeed agree with your point, I think this sort of attitude may be a backlash or counterattack against the also-annoying attitude that puts people down as uncool, square, or elitist for not being up to date on pop culture.

If you’re frequently exposed (not necessarily here) to "All the cool kids are watching/reading/listening to/paying attention to [latest “in” person, place, or thing with a popular or cult following], I can see why you might get defensive and try to portray it as a virtue rather than a defect in yourself.

I don’t buy this. I’m sure this kind of thing happens, because I hear people talking about it all the time. So maybe it happens often.

But when you are at the SDMB, you know* exactly* where you are. You know good and damn well that saying, “who is Lady Gaga? I suppose one wouldn’t have heard of her if one’s nose is parked appropriately in the musty pages of a well-worn and well-loved book, would one?” …isn’t going to get you put down for being a square. Not at the dope. No. You say stuff like that because you hope that the Doper elites will recognize you as a high ranking member of the Elitist Elites that ever Elited.

I would like to point out that if the OP had linked to the post in question, we would have known at the gate that he just mistook the poster’s intention. This is why I hate when posters do the whole, “I won’t link to it because you all know who you are” bit. Just link to it. Please

[pravnik]

@Chicagojeff

Life without snookie or jwow?

@alice_in_wonderland

Snookie?

@Really_Not_All_That_Bright

Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie Snookie …

Snooki, goddamnit! No e! No e!! Snooki!

[Sodalite]

@Max_the_Immortal

@Sodalite

Exactly this. Anyone who says they’ve never even heard of whatever current pop culture fad is going around has nothing to be proud of. That just means they pay no attention to their surroundings.

No, I don’t pay attention to your surroundings.

Sorry, I didn’t realize you were from some other planet. I have no interest in Jersey Dumbfuck Stupidsville, or whatever. Unfortunately, that doesn’t keep me from being bombarded by information about that show and thousands of other things I don’t care about all day, every day. I am drowning in a sea of annoying information I can’t use. I know every character and even episode numbers of shows I don’t watch. I know the entire plot of dozens of movies I’ve never seen and books I’ve never even touched. I can’t escape from it. Even if I cut myself off from all media of any kind, there are still people and they still talk about things, and I STILL HEAR IT. I don’t want to, I don’t need to and I wouldn’t if there were some way to avoid it other than killing myself. All I want out of life is to get through as much of it as I can without being bothered. It just isn’t possible. I can’t shut my brain off to that extent. People who can don’t know how damned lucky they are.

[kaylasdad99]

@elmwood

@Sodalite

I work in a flower shop. Every Valentine’s we get dozens of panicked guys coming in at the last minute telling us how they “had no idea” it was Valentine’s Day. Really? So you haven’t noticed all the pink and red heart decorations and giant heart shaped boxes of candy that have HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY written all over them? The piles of heart bearing stuffed animals at every store and gas station you walked into since the day after Christmas? The people on the corners selling expensive baskets of cheap-ass crap and wilted flowers in heart covered paper (that’s a pit thread for another time)? The TV, radio, and internet ads? None of it? Well then, you sir, must have your head shoved pretty far up your ass most of the time.

I don’t think it’s so much where one forgets about the existence of Valentine’s Day. Instead, it’s holiday creep. With the promotion of and lead-up to a holiday getting longer and longer, I think we’re just surprised to know that a holiday may be tomorrow, rather than a couple of weeks from now. I think we also forget that Valentine’s Day is a fixed day (February 14), rather than a floating holiday (e.g. third Monday of the month, fourth Thursday of the month), as so many are now.

Word. Like, I get really stressed every summer about how I’m sure I’m going to miss the All-Star game.

Not gonna let it happen again, though. Next week I’m going to make it a point to find out when it’s scheduled for, and have an email sent to myself on the day before.

[Little_Nemo]

But when you are at the SDMB, you know exactly where you are. You know good and damn well that saying, “who is Lady Gaga? I suppose one wouldn’t have heard of her if one’s nose is parked appropriately in the musty pages of a well-worn and well-loved book, would one?” …isn’t going to get you put down for being a square. Not at the dope. No. You say stuff like that because you hope that the Doper elites will recognize you as a high ranking member of the Elitist Elites that ever Elited.

I don’t get that feeling here. One reason I like this board is because I feel you can find people willing to talk about a wide variety of subjects. You can discuss who will win next year’s Nobel Prize in Economics or next week’s episode of Dancing With The Stars and find people (in some cases the same people) who have informed opinions on the issue.

I would like to point out that if the OP had linked to the post in question, we would have known at the gate that he just mistook the poster’s intention. This is why I hate when posters do the whole, “I won’t link to it because you all know who you are” bit. Just link to it. Please

Sorry, no. I was not greatly annoyed by that particular post. I just felt it was an example that stood for dozens of other similar posts and therefore it would be unfair of me to single that one post out for all of the cumulative annoyance I feel for those dozens of others. The fact that two other people have mistakenly thought that they were the poster in question indicates I’m not imaging that these other posts exist.

[pulykamell]

@pravnik

Snooki, goddamnit! No e! No e!! Snooki!

I’m somewhat ashamed to admit, although I’ve never seen an episode of the Jersey Shore (most of my pop culture knowledge comes via The Soup), the fact that everyone was spelling Snooki as “Snookie” was driving me fucking nuts.

[curlcoat]

@elmwood

The new snobbery: “I don’t own a flat screen HDTV. My old CRT is just fine. High definition doesn’t make the shows any better.” I think these are the children of parents who never got AM-FM radios for their cars.

Or they could be like me - I cannot really see the difference between hi def and regular TV. If I really really focus, I can see a little more detail, but if hubby hadn’t wanted it, we wouldn’t have one.

[Nobody]

Since I’m sure This thread that I started is probably included in the rant, let me just set the record straight. I only started that thread because I thought it would be an interesting topic. No snobbery or feelings of superiority.

I also don’t have a high def TV, partial because I can’t afford one right now and even if I could afford it I don’t think the difference in picture quality justifies me getting rid of my current set and upgrading. I never knew my feelings were caused being feeling smug and superior. I guess I learned something about myself today.

[Nzinga_Seated]

@Little_Nemo

I don’t get that feeling here. One reason I like this board is because I feel you can find people willing to talk about a wide variety of subjects. You can discuss who will win next year’s Nobel Prize in Economics or next week’s episode of Dancing With The Stars and find people (in some cases the same people) who have informed opinions on the issue.

Even though I’m a bit tipsy, I’m going to try to clarify my post a bit.

I’m not knocking the dope for elitism. I love the Dope. Great place that has taught me a ton of stuff. Love dopers in general, but have some favorites that I’m a groupie for. So not knocking the dope.

I was posting in response to Thudlow Boink, who said this:

While I do indeed agree with your point, I think this sort of attitude may be a backlash or counterattack against the also-annoying attitude that puts people down as uncool, square, or elitist for not being up to date on pop culture.

If you’re frequently exposed (not necessarily here) to "All the cool kids are watching/reading/listening to/paying attention to [latest “in” person, place, or thing with a popular or cult following], I can see why you might get defensive and try to portray it as a virtue rather than a defect in yourself.

That is not a worry here at the dope because we know there are a LOT of posters who like to go on and on about not owning tvs and having too many books and all that. The dope is NOT the place that one would feel defensive about not having a tv or knowing pop culture. Let’s just keep it real about that.

The other part of my post about putting links in OPs is really just a general overall peeve of mine that I thought this was a good time to express. It doesn’t really matter to me the specific reason why you didn’t do it in this thread. It is just something I think folks should do, especially if they reference a specific post that people can pretty much figure it out.

[Little_Nemo]

@Nzinga_Seated

The other part of my post about putting links in OPs is really just a general overall peeve of mine that I thought this was a good time to express. It doesn’t really matter to me the specific reason why you didn’t do it in this thread. It is just something I think folks should do, especially if they reference a specific post that people can pretty much figure it out.

You could have just started a pit thread on the subject and then let a whole bunch of us post there asking if you’re talking about a post we made.

[Nzinga_Seated]

@Little_Nemo

@Nzinga_Seated

The other part of my post about putting links in OPs is really just a general overall peeve of mine that I thought this was a good time to express. It doesn’t really matter to me the specific reason why you didn’t do it in this thread. It is just something I think folks should do, especially if they reference a specific post that people can pretty much figure it out.

You could have just started a pit thread on the subject and then let a whole bunch of us post there asking if you’re talking about a post we made.

There is nothing that I feel I need to make a pit thread about. Just wanted to state, in a pit thread that is already in session, that links in OPs would save confusion. It’s not a big deal. Forget it, seriously. Don’t link if you don’t want to.

[lezlers]

@Really_Not_All_That_Bright

That’s not totally unreasonable in itself. Love and justice may be blind, but music listeners are not. Image is a big part of the industry. Besides, lots of people like things solely because they’re popular, so it’s unsurprising that the reverse is true.

Plus, there are an awful lot of retarded people out there. If 40% of the population likes something, chances that it doesn’t suck are slim.

I find this attitude totally obnoxious. You don’t want to like something that’s popular because you don’t want to go with the “sheeple” right? That makes you just as much a sheep as those you’re trying to avoid. You are basing your own individual preference on what others like or dislike. Therefore, you are no different from someone who chooses to like something based on nothing more than it being popular.

Such a rebel.

[Really_Not_All_That_Bright]

Who said anything about sheeple? Like it or not, most popular music is written, performed and produced to appeal to the lowest common denominator.

I don’t like Top 40 radio or MTV because I don’t like synth-pop or Nickelback. The same stuff that makes those things popular is the same stuff that makes it suck.

[Chessic_Sense]

@Nzinga_Seated

Not at the dope. No. You say stuff like that because you hope that the Doper elites will recognize you as a high ranking member of the Elitist Elites that ever Elited.

The Dope? Elite? One word: Buffy.

[Zeriel]

@Diogenes_the_Cynic

Something related that kind of bugs me is people who say they never watch television. First of all, I never believe them, and second of all, it just reeks of an assumption of cultural and intellectual superiority. It doesn’t make anybody more sophisticated or interesting if they don’t watch TV and it doesn’t make anybody unsophisticated or stupid if they do.

This particularly burns me because I don’t actually watch TV (I’m too cheap to buy cable), but it’s impossible to say “I don’t have cable” as a conversational response without coming off as elitist.

Besides, I just watch TV asynchronously–I get full-season DVD sets from Netflix after shows get cancelled. When I’m not drinking in a completely different set of stupid and pointless pop culture references on the Internet.