Sadly, I only have so many hours in a day, and opportunity costs bite everyone. Still, there’s this odd split between the types of activities that I want to do - create, or consume.
I’m trying to learn how to draw. I want to be good, but I’m pretty bad at it. At the same time, I love reading webcomics. So when I get some free time, what do I do? Keep practicing drawing, or just veg out and read?
Similarly, I play street fighter. I want to be good, but I’m pretty bad at it. At the same time, I love watching match videos. So when I get some free time, do I practice/play or do I watch?
It somehow disturbs me that my primary leisure activity is to just consume what others produce, but then, what I can produce on my own just isn’t worth anything. There are far greater artists, far better players, which I could be watching with my time, but should I instead focus on my own crude efforts, leaving my mark on this world however petty?
you’re looking at it in economic terms. whether you produce or consume, you’re helping the economy. if you are worried at the quality or value of what you produce, assess you skills and training against what you are doing at present. i suspect you’re after other things like psychic rewards, satisfaction, and experience. if you can’t tell yourself what you want at the moment, dowse around for things that really interest you.
This is defeatist thinking. You aren’t going to get any better at drawing or street fighter if you don’t practice.
I lean heavily toward creation being far better than consuming. It is really very hard not to consume at least some art, culture, whatever - but it is actually very hard to create things, and I have the greatest respect for those that focus enough to do so. Consuming is being passive and not shaping your own world. It is letting other people decide your personal culture and expression.
Appreciating and taking in other’s work is not bad in moderation (and is actually quite inspiring), but if you want to create something (and it sounds like you do) and choose not to because you are afraid it isn’t any good or other people won’t like it, that is quite sad. I think the ability of humans to express ourselves is one of our most valuable traits.
Unless you’re a visionary uber-genius, your creating will benefit from having consumed a lot of quality stuff. So consume good stuff and tell yourself that you’re preparing to create.
Nobody starts out as an expert in any field of study. You get good by practicing. But you can also draw inspiration from the works of others.
A musician friend said something that I thought was pretty profound. “If you can’t write, play. If you can’t play, write. If you can’t write or play, listen.”
For what it’s worth…I DO create. The end result of which is: I have more stuff to find a place to store it. Many of the things I create have zero economic value and I’m not really interested in the hassle of packaging, advertising, shipping, and billing…nor am I interested in making something in volume for sale.
Think of it as being good at chess, which I also suck at. I also suck at Go.
It might be defeatist thinking, but it’s true isn’t it? Most of what anyone ever does regardless of practice is sub par, and you probably would be better off buying the same thing from someone else. What’s the point then? May as well sit back and be entertained, and just consume. Less work, more pleasure.
… Maybe this is Asian thinking. If you’re not the best, you’re last and should do something else. I’m just wondering why people that objectively aren’t good don’t just give up.
Because right under “The Best” and just above “Good Enough” is a WHOLE LOTTA PLAYING ROOM.
I really LIKE racing Karts. Alas, I am in the same equipment as the guy next to me, and he weighs 100 lbs less…so it’s a convenient excuse for losing, and it lets me just concentrate on improving myself.
I can have 90% as much fun, for 10% the cost, as the guy who has to be BAMF Fastest Time of Day on the track.
I’m not a competitive person, mainly because I have a bad habit of always comparing myself to others. And I never come out ahead. I’m always the “worse” one. Sometimes–maybe most times–it’s an irrational feeling. But sometimes I really am the bad one, and I just hate it.
So I “do” by myself. I don’t mind being my own judge. I can laugh at my mistakes and just measure myself against myself. For instance, I’m a terrible piano player in the world of piano players. But I’ve listened to recordings of myself playing a song and I’m always amazed at how good I am compared to how I used to be. As I’ve grown with it, I’ve come to really appreciate how wonderful music is and how tough it is to play an instrument. So creating has made consuming more rewarding.
There is nothing wrong with just being a consumer, though. People create so that others can consume.
the adage that middling swordsmen end up in graves is not always true, since it’s not a perpetual duel done until there’s just one man standing. i think in this case it’ll be good to apply the marketing theory of segmentation and positioning. now every painter today is of renaissance master level but you can see there’s a profitable niche for almost every skill level.
and don’t over-estimate asians. much of their ways are borrowed from the west (or at least some other culture.) their top performers are not representative of the population (heck, you know that.)
