RE: “Git Gud” – You Don’t Want An Objective Review, You Want Your Opinion Parroted
This topic is one refrain that I've been repeating in my non-fiction writing for the better part of a decade now. It is everywhere, and it is deeply troubling. It is what leads to people attacking what others enjoy, the behaviour on Tumblr and 4Chan, and many others.
I am all for keeping your personality small. What I mean by this is not being humble, and I do not speak against empathy, but against tethering your personhood to outside things.
It is also evidently seen in politics and religions at times, where the one you completely disagree with? Not much cause to argue with them, because you're not even close. But the fiercest fights of doctrine are with those we agree on most things with.
And thank you for weighing in Jess. It's a tough fight to fight. But one of the more important ones. It deals with how we define ourselves, and how we relate to others. What more important things are there?
Yes, that's an excellent way to put it. I also think the the way we are schooled has much to do with it. At least in the US a school rarely teaches people how to learn things or how to examine a position critically. Most of the thirteen (now with pre-pre-school) sometimes 15 years of public schooling we receive is focused on memorizing a point of trivia then regurgitating it. Here's the important part: If you are right, you are rewarded. You are given a sticker, a homework pass, an ice cream, a special status. Most children spend their formative years being rewarded for being right and penalized for being wrong most of their day. Under such conditions how can one avoid having a significant part of one's self-worth entangled in the notion of being right?