Tuesday, February 1, 2005
Mind stretching
"Can anything good be made of the Egyptian gold of libertarianism?"
That's the opening of today's post on a blog called The Dialogical Coffee House (which is nifty wording, if a whiff sophomoric, all by itself). You gotta love a world in which it's perfectly reasonable for something as more or less casual as a blog to begin this way. I haven't read enough yet to know whether I agree with the philosophy expounded thereon, but it's one of the particles in the wonderful breath and breadth of ideas that comprise a large part of the blogsphere.
The blog world has more sheer quantity of ideas, sometimes more complex ideas, and certainly a more wide-ranging topic list than a person is likely to happen upon in a lifetime of even very serious discussion among his or her own friends. For one thing, most of us tend to hang out with like-minded people and feel uncomfortable with anything more than a modicum of disagreement (cf. my January 15th post and T.Sowell's essay on the same subject). For another, we're a whole heck of a lot more likely to read things on a blog without turning away than to have the same discussion/argument in person. Most people don't like to feel provoked (read: challenged or dismayed) and, if they do, usually effectively end the discussion by blurting out something like 'you're kidding' or 'I don't want to go there' or 'do you really think so' or 'oh for heavens sake' or 'get a freaking grip' or 'no intelligent life in your universe buddy'. Or just smiling pleasantly without saying anything at all (my personal least favorite). But, aha, when you're reading a blog, no one hears you except you. If you say anything. So you keep reading anyway. Probably. Maybe. Yes, our little minds are getting stretched even if we don't agree and without even having to try very hard. Awesome.
That's the opening of today's post on a blog called The Dialogical Coffee House (which is nifty wording, if a whiff sophomoric, all by itself). You gotta love a world in which it's perfectly reasonable for something as more or less casual as a blog to begin this way. I haven't read enough yet to know whether I agree with the philosophy expounded thereon, but it's one of the particles in the wonderful breath and breadth of ideas that comprise a large part of the blogsphere.
The blog world has more sheer quantity of ideas, sometimes more complex ideas, and certainly a more wide-ranging topic list than a person is likely to happen upon in a lifetime of even very serious discussion among his or her own friends. For one thing, most of us tend to hang out with like-minded people and feel uncomfortable with anything more than a modicum of disagreement (cf. my January 15th post and T.Sowell's essay on the same subject). For another, we're a whole heck of a lot more likely to read things on a blog without turning away than to have the same discussion/argument in person. Most people don't like to feel provoked (read: challenged or dismayed) and, if they do, usually effectively end the discussion by blurting out something like 'you're kidding' or 'I don't want to go there' or 'do you really think so' or 'oh for heavens sake' or 'get a freaking grip' or 'no intelligent life in your universe buddy'. Or just smiling pleasantly without saying anything at all (my personal least favorite). But, aha, when you're reading a blog, no one hears you except you. If you say anything. So you keep reading anyway. Probably. Maybe. Yes, our little minds are getting stretched even if we don't agree and without even having to try very hard. Awesome.
Labels: blogs (others'), writing
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