Date: Sun, 09 Mar 2008 22:42:23 -0400 From: "Mike B." <yahoo at omniphile.com> Subject: [WSFA] Re: [wsfa-forum] Sad news To: wsfa-forum at yahoogroups.com,WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>, <wsfa-forum at yahoogroups.com> Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net> At 3/9/2008 03:07 PM, Elspeth Kovar wrote: >At 01:27 PM 3/9/2008, Mike B. wrote: > >At 3/9/2008 12:28 PM, Michael Walsh wrote: > > >Gygax ... NY Times ... Flowchart > > ><http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2008/03/09/opinion/09opart2.ready.html> > > > >Well, it looks somewhat like a flowchart...but has the same > >relationship that the cargo cult airplanes did to real > >airplanes. I.e. they are only the same if you are an ignorant > >primitive with no real understanding...or a NY Times "journalist", > >which appears to be pretty much the same thing. > > > >-- Mike B. > >-- > >"The greatest obstacle to discovering the shape of the earth, the > >continents, and the oceans was not ignorance but the illusion of knowledge." > > > > --Daniel J. Boorstin > >It's worth keeping the tagline, one of Mr. Boorstin's many aphorisms . You >have the illusion of knowledge about this thing generally known as humor, >and perhaps not even an illusion but ignorance of a more basic aspect of >humanity. I suspect I know more about humor, and various aspects of humanity, than you even suspect of existing. >You saw, criticized, and dismissed something and someone because of term >and form, not even looking at content or context. It's not the journalist, >it's you who are being the "ignorant primitive with no real >understanding...". You are incorrect on each and every one of your unfounded assumptions, as stated above. I did look at the form, the content and the context...and the likely underlying intent. With the exception of the small bow to Gary Gygax in the upper left corner (which was nice, in a way), this thing is insulting as well as incompetently done from an information conveyance standpoint. It is a flawed and lame attempt at humor and at putting down a number of sub-cultures, some of which I belong to, or have belonged to, and some of which I do not. It is typical of those who are usually referred to in my circles as "mundanes" on a number of fronts, including ignorance, airs of superiority, unfounded assumptions, and attacks on what are perceived as "safe targets". >There are two you obviously >didn't see: "blogging about diagrams" and "doubting the technical accuracy >or the diagram". See above and the tagline to this r.e. humor. Your logic needs work. I did, in fact, see both of those...they are part of why I concluded that the "airs of superiority" were involved. >More importantly you seem to have missed the fact that this is a fond >tribute, not something for the anal-retentive. The image you're bitching >about isn't something to be analyzed, it's a memorial for the dead. There are a number of aspects of it that tend to negate this conclusion. I suspect, though I don't know for sure, that the diagram pre-dates the death in question, and was revived, and slightly edited, for the occasion. I saw a fair bit of sarcasm in its use, given the content. One small point of factual information here, I started playing D&D back around 1975 or so. When there were only 3 D&D books, paperback, which came in a white box and required you to use a lot of your own judgement and imagination, since it wasn't all that complete. I still have those books. Much of my social life at the time came through that game, and the games that it spawned, and I'm sure my life would have been very different (and not in a good way) without it. In many ways I am one of the people that diagram was trying, however poorly, to describe and put down. >Since nothing can be done to change your not getting something -- there are >a number of them -- it usually isn't worth the hassle. One can easily say the same about you, as exemplified by your clueless assumptions about me in your post (as well as various other examples of the same thing in the past). I doubt I will attempt to further correct you. You are shielded by your prejudices and beliefs in your own innate correctness. > This email isn't >going to change anything either so it probably isn't worth the hassle >either, just my being human. While you are busy considering "human-ness", you might want to consider how people in minority groups that are frequent targets of derision by society at large might react to the sort of stereotypical "humor" represented by that diagram, and the attitudes it demonstrates. And how others take your leaping to completely unwarranted conclusions in your eagerness to "correct" them, and demonstrate your own derisive and unfounded opinions. >I suspect that your response to this will make the topic revert to not >worth the hassle. . You weren't worth the hassle to start with, but you did piss me off sufficiently to warrant at least being informed of your errors. You are now cordially invited to blow it out the orifice of your choice. -- Mike B. -- The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits.