The new meme that's making the rounds

[lapsedmodernist]

You can ask me 3 questions. Ask me anything you want. Then I want you to go to your journal, copy and paste this allowing your friends to ask you anything.

Comments

i'll have a go

[chelvis.livejournal.com]

ok, then, no holds barred:

1. doesn't it depress you, the prospect of spending so much time in the "ivory tower" of academia, everything being theoretical, never applied, all the intellegensia blindly believing that THEY have a better understanding of the world, just because our flawed meritocracy tells them they're elite, the intellectuals sneering down at everyone else, b/c THEY have the answers, but if only somebody would ask THEM?!

2. What do you think of George Soros' (via Karl Popper's) theories about "open society" - a society should never be SURE, and should always be a little unsure that it's administration of justice and use natural resources and capitol is not the best (indeed there can never BE a best organization of society, only a workable one)?

3. Isn't the liberal/underdog/libertarian/intellectual/dissident/literate-critic/socialist "role" just appealing because it is romanticized?

bonus question: don't you admit to yourself, silently, that Socialism (in all forms) is UNWORKABLE - but it's ideals just make you feel good?

Re: i'll have a go

[lapsedmodernist.livejournal.com]

1. No. I am fortunate enough to have mentors who are actively involved with activism and human rights projects. I think activism should be a part of academia, and while it's all too rare, it exists, and I choose to align myself with that faction of the "ivory tower." A lot of my wanking, especially on here is theoretical, but I don't feel that the work I do is purely theoretical or lacks applications.

2. As I understood it, George Soros-via-Popper idea of Open Society is basically a feel-good globalization/altruism model that launched a thousand NGOs. I dunno, I think it's a better concept than "the end of history" and a more practical one than "the veil of ignorance." I am not familiar with the nuances you pose in your question, and I don't exactly understand what you mean, I guess.

3. All roles are "romanticized." You can pick and choose the bildunsgruman that is most appropriate to your personal genre, from self-made man to Alienated Stranger to Revolutionary. I think the appeal precedes the representation. What we consume is determined by what we want to justify about ourselves.

4. No. I like socialized medicare and free education, but the way those exist in the world are as side products of fruitful capitalism. Socialsm as the Idea, well, that's usually just a stepping stone to Communism as an Idea and repulses me on an ideological level. I don't like the emphasis on communal, rather than individualistic, etc. When I was 15, I liked Ayn Rand and hated Karl Marx. I still kind of like Ayn Rand and hate Karl Marx. So no, the Grand Ideals of Socialism (beyond universal health care) do NOT make me feel good.

Re: i'll have a go

[chelvis.livejournal.com]

Thanks. You're right, I should have made #2 a bit clearer. I usually don't re-read my LJ posts. Sorry.

Anyway, what you said w/r/t #3: "What we consume is determined by what we want to justify about ourselves" - that's really depressing. Notice how people, y'know, judge other people based on their consumer habits. Can't you just picture somebody dismissively saying "that guy's into some weird music" or some kid saying "look at that lady's pants! oh my god!"? Look at how people judge others based on what music they dig. Damn, what we consume is what defines us to others - that's an ugly thought and I really hope it's wrong, but: yes, to an extent, it's right. The number one thing people want after"safety" and "food" is "goods" - cars, clothes, CDs, books, magazines - and you see people stockpiling this stuff, hording it, b/c it helps them shape out who they are and it comforts them. ugh.
However, who says that's NECESSARILY bad - maybe just the way people DO IT is pathetic. I tacitidly loathe someone's SHOE FETISH or DVD COLLECTION (of like, their favorite movies, ugh) but don't REALLY feel guilty about how the Weekend FT is an absolute necessity in my life. But, when people us my tastes to draw assumptions about me, that's where I get rankled. yes, "rankled"!

alright, that's enough. Thanks for your opinion.

[omnia-mutantur.livejournal.com]

1. what use do you make of lj filters and why?

2. you're given an opportunity to teach a class about yourself. pick three books you consider essential to even beginning to understand how your mind works.

3. how's quicksilver treating you? for that matter, how's steampunk treating you?

[lapsedmodernist.livejournal.com]

1. Well, occasionally I post private entries. They are usually either really private dreams, or dreams when I don't want to bother with giving people code names or initials, or really boring crap that wouldn't be of interest to anyone else, like a to-do list for that day, or snippets of ideas that would make no sense to anyone else. Then I have a general "friends" filter for most of my entries, since in the year or so pretty much everything that is not completely abstract I don't post publically. I have a filter for people I know in real life, but I don't really ever use it. I have a filter that's just a couple of close friends for entries about things that I wouldn't necessarily share with people, but I would tell them about it anyway.


2. Okay. These are not necessarily my favorite books (although they are certainly among them), but the ones most formative to how my mind works, or representative of how my mind works.

"Hopeful Monsters" by Nicholas Mosley
"Steps to an Ecology of Mind" by Gregory Bateson
"Mating" by Norman Rush

And the bonus goes to the book that I read last year that helped me understand my own mind better, "Look At Me" by Jennifer Egan

3. I have had to take a break on account of not having time or energy to dedicate to anything except finishing the film. I only got about 120 pages in before I had to stop, but I'm looking forward to picking it up again...I'll let you know what I think when I am done. Steampunk is a great term, btw.