An Introduction. . . a Long Introduction. . .
June 24th 2009 23:22
Hello once again. It has been a very long while since my last post, if anyone noticed (excuse me while I weep). This time, something other than dinner interrupted me: my grandmother came to visit. For many people, this might be a cause for celebration. For me, however, it is not. My grandmother is quite possibly the most dull person in the world (with the possible exception of an old man I met in a waiting room, who used the words "mashed potatoes" three times in a single sentence).
By the way, have you noticed I use "asides" excessively? This, for instance, is an aside. Apparently they are an outdated method of humorous writing commonly found in Elizabethan plays. They produce a conspiratorial atmosphere. This doesn't happen when I proofread, but I don't proofread my blog.
Anyway. My grandmother came to visit, and she's very dull. All she talks about is people she used to know- not in a story-telling way, more like "Oh, by the way, Bob Jenkins got new teeth today. He says they don't fit right" kind of way. That, and Big Twelve football. No one, except possibly my dad, has any idea what or who she's talking about. For sure, no one cares. We don't invite her over: she invites herself over, and people don't object because it would be rude. For the entire time she's here, we're miserable. No one wants to say anything. In the past, when we've introduced into conversation those things which we find interesting, she always finds a way to bring the subject back to the only things that interest her.
The human mind seems to work that way, I've noticed. If we had a forum, started a thread on one subject, and forced everyone to post in the forum, but did not regulate the content, people would naturally start to post about things that interested them. Cliques would form, and break, as interests changed. Eventually, it would resemble the internet, which resembles the world.
Crap! I'm doing it again. Anyway, when she was on her way here, a thought crossed my mind. It was completely unconscious, and just popped in, but it was me nonetheless. She was late. For a second, I found myself wishing she had a car accident. Then I felt like a jerk.
That's when I started to wonder: are morals genetically preditermined, and amplified by our awareness of cultural norms? Or are they completely cultural, making anyone raised without culture a rabid animal? This, I thought, is something I will have to delve into on a more in-depth basis. Since this post is so freakin' long, I'll do exactly that in the next one. Consider this an introduction.
By the way, have you noticed I use "asides" excessively? This, for instance, is an aside. Apparently they are an outdated method of humorous writing commonly found in Elizabethan plays. They produce a conspiratorial atmosphere. This doesn't happen when I proofread, but I don't proofread my blog.
Anyway. My grandmother came to visit, and she's very dull. All she talks about is people she used to know- not in a story-telling way, more like "Oh, by the way, Bob Jenkins got new teeth today. He says they don't fit right" kind of way. That, and Big Twelve football. No one, except possibly my dad, has any idea what or who she's talking about. For sure, no one cares. We don't invite her over: she invites herself over, and people don't object because it would be rude. For the entire time she's here, we're miserable. No one wants to say anything. In the past, when we've introduced into conversation those things which we find interesting, she always finds a way to bring the subject back to the only things that interest her.
The human mind seems to work that way, I've noticed. If we had a forum, started a thread on one subject, and forced everyone to post in the forum, but did not regulate the content, people would naturally start to post about things that interested them. Cliques would form, and break, as interests changed. Eventually, it would resemble the internet, which resembles the world.
Crap! I'm doing it again. Anyway, when she was on her way here, a thought crossed my mind. It was completely unconscious, and just popped in, but it was me nonetheless. She was late. For a second, I found myself wishing she had a car accident. Then I felt like a jerk.
That's when I started to wonder: are morals genetically preditermined, and amplified by our awareness of cultural norms? Or are they completely cultural, making anyone raised without culture a rabid animal? This, I thought, is something I will have to delve into on a more in-depth basis. Since this post is so freakin' long, I'll do exactly that in the next one. Consider this an introduction.
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