Advertisement
to find your place in the world? To deal with being in a world built for the average, where people actually believe that if something's popular it must be true - the constant disappointment and frustration of being able to process so many levels at once and knowing how rare it is, how others just don't (or can't - and don't even know it)? How and where do you find community?
posted by:
|
SF Bay Area
|
Advertisement
Advertisement
-
Re: What's helped you...
Fri, January 2, 2009 - 4:03 PMWell, a small internet fraternity of serial killers has helped me get through the darkest times. Locally, we have German WWII re-enactors, who put on a pretty decent chicken BBQ on summer weekends.
Barring that, Enthusiasts of Ayn Rand's fiction and philosophies do very nicely, as does reading the complete works of Nietzsche in the original German.
Average people--can't live with em, can't euthanize em fast enough. -
-
Re: What's helped you...
Fri, January 2, 2009 - 4:32 PMGood. A mutifaceted question. Time for truth to out.
I still haven't found my 'place in the world'.
I've found an incredible bunch of like-minded individuals in the Burningman community.
I'm still pushing on the very fringes of science and technology in what I do and how I do it. The luck is holding, too. I stuck my neck out in '06 in public at a scientific meeting by saying that nothing prevents the synchronous occurrence of three meteorite impacts in the Lower Mississippian, and all the data coming back now and for the last three years is proving me correct. I accidentally knocked over a second-tier university's geophysics program at a subsequent meeting when I showed them and the rest of the assembled scientists that the university's geophysics program had missed the target by an entire 7 1/2- minute USGS quadrangle sheet when they made their assertion. They were looking in the wrong place. I was very nice about how I presented my conclusions, so I didn't make any enemies.
It scares the living shit out of them that my specialty is engineering geology, and yet I'm competent and qualified in planetary geology, stratigraphy, invertebrate paleontology and foundation engineering. I made a name for myself in engineering geology by being the first person ever to publish with all the major societies on the field of trenchless technology, particularly where geology is applied to make horizontal boring installation safer and more efficient. With trenchless methods you can decrease your carbon emissions by up to 90%, and garner fuel savings up to 75% of your total, so I suddenly became an 'in-demand' quantity, and I've been in the trenchless subspecialty for about 10 years. The People's Republic of China even paid my way over last June to teach them. That felt GOOD.
I buck the system whenever I have the data to back me up. Diplomatically, mind you. I make the senior members of management look awfully damned good, my co-workers eager to work with me or for me, and my drillers are always wondering what 'crazy idea he's coming up with now - it might work really good for us.'
Finally, after 20 years of trying, I've established hardcore credibility with my 'peers'. In geology, if you do that before age 60, you've accomplished something. I'm happy with 12 years to spare.
I still try to make time for some of the 'little people' - people who "done me right" get treated right. I spent $150.00 in tips to members of the wait staff and one cook at a local restaurant who took care of my needs all year this year.
And I still fly the double eagle at those who consider themselves 'holier than thou"........the hell with 'em. -
-
Re: What's helped you...
Fri, January 2, 2009 - 4:48 PM*laughs hysterically* -
-
Re: What's helped you...
Sat, January 3, 2009 - 10:35 AMWhy
do they call it
a " double-eagle, "
when it never
can leave
tha ground?
-
-
Re: What's helped you...
Sun, January 4, 2009 - 1:10 AM"Diplomatically, mind you."
Thanks Rhino - sounds like you've got your work life covered at least :) I don't know about your upper management, but I'd rather deal with mine as little as possible. They don't even seem to understand that keeping good employees is *less* expensive than an obscenely high turnover rate. And I can't help but feel like trying to make them look good when they've done nothing to deserve it (quite the opposite) is from the same seed as social promotion and false self-esteem rhetoric in schools - so they don't have to feel bad about bad behavior, performance, and general stupidity. No doubt it works because they want to believe it, but how do you do it in a way that's honest and feels right? -
-
-
-
Re: What's helped you...
Sun, January 4, 2009 - 10:29 AMahem, yes i have found that disco helps one to find one's place in the world
disco, banana pudding and hair gel. -
-
Re: What's helped you...
Sun, January 4, 2009 - 10:46 AMHow much gel do you put in your banana pudding? I can never get the combination quite right, and there's always that unpleasant chemical tang.
But seriously, as far as honest and right are concerned, my approach tends to be assuming full responsibility for my experiences--most especially my social experiences. If I find myself telling myself that I'm a superior person in a sea of mediocrity, the only intelligent person in a room full of morons, above average and therefore special and entitled to recognition that the moronic world withholds from me--I can be pretty sure that I'm lying to myself, in order not to have to deal with my own social anxiety and emotional paralysis. -
-
Re: What's helped you...
Sun, January 4, 2009 - 10:54 AM -
-
This is the maximum depth. Additional responses will not be threaded.
Re: What's helped you...
Sun, January 4, 2009 - 12:11 PMNot available, wild. I think WB has been at it again. What was it? -
-
Re: What's helped you...
Sun, January 4, 2009 - 12:48 PMLefty, the fiddler crab doing it's thing to Don Ho's "Tiny Bubbles"
-
-
-
Re: What's helped you...
Sun, January 4, 2009 - 12:55 PM"But seriously, as far as honest and right are concerned, my approach tends to be assuming full responsibility for my experiences--most especially my social experiences. If I find myself telling myself that I'm a superior person in a sea of mediocrity, the only intelligent person in a room full of morons, above average and therefore special and entitled to recognition that the moronic world withholds from me--I can be pretty sure that I'm lying to myself, in order not to have to deal with my own social anxiety and emotional paralysis."
I can see where you're going, but I never said I was the *only* intelligent person, or that I was only above average [there are plenty of those too, and there's a world of difference in a few standard deviations (not that IQ tests aren't racist, biased, etc., but as a gauge of one aspect that tends to affect everything, accurate)]. If I told myself that everyone was brilliant and wonderful, would that be taking "full responsibility"? *That* would be lying. No doubt, everyone has talents and everyone can probably do *something*, or many things, better than me, but I'm not talking about cooking or synchronized swimming. I joined this tribe to be around (hopefully truly) smart people because I know I'm not the only one, but I also know that it *is* in fact rare, and that's not wishful thinking or emotional paralysis - my emotions are alive and well, thank you, which is why these were serious questions, looking for answers from people like me. Am I in the wrong place again? Where do the non-trolls go? -
-
This is the maximum depth. Additional responses will not be threaded.
Re: What's helped you...
Sun, January 4, 2009 - 1:10 PMi love how Rendall ends up trolling without even being here. -
-
Re: What's helped you...
Sun, January 4, 2009 - 1:21 PMYeah, Rendall is definitely bucking for Divine Uber-troll. He's one-upping all the rest with the zen troll of non-presence.
He really needs to rename the tribe again soon. Too many unsuspecting innocent malcontents are wandering in here.
spydr, you might try the Gifted and Talented Tribe, tribes.tribe.net/danceswith
That's a tribe for people who take questions such as yours seriously, because they take themselves seriously as gifted, talented and otherwise above average.
We're just mostly lazy thuggish neckbeard unibrow trolls 'round these parts. -
-
Re: What's helped you...
Sun, January 4, 2009 - 1:28 PMI also lurk on Extreme Honesty, where smart people have been going at it, hammer and tongs, since I dunno, 2004? It's not for the faint of heart though. The troll tribes around here are rough, but extreme trolling is the point and the rules are clear--it's sort of a verbal Thunderdome. Extreme Honesty tends to be bloodsport trolling in the guise of just being honest, and at its worst is sort of like a nightmarish mid '70s Encounter Session. Though to be fair, the tone seems to have shifted again to more civilized exploration of issues and concepts. -
-
Re: What's helped you...
Sun, January 4, 2009 - 2:06 PM"I also lurk on Extreme Honesty, where smart people have been going at it, hammer and tongs, since I dunno, 2004? It's not for the faint of heart though. The troll tribes around here are rough, but extreme trolling is the point and the rules are clear--it's sort of a verbal Thunderdome. Extreme Honesty tends to be bloodsport trolling in the guise of just being honest, and at its worst is sort of like a nightmarish mid '70s Encounter Session. Though to be fair, the tone seems to have shifted again to more civilized exploration of issues and concepts."
I'm already there too. Damnit. Any other suggestions? Still looking...
-
-
Re: What's helped you...
Sun, January 4, 2009 - 2:02 PM"spydr, you might try the Gifted and Talented Tribe, tribes.tribe.net/danceswith
That's a tribe for people who take questions such as yours seriously, because they take themselves seriously as gifted, talented and otherwise above average."
I'm in it, and there's a time and place for everything, including taking yourself seriously. Can't have any semblance of an identity or a real conversation without it, and people who say they don't take themselves seriously are in denial (maybe I just realized another root of the URL :/). I joined here partly because I saw that Rendall was the moderator, and I remembered that I usually liked what he had to say, serious or not - I just came back to Tribe recently after a very long break, wasn't here for whatever drama took place, and don't feel like sifting through long-dead threads.
-
-
Re: What's helped you...
Sun, January 4, 2009 - 1:51 PM"i love how Rendall ends up trolling without even being here. "
Why do you assume I was talking about Rendall? I was talking about non-answers to serious questions.
-
-
This is the maximum depth. Additional responses will not be threaded.
Re: What's helped you...
Sun, January 4, 2009 - 3:22 PM>>If I told myself that everyone was brilliant and wonderful, would that be taking "full responsibility"? *That* would be lying. No doubt, everyone has talents and everyone can probably do *something*, or many things, better than me, but I'm not talking about cooking or synchronized swimming. I joined this tribe to be around (hopefully truly) smart people because I know I'm not the only one, but I also know that it *is* in fact rare,<<
It's not really necessary to worry who the brilliant people are. It's pretty obvious. The real issue is whom do you like? Personally, I find true friends pretty rare.
As for the folks in this tribe, most of us are "Gifted and Talented" refugees, people who were initially attracted but found too many poseurs lurking about, tossing in inappropriately huge vocabulary words. -
-
Re: What's helped you...
Sun, January 4, 2009 - 3:27 PMSome of us are, or were, also refugees from a superior planet who were also spies, assassins, knew a lot of martial arts, and had fantasies about spanking teen starlets.
-
-
-
Re: What's helped you...
Sun, January 4, 2009 - 2:19 PMShannon, you hit the snail on the head!
It's why I love the racous nature of this tribe when we get into it. We're all bright (well, maybe except for St JMan) but we don't take ourselves too seriously.
Sense of humor, people! The lack of which is the tool that let me create such a ruckus over at "Gifted and Talented"
I think "troll" is just another word for "s/he had fun at my expense" -
-
This is the maximum depth. Additional responses will not be threaded.
Re: What's helped you...
Sun, January 4, 2009 - 2:31 PMWhat makes you think we think you were talking about Rendall?
There's a difference between taking yourself seriously, and seriously taking yourself to be a person of superior intelligence. The former is reasonable, the latter purely mockworthy.
And I agree, this isn't really a trolling tribe. It's sort of a creaky front porch for people to brag about their trolling exploits, when they bother to talk about anything at all.
But like any established and longstanding tribe, spydr, there's a shared history here and also shared in-jokes. It's best perhaps to suspend assumptions, at least until you get to know people. We're really quite nice, in the way that sarcastic people often are when they're not trying to prove stuff to each other. That's actually why I like it here. -
-
Re: What's helped you...
Sun, January 4, 2009 - 2:35 PMwell, i don't know about anyone else
but i am always talking about Rendall
and thinking about Rendall
and wondering what Rendall is doing
and making mashed potato voodoo dolls of Rendall
let's face it
my whole life is Rendall. -
-
-
-
Re: What's helped you...
Sun, January 4, 2009 - 3:06 PMIncidentally, when I visited NYC a few weeks ago, we visited the JP Morgan Library--a rather awesome little museum, which is full of the fabulous things that Morgan collected just because they were pretty--especially interesting and beautifully bound books, little bits of pottery, ancient near eastern cylinder seals, and stuff like that.
Anyway, since the meta-theme of the place is books and manuscripts, there was an exhibit on Babar the Elephant, featuring some of the original drawings for the children's book. And everytime I looked at Babar, I kept thinking of Rendall--who has resumed his scary demon head and no longer looks like a well-dressed dignified baby elephant who walks on his hind legs. But still....
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Re: What's helped you...
Sun, January 4, 2009 - 2:26 PMI've found that ignoring presumptive intelligence and to focus on accomplishment has been a tremendous help in my life. -
-
Re: What's helped you...
Mon, January 5, 2009 - 6:41 AMa touchy feely thread for 2009.
great.
-
-
Unsu...
working class hero
Mon, January 5, 2009 - 6:56 PMwhat helped me to fnd my place in the world?
The ability to threaten someone with a lawsuit, if I don't get my way, and actually mean it and carry through on the threat within a matter of days.
In other words, raw power. I got raw power, man.
Get some. If you don't have access to power, the juice, the stroke, the pull, the connections, money, whatever ... you suck.
If you have power, you can make a place for yourself in the world, even if you have to claw your way into it.
Raw power.
That is the answer to your question.
Without it, "you are still just fucking peasants as far as I can see."*
* with apologies to John Lennon
-
-
Re: working class hero
Mon, January 5, 2009 - 8:57 PMwhat helped me to fnd my place in the world?
~~~~~~~~~
The Eclectic Society en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecle...raternity)
saved my geeky life
love all-ways,
mem
-
-
Unsu...
Re: What's helped you...
Mon, January 5, 2009 - 9:31 PMGod cast me out of heaven and into hell, and there I found my place in the world. -
-
Re: What's helped you...
Tue, January 6, 2009 - 5:31 AMI was smarter. I bought out heaven in a hostile take over bid back in the 2002 crunch. Kicked that damn hippy and his indigent old man to the curb.
Been ripping up beaded curtains and shag carpets ever since. hell the piles of flip flops burn through the night like a scene out of Dante's.
-
-
Unsu...
Re: What's helped you...
Tue, January 6, 2009 - 6:16 AMIf you had waited until now, the government would have given it to you for free, just for taking over the payments and the tax bills.
Er, wait, they're tax exempt, aren't they? -
-
Re: What's helped you...
Tue, January 6, 2009 - 6:39 AMWe are for the moment, but I am thinking of installing a Salvation scheme that should have the afterlife turning a profit within the next 2 quarters easily.
Besides, why would I have wanted government money? then I would have to accept their air bases and regulations. Believe me, there will be enough bombing and red tape up here when I am done. -
-
Unsu...
Re: What's helped you...
Tue, January 6, 2009 - 10:44 PMWhat do you mean, regulations? You could have been totally regulation free for the past 8 years, and anytime a republican is in the white house. -
-
Re: What's helped you...
Wed, January 7, 2009 - 5:47 AMtrust me, the minute i start letting american observers up here, they are going to find a reason to invade.
few people realise but heaven has some of the largest natural gas reserves known. -
-
-
Re: What's helped you...
Wed, January 7, 2009 - 6:45 AMwell most of the people the old management let up here were full of 5hit.
once i cleared them out, the byproducts still lingered.
I am thinking of starting up a Bartertown as soon as i can find a genius midget and a giant armoured retard. -
-
This is the maximum depth. Additional responses will not be threaded.
Re: What's helped you...
Wed, January 7, 2009 - 7:01 AMGet yourself a donkey and a one-armed tattooed hooker, and you've got yourself a Tijuana show. -
-
Re: What's helped you...
Wed, January 7, 2009 - 10:32 AMwe have one on every corner now. you are really going to like the new heaven.
-
-
Unsu...
Re: What's helped you...
Fri, January 9, 2009 - 5:40 AMTrying to compete with Hell, are you?
Keep that up boy, and we'll slap your ass with a restraining order and an injunction. Having freak shows and debauchery in heaven would be a serious infringement on Hell's trade secrets and intellectual property rights. -
-
Re: What's helped you...
Mon, January 12, 2009 - 9:31 AMThe good thing is, you are a subsiduary of the main office. you can't sue us!
we still have controlling interest on your board of directors and we have a few changes we are going to be bringing your way pretty damn soon.
-
-
Unsu...
Re: What's helped you...
Tue, January 13, 2009 - 4:01 PMThat's what you think. You haven't checked the proxy statements yet, have you? -
-
Re: What's helped you...
Wed, January 14, 2009 - 8:59 AMWe don't honour the previous managements agreements. Once he went into chapter 11, all previous vendors and debtors were cleaned out on the acquisition.
We have figured out a way to sustain renewable power though from the endless piles of burning flip flops and dasheki's.
-
Re: What's helped you...
Wed, January 14, 2009 - 9:00 AMBy the way, our HR department wants to talk to you about some complaints we have been getting from your staff regarding intolerable working conditions.
No internal investigations yet, just a little refresher with the corporate OSHA commitments.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
