The art of passivity(watching TV)

[becomingagodo]

Don't watch TV!

I hardly watch TV anymore, when I do watch TV it is because something good is on. However, thinking more about it I shouldn't even watch that.

My favourite program is House and Heroes, however these are psudeo rubbish. You learn nothing from TV, all you learn is to be passive. Video games are better, however they have no educational value except improving spatial abillities.

I should really cut out pornography, however the internet is for porn, the internet for porn. Pornography suffers from the same effect, instead of having sex you watch it on the internet and fantasize. Although biologically it is harder to cut it out, we have got free will and we do control our own hands.

Why are humans so passive?

Concentration and evolution. Evolution tends to produce a animal that doesn't use all it energy at once and it stores the energy, concentration takes up energy and is hard. These too combined to produce a passive and weak human.

Most people are lazy idiots, which is distressing. Not only that they give into social pressure and have no will of their own, people smoking comes to my mind. Also, the lack of aggression espically intellectual aggression from people is also distressing, it like if you challenge someone they get all emotional and give up. Which, brings us too lack of dedication, people give up easily.

The normal person has no higher goals, I for one have plenty of higher goals which involve mathematics. However, the average person mind is stagnant and shallow. Celebrity being the model of every normal person should be alarming.

But, then I suffer from passivity myself. I should have done my History homework, however it got delayed and now I have to do it tonight. I should have done my biology homework, however I was tired. Lastly, I should be napping now, however I typing this. Saying that, I can easily correct being passive(I don't watch tv anymore, and I do my homework when I get it, I have also started revision for a exam that is in may), but a normal person will never fully become unpassive.

Don't be passive. becomingagodo

[cnorman18]

...which is a good illustration of the principle that logical analysis and rational thought are not the same as free association when you're apparently stoned out of your mind.

[the PC apeman]

The normal person has no higher goals, I for one have plenty of higher goals which involve mathematics.Excellent. Do the math on that sentence.

[wahrheit]

<--- has no TV.

[Scottch]

<--- has no TV.

Then how do you relate to the rest of the people?

I feel as if I don't watch TV, I don't have the sociological basis to discuss, and possibly illuminate, others in my field of vision. It does not make me smarter - it enables me to smartly engage others.

Scottch

[Bikewer]

I don't ascribe to the notion that TV is mind-numbing brainrot. Oh, to be sure, some of it is.
But there's plenty of good, entertaining stuff on. As Scottch intimates, you can view stuff critically as well.
I find myself watching a lot of stuff on the various Discovery networks, the History Channel, etc.
There are a number of network shows I enjoy thoroughly. I'm 62 years old; why do I have to "improve" myself?

And yes, I like cheap, trashy titillation as well. So there.

[Puppycow]

Area Man Constantly Mentioning He Doesn't Own A Television (http://www.theonion.com/content/node/28694)
;)

[Apology]

I don't have cable so my television watching is somewhat limited. I can get people to tape things for me though. I have a friend who does it as his way of sticking it to The Man (the cable company is The Man). Since it's so much more of a hassle, I only ask for the stuff I really want to watch and skip a bunch of the tripe I used to leave running when the TV was on all the time. Currently I watch "House" and "Ghost Hunters".

I miss out on some of the pop culture references, but you can figure out most of those by googling them too. So no, I won't be having a water-cooler conversation about last night's "American Idol", but I don't come off as an uncultured swine who's been living beneath a rock either. Best of both worlds. :D

What I appreciate the most about having the cable disconnected (other than not having to pay the bill) is the freedom from the constant barrage of advertising. When I watch television at other people's houses, I just wince when most of the ads come on. Before, I had "selective hearing" and ignored them, but now I can't :( I think they make you want more consumer items that you just don't need, also. You've already got hair conditioner, or breakfast cereal, or toilet cleaner, but now you want that one. I think I buy a lot less crap now that I don't watch much TV.

[Ryokan]

Then how do you relate to the rest of the people?

I don't own a tv either. Haven't owned one in ten years, and I don't miss it a bit!

But sometimes it is hard to relate to other people, not knowing what's going on in popular culture these days. What, you haven't seen that commercial?? Ohmagad, can you believe what happened on <<insert random reality show name>> yesterday?? But I'll survive.

[quixotecoyote]

I probably wouldn't own a TV if my fiancee didn't want one, but I spend enough time on the computer to make up for it.

[wahrheit]

Then how do you relate to the rest of the people?

Well, there's the intertubes, actually seeing people (the real life thingy) etc.

Area Man Constantly Mentioning He Doesn't Own A Television (http://www.theonion.com/content/node/28694)
;)

:eusa_naughty: IIRC this is the first time I would mention I don't have a TV.

And frankly, the reason is not so much because I think it makes me look damn smart, but two other reasons:

- I worked for TV, I produced the crap people were watching, it simply bores me to death watching 99% of what is broadcast

- I do not understand the language they speak in the telly were I live now. :redface1 (Plus, spanish television is even more braindead than what I was used to before I moved here.)

[JoeEllison]

The act of watching TV is the problem. I don't care if you watch nothing but the most educational shows possible, the point is that you are watching instead of doing. I didn't watch TV for about 5-6 years, until the past year. I can't stand most of the crap that's on, but you get sucked into passive mode so easily. On the other hand, I can multitask, so I'll watch TV while Internet surfing or talking to my wife.

[Wheezebucket]

Last time I checked, TV ruled, and people who didn't watch it were more often than not d-bags. Science teaches us this. Sure, most of it is crap, but have you seen Kid Nation?! Turns out, kids on reality shows act *exactly* like adults on reality shows! It's awesome!!!

[Beerina]

Apparently Internet is so addictive with porn and/or games and/or chat surfing that people long for the days of social interaction sitting around watching the idiot box TV.

If something comes along to replace Internet, I don't wanna know.

Eh, yes I do. Probably some combination of Quark's holodeck and the "let's have sex" teleportation circuit from Logan's Run.

[Don Adams voice]Missed it by that much.[/Adams]

[NewtonTrino]

So I get high, watch TV and read this forum all at the same time, regularly. Does that mean I'm lazy (munches cheetos mmmmmmm)?

[cnorman18]

I once wrote an SF story about a future time when people could plug their brains directly into "artificial reality" machines (this was back in the early 80s, before VR) that could distort the subjective time sense. Ten minutes "under the wire" could feel like three weeks in the Sultan's harem.

In the story, there were some benefits: illicit drugs and obesity vanished. You could get as high as you want, or eat like a crocodile, for a month of subjective time between getting dressed and going to work--with no chemicals, calories or aftereffects.

The downside was that no one lived in the real world any more. Given a choice between a conversation with friends and two weeks in the Bahamas with [fill in blank], most people opted for their own personal Paradises.

Imagine ten thousand years of subjective life, spent under circumstances that you choose, with absolutely no limitations. You can live it as Aragorn, or Superman, or John Holmes--or as God, for that matter. Makes the Holodeck look like black-and-white TV, if I do say so.

(Yes, it was published, in some skin mag or other circa 1983 or so.)

Maybe THAT will be the end of civilization.

[Silly Green Monkey]

"Sorry Mom, I'm too busy making out with my Monroe-bot."

[roger]

By extension, we should not:

- go to lectures, you just sit there listening
- go to a book reading, so passive, you know
- go to a concert - play an instrument yourself, you lazy bum
- go to a restaurant - what, you don't know how to cook fois gras without it melting into the pan? Get stuying
- go to a movie, after all, video editing software is cheap or free these days
- watch a baseball game, if you ain't swinging the bat, you ain't doing nuthin
- ride in an airplane, cause hey, if John Muir could walk across the country, so can you.
- go for an operation - real men perform operations on themselves.

[skeptifem]

I love tv. movies too. its like crack

[cnorman18]

By extension, we should not:
...
- go to a restaurant - what, you don't know how to cook fois gras without it melting into the pan? Get stuying...
.

Do you cook foie gras? I always thought you ate it cold...

[schlitt]

Do you cook foie gras? I always thought you ate it cold...

Fresh foie gras is usually pan seared. It is also commonly fully cooked and preserved in an airtight container, as a pâté among other things.

[Roboramma]

Imagine ten thousand years of subjective life, spent under circumstances that you choose, with absolutely no limitations. You can live it as Aragorn, or Superman, or John Holmes--or as God, for that matter. Makes the Holodeck look like black-and-white TV, if I do say so.

(Yes, it was published, in some skin mag or other circa 1983 or so.)

Maybe THAT will be the end of civilization.

I've thought for a long time that it would. But I don't think I'd mind all that much. There are one or two things that give me pause - for instance those that you interact with in the simulated world - will they be concious beings? If not a lot changes - like the meaning of friendship.

But when it comes down to it, I don't think I'd mind all that much.

[Roboramma]

You learn nothing from TV, all you learn is to be passive. I've learned a lot of interesting things from watching David Attenbourough's documentaries - Planet Earth was a amazing. And the fact that it's visual helps to inspire an even greater sense of wonder than reading about the same things in books.

His documentary "Life in the Undergrowth" gave me a whole new respect for the small things living all around us. And this is coming from someone who's childhood dream was to become an entomologist.

Video games are better, however they have no educational value except improving spatial abillities. I don't know - I learned quite a few things from video games. I learned a little bit of geography and maybe even some history from playing civilization, for instance.

I should really cut out pornography, however the internet is for porn, the internet for porn. Pornography suffers from the same effect, instead of having sex you watch it on the internet and fantasize.
While it's not the same as the real thing porn can serve it's purpose. Sometimes even when you've got a girlfriend you don't really want to be bothered with her - maybe you're busy and don't have time treat her the way she ought to be treated - but fifteen minutes out of your busy schedule to satisy a sexual need doesn't hurt anyone.

Also, I remember when I was in a long term long distance relationship porn was very helpful.

Most people are lazy idiots, which is distressing. Are they? Not the ones I know. Depends on how you mean, though. Most are lazy sometimes, most are idiots sometimes. Then again most are not lazy other times - give them the right motivation or the right state of mind and you'll find their laziness disappear. I love my job for instance, and I work very hard at it, but I'm lazy about doing my housework. Then again when I go to bjj class all the other students and my teacher call me an "animal" because I train very hard. Then again I've been trying to write a book for about a year now and haven't done any work on it in the last four months or so... I suspect most people are like this - it's about motivation.
Not only that they give into social pressure and have no will of their own, people smoking comes to my mind. This is an increadible oversimplificaiton. Also, the lack of aggression espically intellectual aggression from people is also distressing, it like if you challenge someone they get all emotional and give up. Which, brings us too lack of dedication, people give up easily. Huh? I don't know that many people who aren't intellectually aggressive enough. Though maybe if you explain what you mean by that I might understand you better.

The normal person has no higher goals, Go out and talk to some people - ask them about their goals in life. I think you'll find most do have higher goals. Sometimes life or complacency get in the way of these things. Sometimes one goal conflicts with another. But to suggest that people simply don't have those goals is ludicrous.

I for one have plenty of higher goals which involve mathematics. That's commendable. However, the average person mind is stagnant and shallow. Celebrity being the model of every normal person should be alarming. Not sure if I should say "is" or "are" here, because your sentence is ambigous, but I'll guess: are celbrities the model of every normal person? That certainly isn't true about the people that I know.
Some of my friends from BJJ look up to some fighters because of their skill, but certainly not every aspect of their lives. Some of my yoga friends look up to certain yoga teachers because they respect their practice and their teachings, but again not for every aspect of their lives.
Don't you look up to certain math celebrities? I think I remember you talking about Gauss for instance.
Some people certainly idolize celbrities, but I think that's far less prevalent than you seem to believe.


But, then I suffer from passivity myself. I should have done my History homework, however it got delayed and now I have to do it tonight. I should have done my biology homework, however I was tired. Lastly, I should be napping now, however I typing this. It happens. Today I want to go for a swim and work on my website, but I haven't gotten around to either. I do agree that it's a good goal to try to get things done. I always feel better when I live that way.

Saying that, I can easily correct being passive(I don't watch tv anymore, and I do my homework when I get it, I have also started revision for a exam that is in may), but a normal person will never fully become unpassive. I think you'll find this is true of most people - sometimes we're passive, sometimes we're active. Sometimes we go through all the things we need to do and get them done, other times we lose steam and don't do as much as we ought to.
Of course, some are more active than others.
So it goes.

[Piscivore]

I once wrote an SF story about a future time when people could plug their brains directly into "artificial reality" machines (this was back in the early 80s, before VR) that could distort the subjective time sense. Ten minutes "under the wire" could feel like three weeks in the Sultan's harem.

In the story, there were some benefits: illicit drugs and obesity vanished. You could get as high as you want, or eat like a crocodile, for a month of subjective time between getting dressed and going to work--with no chemicals, calories or aftereffects.

The downside was that no one lived in the real world any more. Given a choice between a conversation with friends and two weeks in the Bahamas with [fill in blank], most people opted for their own personal Paradises.

Imagine ten thousand years of subjective life, spent under circumstances that you choose, with absolutely no limitations. You can live it as Aragorn, or Superman, or John Holmes--or as God, for that matter. Makes the Holodeck look like black-and-white TV, if I do say so.

(Yes, it was published, in some skin mag or other circa 1983 or so.)

Maybe THAT will be the end of civilization.

Mr. Trout?

[Nancarrow]

I don't watch TV, really just cos I've got a computer with strategy games, internet access and DVD playing software on it.

And you can have my porn when you prise it from my warm, sticky hands.

[Ralph]

I keep a pretty full plate most of the time. I start the day by walking my dog for about half an hour. After that I'll do my own workout---a mix of weight-lifting,hiking with a heavy pack, (and the dog)...and some running/rope-skipping-heavy bag work.

After that--I'll spend a few hours on some home-improvement work (I have almost totally re-finished a house my wife & I bought 4 years ago---).

I might pick up the guitar a try to get in some practice time permitting.

With luck--a little nookie with my wife.....and then it's off to work from 3-11 pm.

When I get home shortly after 11---I generally feel I've had a pretty full day and there's not a damn thing wrong with sitting down and relaxing watching the tube.....even if it's something that's "mindless" like much of TV is.......

On my day off----I enjoy just hanging around the house with my wife watching the tube and just relaxing on the couch in the evening.

I love "wasting time" on video games too...

I've always tried to do the most productive thing possible in any given moment.

One thing I've learned in 55 years is that sometimes the most productive thing you can do...is to just sit on your ass & relax.