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<blockquote data-quote="Desdichado" data-source="post: 1343167" data-attributes="member: 2205">Probably because it boils down to &quot;I don't know art, but I know what I like.&quot;&nbsp; At the end of the day, nobody has to justify their tastes, they just are what they are.&nbsp; It's probably frustrating to say &quot;I like XXXX&quot; and then be shot down for saying that.Me, I like to debate the finer points of why I like things, so I have no problem with it.&nbsp; But if I did, I'd probably do exactly what you just said above.That's a good point, but not necessarily applicable to taste in fantasy literature.&nbsp; I don't argue with my neighbor about why I don't think Salvatore is a particularly good writer, even though he really likes him, because the reason he's a good writer to him is because he reads his books and is entertained by them.&nbsp; I don't think there's any right or wrong in that regard, nor is there any truth to be figured out.&nbsp; To me, Salvatore's weaknesses; his reliance on cliches, his overdescriptive combats, his poor dialogue and character development, to use a few examples, stand out more than his positive aspects as a writer, so I'm only marginally interested (if that) in reading something he's written.Security is really where it's all at.&nbsp; I find that in &quot;debates&quot; or even discussions of any kind, if I actually know something I'm hard to move.&nbsp; I used to have a friend that I haven't seen in many years who used to toss off pop science references all the time, when I on the other hand had often read all the Nature and Science and other academic journal publications that were the real scoop on what he was talking about.&nbsp; Since it was immediately obvious to me that I knew a great deal more about what he was talking about than he did, the fact that he stated his innaccurate information with such authority didn't really serve to move me anywhere.&nbsp; On the other hand, if I had a well-formed opinion based on purely subjective material, or stuff I had read but not a great deal about, or simply stuff that I hadn't given a lot of thought to, I'm the first to hedge my statements with &quot;In my opinion&quot; or &quot;I belive&quot; or &quot;It seems to me&quot; and I'll gladly admit that I could very well be wrong.Of course, there's a fine line between academic snobbery here and confidence and security in your own opinion, and willingness to admit that you don't know everything all the time, though.Hmmm... does any of this have anything to do with fantasy literature?&nbsp; I really don't know.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Desdichado, post: 1343167, member: 2205"] Probably because it boils down to "I don't know art, but I know what I like." At the end of the day, nobody has to justify their tastes, they just are what they are. It's probably frustrating to say "I like XXXX" and then be shot down for saying that. Me, I like to debate the finer points of [i]why[/i] I like things, so I have no problem with it. But if I did, I'd probably do exactly what you just said above. That's a good point, but not necessarily applicable to taste in fantasy literature. I don't argue with my neighbor about why I don't think Salvatore is a particularly good writer, even though he really likes him, because the reason he's a good writer to him is because he reads his books and is entertained by them. I don't think there's any right or wrong in that regard, nor is there any truth to be figured out. To me, Salvatore's weaknesses; his reliance on cliches, his overdescriptive combats, his poor dialogue and character development, to use a few examples, stand out more than his positive aspects as a writer, so I'm only marginally interested (if that) in reading something he's written. Security is really where it's all at. I find that in "debates" or even discussions of any kind, if I actually [i]know[/i] something I'm hard to move. I used to have a friend that I haven't seen in many years who used to toss off pop science references all the time, when I on the other hand had often read all the [i]Nature[/i] and [i]Science[/i] and other academic journal publications that were the real scoop on what he was talking about. Since it was immediately obvious to me that I knew a great deal more about what he was talking about than he did, the fact that he stated his innaccurate information with such authority didn't really serve to move me anywhere. On the other hand, if I had a well-formed opinion based on purely subjective material, or stuff I had read but not a great deal about, or simply stuff that I hadn't given a lot of thought to, I'm the first to hedge my statements with "In my opinion" or "I belive" or "It seems to me" and I'll gladly admit that I could very well be wrong. Of course, there's a fine line between academic snobbery here and confidence and security in your own opinion, and willingness to admit that you don't know everything all the time, though. Hmmm... does any of this have anything to do with fantasy literature? I really don't know. [/QUOTE]

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