The "I Didn't Comment in Another Thread" Thread

[Cadence]

There is nothing worse than the zeal of the newly converted.

I mean, have you tried reading Ulysses?

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

I mean, have you tried reading Ulysses?

Yes! I enjoyed it, too. But ... it's definitely not a book I would recommend for most people. There's a lot of great books like that ... I really really love Gravity's Rainbow, for example. But ... again, not a book I would casually recommend.

This is true with a lot of things. I think that The Leftovers was one of the great television shows ever made, but I can also completely understand why it never was very popular. Something can be good, something can even be great ... and yet not popular. On the other hand, things that are incredibly popular are often not particularly ... challenging. Because most people, in the leisure time, aren't looking to be challenged.

There's a reason, for example, that people talk about "airport books" or "beach reading." Sometimes you just want to enjoy a story without, you know, thinking too much or doing too much work. There's nothing wrong with that. Just like how Suits is, apparently, the most popular acquired show that Netflix has ever had. People like what they like!

 

[payn]

I'll say it again: your number one relationship goal should be to find someone who loves and defends you the way some random nerd on the Internet defends companies that make things they like.

Minus the unrelenting obsession part. That's probably not part of a healthy relationship.

Thats a sad future... Nobody likes companies or says good things about them on the internet even when they do make things they like!

 

[Gradine]

Thats a sad future... Nobody likes companies or says good things about them on the internet even when they do make things they like!

 

[payn]

Jeepers, you got a whole pile of narratives about the source behind everything you dont like. Everyone is out to get you!

 

[Cadence]

Yes! I enjoyed it, too. But ... it's definitely not a book I would recommend for most people. There's a lot of great books like that ... I really really love Gravity's Rainbow, for example. But ... again, not a book I would casually recommend.

This is true with a lot of things. I think that The Leftovers was one of the great television shows ever made, but I can also completely understand why it never was very popular. Something can be good, something can even be great ... and yet not popular. On the other hand, things that are incredibly popular are often not particularly ... challenging. Because most people, in the leisure time, aren't looking to be challenged.

There's a reason, for example, that people talk about "airport books" or "beach reading." Sometimes you just want to enjoy a story without, you know, thinking too much or doing too much work. There's nothing wrong with that. Just like how Suits is, apparently, the most popular acquired show that Netflix has ever had. People like what they like!

I mean, I get that some people like IPAs, straight gin, and masochism... I really like the Silmarillion a lot.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Jeepers, you got a whole pile of narratives about the source behind everything you dont like. Everyone is out to get you!

 

[Velderan]

Thats a sad future... Nobody likes companies or says good things about them on the internet even when they do make things they like!

Won't someone think of the poor unloved companies?!?

 

[prabe]

Yes! I enjoyed it, too. But ... it's definitely not a book I would recommend for most people. There's a lot of great books like that ... I really really love Gravity's Rainbow, for example. But ... again, not a book I would casually recommend.

This is true with a lot of things. I think that The Leftovers was one of the great television shows ever made, but I can also completely understand why it never was very popular. Something can be good, something can even be great ... and yet not popular. On the other hand, things that are incredibly popular are often not particularly ... challenging. Because most people, in the leisure time, aren't looking to be challenged.

There's a reason, for example, that people talk about "airport books" or "beach reading." Sometimes you just want to enjoy a story without, you know, thinking too much or doing too much work. There's nothing wrong with that. Just like how Suits is, apparently, the most popular acquired show that Netflix has ever had. People like what they like!

Judging a work's quality by its popularity is a fallacy, whichever way you're doing it. So--probably, for most people--is judging its quality by how it suits your tastes. (Not that I think you're doing either of those things--this is a statement of agreement with you, I think.)

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Judging a work's quality by its popularity is a fallacy, whichever way you're doing it. So--probably, for most people--is judging its quality by how it suits your tastes. (Not that I think you're doing either of those things--this is a statement of agreement with you, I think._

I agree.

That said, you don't often see the actual argument that "Something is good because it is popular," on the internet (other than the troll-ish, "Scoreboard" argument that you'll see when people are arguing about their favorite para-social relationships, whether it's MCU v. DCEU, or Star Trek v. Star Wars, or, um, stuff that we see here ....).

Instead, we often see people misunderstanding and incorrectly dismissing the issue of popularity. In other words, "Oh, who cares about that? That's just ... popular." Well, yeah. But understanding why something is popular is often an interesting task- after all, what are the factors that go into making something that is broadly appealing? I mean, that's interesting to me.

To quote Uncle Joe, Quantity has a quality all its own.