Random Thoughts Thread

[Flake]

Wow, man. I don't know what to say. I'd offer to discuss my thoughts on this...but I'm sure you'd just read it as argument. I like healthy debate and engaging argumentation and often engage as such...I didn't think that was out of place on an online messageboard.

You state an opinion, and the context I perceive is that disagreement with your opinion is demonstrably wrong. This is then wrapped up in emphatic hyperbole. 'It's not America that has stupid taste but the entire WORLD'. That's not a healthy debate and this is the impression I've had of your discussion style for about 5 years now.

For example: I happen to like the Big Bang Theory. The way you weigh in on it, I don't feel like I could take an opposing stance without either having to immediately abandon the conversation for fear of getting sandbagged or roll up my sleeves and fight to defend an opinion that I hold but doesn't really matter that much.

[dsheinem]

Wow, man. I don't know what to say. I'd offer to discuss my thoughts on this...but I'm sure you'd just read it as argument. I like healthy debate and engaging argumentation and often engage as such...I didn't think that was out of place on an online messageboard.

You state an opinion, and the context I perceive is that disagreement with your opinion is demonstrably wrong. This is then wrapped up in emphatic hyperbole. 'It's not America that has stupid taste but the entire WORLD'. That's not a healthy debate and this is the impression I've had of your discussion style for about 5 years now.

For example: I happen to like the Big Bang Theory. The way you weigh in on it, I don't feel like I could take an opposing stance without either having to immediately abandon the conversation for fear of getting sandbagged or roll up my sleeves and fight to defend an opinion that I hold but doesn't really matter that much.

Taste is subjective, obviously. I stated as such prior to my "emphatic hyperbole." I also first linked several places delineating thoughts I'd expressed or arguments I was in agreement with that explained why I felt the show is shit. What you read as closing down discussion, I posted as an opportunity to engage with some well delineated starting points for discussion.

[Flake]

What you read as closing down discussion, I posted as an opportunity to engage with some well delineated starting points for discussion.

You may have seen it as an opportunity. I rarely see your opportunities as being invitations. But like I said, no judgement. Just wanted to give you a little insight on how your discussion style comes off to me and why it discourages me from participating in most threads that you are active in.

[dsheinem]

Well, thanks. The last thing I want to do is stifle discussion. Suppose I'll ease off the throttle...

[BoneSnapDeez]

My sister-in-law is staying with us for about 8 days. Since my wife works it's mainly been just me and baby sis (+ my daughter) in the house.

She's only a few years younger than me but I feel like she comes from a completely different universe. She sits on the couch and tap-taps on her smart phone about 4 hours each day. I've peeked over her shoulder to see what she's doing and it never looks particularly interesting. Just scrolling through Facebook photos of other people and whatnot. When she finally sets the phone aside she watches MTV.

She's a terrible conversationalist. When speaking to her she seems to "space out" and often interjects with "random" comments that have no relevance whatsoever. I swear that I can have a more coherent conversation with my 1-year-old.

For the most part, she doesn't seem to have much drive or energy or interests whatsoever. She can be personable and sweet at times. And she's quite pretty. Sometimes I wonder why she's perpetually single, but then I hang out with her for a few days and it all becomes clear.

[brunoafh]

Five pages of arguing about The Big Bang Theory? Guess I haven't been missing much.

[AppleQueso]

Five pages of arguing about The Big Bang Theory? Guess I haven't been missing much.

and an argument over whether Dave is argumentative

[BogusMeatFactory]

Five pages of arguing about The Big Bang Theory? Guess I haven't been missing much.

and an argument over whether Dave is argumentative

Could be worse. We could be arguing over if the Wii-U is a success or not!

My sister-in-law is staying with us for about 8 days. Since my wife works it's mainly been just me and baby sis (+ my daughter) in the house.

She's only a few years younger than me but I feel like she comes from a completely different universe. She sits on the couch and tap-taps on her smart phone about 4 hours each day. I've peeked over her shoulder to see what she's doing and it never looks particularly interesting. Just scrolling through Facebook photos of other people and whatnot. When she finally sets the phone aside she watches MTV.

She's a terrible conversationalist. When speaking to her she seems to "space out" and often interjects with "random" comments that have no relevance whatsoever. I swear that I can have a more coherent conversation with my 1-year-old.

For the most part, she doesn't seem to have much drive or energy or interests whatsoever. She can be personable and sweet at times. At she's quite pretty. Sometimes I wonder why she's perpetually single, but then I hang out with her for a few days and it all becomes clear.

Oh man, I completely understand your frustration in that part. There are significant others of friends who live their life on their phone and use simple one word responses to conversation without giving any feedback, even on topics that they enjoy.

This guy I know loves Final Fantasy and I tried to have a conversation to enthuse about it and was hit with those responses. He loves Game of Thrones, the NFL, classic video games and no matter what I say or do, he just gives me a one word response and brushes me off. Yet according to his wife, he loves talking to me. Well... the feeling isn't mutual!

Luckily, I've come across a lot of 20-somethings who are actually intelligent and curious people who love to engage in conversation and use their brains, so I really feel that it is a mixed bag based on the person.

[Flake]

She's only a few years younger than me but I feel like she comes from a completely different universe. She sits on the couch and tap-taps on her smart phone about 4 hours each day. I've peeked over her shoulder to see what she's doing and it never looks particularly interesting. Just scrolling through Facebook photos of other people and whatnot. When she finally sets the phone aside she watches MTV.

She's a terrible conversationalist. When speaking to her she seems to "space out" and often interjects with "random" comments that have no relevance whatsoever. I swear that I can have a more coherent conversation with my 1-year-old.

This description is scarily similar to some of my interactions with my step daughter. She's a really brilliant young girl but she doesn't seem to be able to focus on anything for more than a few minutes unless it is her phone. She got a little upset with me the other night when I asked her to stop asking questions about the plot of the show we were watching if she wasn't going to actually watch it herself. I don't particularly care if she watches the show that my wife and I are watching or not - but it's annoying that she'll interrupt every couple of minutes to ask for a recap and then go right back to pintrest on her phone.

Maybe it's just a feature of that generation? I know that my generation had some really annoying habits like asking 'what?' after every sentence and spending way too much time playing Nintendo or Sega.

[BogusMeatFactory]

Maybe it's just a feature of that generation? I know that my generation had some really annoying habits like asking 'what?' after every sentence and spending way too much time playing Nintendo or Sega.

They still say, "what?" after every sentence! Drives me crazy, but then I realize I speak a million words a second and they probably had no honest idea what I said haha!

I think it is just a sign of people of a certain maturity level. A lot of people adhere to the highschool stage in life where you are flippant, disrespectful and lost in yourself, which is perfectly fine for a teenager in that stage. Some cling to that and others grow out of it and grow as a person. It is a shame when it doesn't happen, but I feel like that carries over all generations.