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Hatta wrote:Pretentious derives from pretense. It refers to putting on airs of culture that you don't actually have. If you are authentically cultured then you might be a snob, but you're not pretentious. If you refuse to drink anything but Guinness because it's imported and has a good reputation, you're being pretentious. If you've tried every beer you can get your hands on and have found Guinness to be the best, that's authentic.

Now, am I being pretentious about the definition of pretentious?

No, that's a good point. And thanks - I learned something!

The term is commonly used to mean snobbish, so that was the way I worded it above. Now I know that's technically improper. I'll retitle the thread accordingly.

How ironic.

dsheinem wrote:How ironic.

that's a joke, by the way

My favorite genre of music is Progressive Rock. Do I need to say more?

I'll go with "other" and say people

people are what I am most... "snobbish" about, I'd guess

I have a "normal" amount of friends, I guess; but I only ever hang out with one or two of them (usually just one, since my other friend has left abroad)

why?

because I can't talk to people most of the time
there's always something which annoy me

either that their arrogant/ignorant, or that they pretend to be someone/something they're not, or just simply shallow

I need to feel as if though I've got something, anything to talk about with people and that I have some form of "exchange" in socializing, otherwise I just stick to my apartment/girlfriend and cats

one of the major reasons as to why I lock myself inside is due to me not being able to deal with people in general

I can go to pubs, etc. but I rarely if ever talk to anyone outside of the people I came there with

these days I prefer to keep my contact with humanity to on-line

which may seem rather odd, since it's mostly on-line that people seem to be ass-holes; but I find it to be contrary

here I can find people with similar interests and have civil discussions regarding things that we are on common grounds about

at the same time I can actually learn something, from people who don't just pull things out their ass, claiming to be superior

so I guess I could say "people in general, not so much people on-line"

...

yeah, that should sum it up

TV

I'm amazed by the garbage people watch. Reality tv, derivative cop procedurals, American Idol, etc.

Cool! My answer then is politics. Entertainment and food and drink, that's all subjective. If you like Budweiser and Kid Rock, that's cool. Do your thing, I have no problem with it. No amount of reasoning can change the way you experience a taste or sound.

Matters of right and wrong on the other hand should be based in logic. If you think (for instance) that a lump of totipotent cells should be treated the same by the law as a child, or that imprisonment is an appropriate way to deal with people who enjoy themselves in a way you don't approve of, then you're either stupid or evil. Either you can't figure out the right answer, or you choose not to. Either one is something I can't respect.

saturnfan wrote:I am most pretentious about beer, basically because most people willing drink garbage. I try not to be snobby about it though.

I am with you 100%. I only drink craft beer; the other stuff just doesn't cut it. Sure I'll have an adjunct lager if it's handed to me at a party, but otherwise I'm the guy who brought the six (or *gasp* four) pack of weird beers.

Cars, I have always loved them and have always educated myself about them. I could talk about them for days. I have tons of books about them from service manuals, magazines, Chilton guides, picture books to the full history of the Hemi you name it. I have a particular liking to muscle cars and plan on building a 1969 Chevelle SS once we buy our new house.

Hatta wrote:Cool! My answer then is politics. Entertainment and food and drink, that's all subjective. If you like Budweiser and Kid Rock, that's cool. Do your thing, I have no problem with it. No amount of reasoning can change the way you experience a taste or sound.

Matters of right and wrong on the other hand should be based in logic. If you think (for instance) that a lump of totipotent cells should be treated the same by the law as a child, or that imprisonment is an appropriate way to deal with people who enjoy themselves in a way you don't approve of, then you're either stupid or evil. Either you can't figure out the right answer, or you choose not to. Either one is something I can't respect.

While you may read your "other" vote as "politics," I'm gonna read it as "trolling."

Limewater wrote:

Hatta wrote:Cool! My answer then is politics. Entertainment and food and drink, that's all subjective. If you like Budweiser and Kid Rock, that's cool. Do your thing, I have no problem with it. No amount of reasoning can change the way you experience a taste or sound.

Matters of right and wrong on the other hand should be based in logic. If you think (for instance) that a lump of totipotent cells should be treated the same by the law as a child, or that imprisonment is an appropriate way to deal with people who enjoy themselves in a way you don't approve of, then you're either stupid or evil. Either you can't figure out the right answer, or you choose not to. Either one is something I can't respect.

While you may read your "other" vote as "politics," I'm gonna read it as "trolling."

Yeah, I don't think of politics as a "snobbish" thing - that belittles the conviction you seem to have. If we had a separate poll about "what do you think is most important?" or "what do you argue about the most?" or something along those lines then I can see politics. I consider myself very politically informed and opinionated (and correct!), and hold those views as more important than my views on bands or game genres.