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Competition and Quarter-Life Crises

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Re: Competition and Quarter-Life Crises

#91

Post by swoshthrowaway »

analyst74 wrote: post #79
pritovido wrote: post #26

I do not believe for a moment that this has anything to do with competition. I have lived in China and kids there are booked fully. Their parents sacrifice everything for their only child but at the same time they put a very high burden on them booking every space of their lives. Just letting the kids fool around, experience what interest them, play and make mistakes is inadmissible. Usually the parents work all day…

I wouldn't go as far as calling racist, but you did make some pretty grand generalizations with seemingly detailed explanation about how "Chinese kids" and society work. Maybe the people you surround yourself with treat their children like that, but I don't think they, and in turn, your observation can be generalized to all of Chinese. Same with your generalization with your personal experience, not sure if you're Am…

> Maybe the people you surround yourself with treat their children like that, but I don't think they, and in turn, your observation can be generalized to all of Chinese.

I think the experience described is pretty typical for the middle class. The claim that all Chinese lack creativity etc is clearly wrong, but I do think this upbringing is a big downward force on such traits. Many will surpass those challenges and get past their childhood experiences eventually, but some don't. My wife for example had a pretty typical upbringing, studying 24/7 basically. Imagine no weekends off since middle-school, not allowed to read books (except for course literature), studying until 11pm every day since high-school etc. Now, she's a high achiever, but needs the structure, without which she doesn't know what to do with herself. It's been a slow process undoing that damage, including a lot of therapy. Being very involved in the Chinese community, this is much more common than in Europe (don't know about US).

Re: Competition and Quarter-Life Crises

#92

Post by j4nt4b »

082349872349872 wrote: post #88
j4nt4b wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you encountered mimetic theory? It's worth a read if you haven't yet. To boil it down: we measure ourselves by the people around us, and the more homogenous the peer group, the greater the pressure on each individual. We're all busy copying each other without consciously realizing it, but simultaneously we are mortally afraid of anybody thinking we are copying them. Here's a random overview: https://violenceandr…

Mimetic theory sounds like a very middle class (in the pejorative sense, as an ever-anxious externally-measuring person: in german we would say "spear-carrier", in french "tiny urbanite", etc.) approach to life.

Aha yes, in America it's often referred to as "Keeping up with the Joneses"

I'm curious about your phrasing, however. In your view, is a middle class approach to life a life that simply conforms to the predictions of mimetic theory without awareness, or a life informed by its understanding and application?

Re: Competition and Quarter-Life Crises

#93

Post by sleepybodo »

ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #44

That was an interesting read. I enjoy it when folks write about things other than the technical. We're human; first and foremost. For myself, I won't get into it, but I have spent the last 40 years living a life of rigorous self-honesty, and self-evaluation. I take daily personal inventory, and often immediately admit wrong and move to correct any errors. I'm not very competitive. In order to compete, one must win, a…

Friend of Bill? ;-)

Re: Competition and Quarter-Life Crises

#94

Post by 082349872349872 »

j4nt4b wrote: post #92
082349872349872 wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mimetic theory sounds like a very middle class (in the pejorative sense, as an ever-anxious externally-measuring person: in german we would say "spear-carrier", in french "tiny urbanite", etc.) approach to life.

Aha yes, in America it's often referred to as "Keeping up with the Joneses" I'm curious about your phrasing, however. In your view, is a middle class approach to life a life that simply conforms to the predictions of mimetic theory without awareness, or a life informed by its understanding and application?

The former. (again, only in a pejorative context! Compare "épater la bourgeoisie", shetexe da sut inya.)

Note that in this century, the mimetic middle class is much closer to the statistical middle class (the modal hump of the poisson distribution) than to the more historical middle class (those with enough property to weather a few years not working, but not enough for permanent leisure. Go back another century and one has the classes of Jane Austen, who wrote mostly about the upper middle, with a smattering of lower upper characters.)

Re: Competition and Quarter-Life Crises

#95

Post by 082349872349872 »

082349872349872 wrote: post #94
j4nt4b wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Aha yes, in America it's often referred to as "Keeping up with the Joneses" I'm curious about your phrasing, however. In your view, is a middle class approach to life a life that simply conforms to the predictions of mimetic theory without awareness, or a life informed by its understanding and application?

The former. (again, only in a pejorative context! Compare "épater la bourgeoisie", shetexe da sut inya .) Note that in this century, the mimetic middle class is much closer to the statistical middle class (the modal hump of the poisson distribution) than to the more historical middle class (those with enough property to weather a few years not working, but not enough for permanent leisure. Go back another century and…

As to scapegoating: I'm reminded of Solzhenitsyn, who said that it's tempting to try to excise evil and separate it from society, but the attempt is doomed, as the line between good and evil runs not between ideologies or countries or factions or people but through all our hearts...

Sili to deng fo decho da nagut, deng to mebi mowsh shetexa kori milowda, kowmang.

Edit: also, conspiracy theorists may enjoy the double-scapegoating in the Passion, as told in Master and Margarita.

Re: Competition and Quarter-Life Crises

#96

Post by ChrisMarshallNY »

sleepybodo wrote: post #93
ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #44

That was an interesting read. I enjoy it when folks write about things other than the technical. We're human; first and foremost. For myself, I won't get into it, but I have spent the last 40 years living a life of rigorous self-honesty, and self-evaluation. I take daily personal inventory, and often immediately admit wrong and move to correct any errors. I'm not very competitive. In order to compete, one must win, a…

Friend of Bill? ;-)

Jimmy.
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