This comment section is a suitable demonstration of the author's point.
Why Technical Smart Asses are Technically Dumb Asses
11–20 of 56 posts
Re: Why Technical Smart Asses are Technically Dumb Asses
#12So... you got into an argument with your friend because he could have just said "whatever". Or you could have done the same thing.
Re: Why Technical Smart Asses are Technically Dumb Asses
#13When I find myself in a situation like this, I say "we're being pedantic, take a drink".
It works great. It makes us both realize we're acting stupid, and the next day neither of us is going to write a blog post about how our pedantry didn't line up with someone else's.
Re: Why Technical Smart Asses are Technically Dumb Asses
#14They both seem like they are thinking the same way to me. Both of them are wrong in some ways (self-discipline != consistency, and consistency alone was unlikely the key to the weight loss).
See also: http://www.despair.com/consistency.html
Re: Why Technical Smart Asses are Technically Dumb Asses
#15Being consistent means learning new habits. You might require some self discipline initially, but as time goes along, it becomes a habit and you don't need as much discipline, especially when you start to see tangible progress. So I can see why he would be anal about it.
I can testify to this, I have pretty low self-discipline in the sense that I find it very hard to force myself to do something I don't want to do. When I do manage to build a habit or a routine though, I find it pretty easy to stick to it.
It's not even being anal, if I was telling someone I love tangerines and they tell me that's awesome, oranges are really good for you... I'd be a little baffled I suppose.
I really love how the author complains about the other missing the bigger picture, when there's a bigger picture they themselves are oblivious to: the ideas in your head are really awesome and all, but if you don't learn how to use language properly to communicate them then they're useless to everyone else.
Re: Why Technical Smart Asses are Technically Dumb Asses
#16This is a nice take by Miguel De Icaza on the subject:
Re: Why Technical Smart Asses are Technically Dumb Asses
#17I am torn on this issue. I try not to be like this, but words have meaning. And if words don't have meaning or have arbitrary meaning then we can't communicate. Some words have more specific meaning than others. One thing that drives me absolutely nuts is when people (my girlfriend) use supposedly to not mean anything. My girlfriend uses it when someone else told her something. So she might say, "Supposedly, She went…
Some people believe the dictionary prescribes how words are to be used. Others believe the dictionary merely captures descriptions of how words are already being used. I think the truth is probably somewhere in between.
Re: Why Technical Smart Asses are Technically Dumb Asses
#18Smart ass posts article about how smart asses drive him nuts... ...irony missed.
My thought exactly -- does the author lack the self-awareness to realize that he is himself a smart ass?
Do you guys lack the reading-comprehension skills to understand that he talks about a SPECIFIC kind of smart-ass called a "pedant" which he is not?
Re: Why Technical Smart Asses are Technically Dumb Asses
#19It's a matter of perspective. Self discipline has a certain connotation and evokes certain emotions. For some people it may be associated with negative feelings built up over years of failure.
Maybe your friend realized this and decided to change the game. Thinking about it in terms of "consistency" instead of the dreaded "self-discipline" evidently worked for him, and he may be sticking to his guns in the argument because he doesn't want to fuck up the mental hack that been working so well.
Re: Why Technical Smart Asses are Technically Dumb Asses
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
My thought exactly -- does the author lack the self-awareness to realize that he is himself a smart ass?
Do you guys lack the reading-comprehension skills to understand that he talks about a SPECIFIC kind of smart-ass called a "pedant" which he is not?
I meant to ask something about your general intelligence, but I redacted it.