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Dancing is stupid

stan.bar

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Re: Dancing is stupid

#71

Post by voidhorse »

Nice article. The commonplace, contemporary understanding of intelligence is hyper reductive, even within the bounds of what we'd consider intellectualism. For instance, I know many people that are quite good at solving problems in a specific scientific domain but who lack almost all appreciation and knowledge of art and literature. It hasn't registered to them as important or requisite for being "intelligent".

In many cases our notion of intelligence is really just "knowledge that supports my income" which is a real shame. In spite of the existence of the internet, which you'd think would drive a neo-renaissance, where the average person takes a healthy interest in almost everything, no such renaissance spirit is to be found in most corners of contemporary life (personally, I think it's because the amount of information available and speed of access has actually proved too overwhelming, letting other incentives and structures (mass entertainment, social media) win our attention instead).

Re: Dancing is stupid

#72

Post by Trasmatta »

throwaway22032 wrote: post #65
Trasmatta wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This comparison doesn't make sense. Dancing is present at many events that you would have legitimate reasons to want to attend for reasons other than dance. That's not really the case for a LAN party or an arcade. > If you really don't enjoy it then it's normal to not go along to those sort of events I guess I'll just never go to a wedding again, or a live music event, or a house party, or any of the other random eve…

Dancing isn't a focus for a live music event, a house party, a wedding? I mean, yeah, you come off as a bit weird. Sorry. It's fairly integral to all three. Maybe not the wedding depending on the couple.

> Maybe not the wedding depending on the couple.

"Maybe" implying that there are weddings I shouldn't attend because I don't like dancing?

And I shouldn't go to live music or house parties because it's weird to do so if I don't like dancing?

Nahh, miss me with that. This is exactly what I mean. The only weird thing here is the idea that I shouldn't go out and have fun with friends because I don't like to dance. People are so weird about it, and treat it almost like a sacred act.

Re: Dancing is stupid

#73

Post by throw_pm23 »

serverholic wrote: post #37
throw_pm23 wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What about those who didn't want at first, then tried it after some nudging, and ended up enjoying it?

Whenever someone has done that I end up pretending it’s fine until it’s socially acceptable to stop.

Stop caring so much about what others think..

Re: Dancing is stupid

#75

Post by throwaway22032 »

Trasmatta wrote: post #72
throwaway22032 wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dancing isn't a focus for a live music event, a house party, a wedding? I mean, yeah, you come off as a bit weird. Sorry. It's fairly integral to all three. Maybe not the wedding depending on the couple.

> Maybe not the wedding depending on the couple. "Maybe" implying that there are weddings I shouldn't attend because I don't like dancing? And I shouldn't go to live music or house parties because it's weird to do so if I don't like dancing? Nahh, miss me with that. This is exactly what I mean. The only weird thing here is the idea that I shouldn't go out and have fun with friends because I don't like to dance. Peopl…

You can do whatever you want man, it's 2023.

If your friends like to dance and you're sat in the corner on your phone then you look like a weirdo. That doesn't mean you can't go out and have fun, it means owning the fact that your choices mark you as being different.

Re: Dancing is stupid

#77

Post by Trasmatta »

throw_pm23 wrote: post #73
serverholic wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Whenever someone has done that I end up pretending it’s fine until it’s socially acceptable to stop.

Stop caring so much about what others think..

This can be applied the other way too: stop caring so much about people not wanting to dance. They're adults and can make their own decisions about what's fun for them, it's not your responsibility to force them to enjoy something.

Re: Dancing is stupid

#79

Post by mjhay »

smcl wrote: post #63
thriftwy wrote: post #24

I'm just not sure the common modern people dance at all. They go to the dance floor and do some weird random movements listening to overly loud music of grossly low quality. Whether people a century or two ago has interpreted this as dance or as some mental conditon is an open question. I'm all for ball dance or irish dance but not for the club variety.

I'm not one for clubs either, but I don't think it's fair to dismiss it as some inferior, primitive pursuit or imply that it's indicative of some mental deficiency. Clubs are not for us, that's ok we have other things that we like. Let people enjoy things :)

This is HN, people enjoying things cannot stand.

Re: Dancing is stupid

#80

Post by frodetb »

I've been surprised to find myself making multiple similar pivots over the years. A lot of what I dismissed in my younger years as lacking of intellectual merit, I have come around to value much more highly than I ever would have guessed.

It's funny, but dancing in particular has been my greatest fear for as long as I can remember, so I've always done my best to avoid situations where I'd be forced to do it. Not only did I not see the point or appeal, but I deeply dreaded the prospect of going on the dance floor.

As fears go, however, this one is quite innocent, and also fairly simple to face. And how empowering wouldn't it be, to overcome ones biggest obstacle? So not too long ago, when I was invited to a dance class by a group of friends, I decided I'd go, just the one time, as some sort of exposure therapy.

The dance was tango. As I had expected, I was anxious, stressed, and scared through the entire class (although it was very helpful having the excuse that it was my first day). What I did not expect was how fascinating the dance would turn out to be. How beautiful and elegant, yet also technical and structured. I saw our instructors dancing some dead simple improvised steps, and somehow, despite not being planned out at all, they were totally synchronized. There had to be some brain-to-brain communication going on, a sort of body language that I could not yet perceive or understand, but that I knew I wanted to learn.

That was six months ago, and since then I've gone to some sort of tango thing multiple times a week, every week I've been able to. I'm still nervous on my way to a class, and it takes a few dances to warm up and get loose each session, but I'm starting to enjoy it and feel like I'm actually dancing. In the process, I've come to understand more deeply what people mean when they say "there's more to life than X".

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