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Are Stanford Students Just (Really Excellent) Sheep?

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Re: Are Stanford Students Just (Really Excellent) Sheep?

#21

Post by rfurmani »

maeon3 wrote: post #7

95% of people are sheep, just look around you. Clothing fashions all change with eachother according to what the others are doing. Church: just tell me What to believe. Bars, drinking toxic liquids and smoking radioactive smoke because it's cool. Resumes which plead for others to make us worthy members of society. It takes a special kind of defiance to say no thank you to What the world expects you to be.

I agree that the typical person can be a sheep, however:

* the church callout is unnecessary, it can be a type of self-analysis

* Alcohol is not toxic and in reasonable quantities does not have a purely deleterious effect.

* When needing to make personal connections (which one always will since you learn a lot from others, not to mention the benefits of having connections and even just social interactions) it is good to look like you fit in, so others do not become defensive.

* there's a limited amount of time and energy available for coming up with your own things. If somebody gives me clothes that are comfortable and look good, I won't spend time thinking of what clothes would "really be me as an individual". On my last personal project I had my own design, but we ended up looking through a Web Design idea book, made something that looked rather standard, and ended up with a better reaction, as it's what was expected and hence more usable. In other words, pick your battles, save up for the big innovations, recognize the value of others, and stand on their shoulders, even if you have to conform a bit to do so

Re: Are Stanford Students Just (Really Excellent) Sheep?

#22

Post by maeon3 »

Peaker wrote: post #17
maeon3 wrote: post #7

95% of people are sheep, just look around you. Clothing fashions all change with eachother according to what the others are doing. Church: just tell me What to believe. Bars, drinking toxic liquids and smoking radioactive smoke because it's cool. Resumes which plead for others to make us worthy members of society. It takes a special kind of defiance to say no thank you to What the world expects you to be.

The toxic liquids tend to be actually fun to many :)

Thank you for being a part of my statistic. Alcohol makes you misrable. Say baaa sheep. :) you were trained to say it's fun by billion dollar psychoogical ad campaigns to brainwash you to think it fun.

It's abuse in a bottle, wolves realize this and profit off the sheep.

Re: Are Stanford Students Just (Really Excellent) Sheep?

#23

Post by Spearchucker »

wmf wrote: post #15
Alex3917 wrote: post #2

"It portrayed the average Princeton/Yale/Harvard/Stanford student as extremely bright and morally earnest but ultimately rather uninspired and herd-like conformists." Colleges go out of their way to select 'herd-like conformists' during the admissions process, so why would they then try to change them once they got there? This Brooks article never made any sense to me.

The admissions people say they reject excellent-but-bland applications, but perhaps it's a matter of degree.

There's a school of thought in the UK that feels institutions like this reject applications from applicants who's family don't have deep pockets.

Similarly, there's the perception that Eton is capable of producing well-educated idiots.

Understand me here - this isn't my view. Just saying it's a view that's out there.

Re: Are Stanford Students Just (Really Excellent) Sheep?

#24

Post by blake8086 »

maeon3 wrote: post #7

95% of people are sheep, just look around you. Clothing fashions all change with eachother according to what the others are doing. Church: just tell me What to believe. Bars, drinking toxic liquids and smoking radioactive smoke because it's cool. Resumes which plead for others to make us worthy members of society. It takes a special kind of defiance to say no thank you to What the world expects you to be.

I am always amused at this mentality. Have you ever noticed how Reddit is full of people who all think everyone else are sheep?

Everyone is unique if you only count the things that make them different, and people are pretty similar if you look for things that make them alike.

Re: Are Stanford Students Just (Really Excellent) Sheep?

#25

Post by scott_s »

maeon3 wrote: post #22
Peaker wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The toxic liquids tend to be actually fun to many :)

Thank you for being a part of my statistic. Alcohol makes you misrable. Say baaa sheep. :) you were trained to say it's fun by billion dollar psychoogical ad campaigns to brainwash you to think it fun. It's abuse in a bottle, wolves realize this and profit off the sheep.

You will be miserable if you abuse it. It's quite nice in moderation. (Although I understand if people would rather not drink it, for whatever their reason.) Humanity has made alcoholic drinks for thousands of years, well before modern ad campaigns.

Re: Are Stanford Students Just (Really Excellent) Sheep?

#26

Post by necubi »

maeon3 wrote: post #22
Peaker wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The toxic liquids tend to be actually fun to many :)

Thank you for being a part of my statistic. Alcohol makes you misrable. Say baaa sheep. :) you were trained to say it's fun by billion dollar psychoogical ad campaigns to brainwash you to think it fun. It's abuse in a bottle, wolves realize this and profit off the sheep.

Which is why humans have been drinking alcohol since the dawn of history[0]? I don't think they had billion dollar psychological ad campaigns in ancient mesopotamia...

[0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_beer

Re: Are Stanford Students Just (Really Excellent) Sheep?

#27

Post by socksy »

Spearchucker wrote: post #23
wmf wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The admissions people say they reject excellent-but-bland applications, but perhaps it's a matter of degree.

There's a school of thought in the UK that feels institutions like this reject applications from applicants who's family don't have deep pockets. Similarly, there's the perception that Eton is capable of producing well-educated idiots. Understand me here - this isn't my view. Just saying it's a view that's out there.

I'm not sure Eton is really applicable here, since the income of your parents matters a whole lot more than the application process (and Eton suffer for it in the league tables) — and whilst you may argue that Ivy League schools do just that, I doubt it's quite to the same extent.

Re: Are Stanford Students Just (Really Excellent) Sheep?

#28

Post by matwood »

maeon3 wrote: post #7

95% of people are sheep, just look around you. Clothing fashions all change with eachother according to what the others are doing. Church: just tell me What to believe. Bars, drinking toxic liquids and smoking radioactive smoke because it's cool. Resumes which plead for others to make us worthy members of society. It takes a special kind of defiance to say no thank you to What the world expects you to be.

And you're a sheep that rejects the other sheep because being anti-sheep is cool right now.

I do what I want to do because I want to do it. Sometimes that means doing things that gasp other people also enjoy doing. Are we all sheep then? I get the Fight Club anti-consumerism mentality, but taking it just as far in the other direction isn't any better. Trading one sheeps skin for another means you're still a sheep.

BTW, wines and beers have been produced for almost as long as humanity has been around. If everyone who enjoys a drink once in awhile is only doing it because it's cool, then alcohol is longest lasting fad known. :)

Re: Are Stanford Students Just (Really Excellent) Sheep?

#30

Post by sliverstorm »

maeon3 wrote: post #22
Peaker wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The toxic liquids tend to be actually fun to many :)

Thank you for being a part of my statistic. Alcohol makes you misrable. Say baaa sheep. :) you were trained to say it's fun by billion dollar psychoogical ad campaigns to brainwash you to think it fun. It's abuse in a bottle, wolves realize this and profit off the sheep.

Miserable? As a bit of an introvert, alcohol can actually be a powerful tool. Most all humans, myself included, crave social interaction. Sometimes coworkers and a smattering of friends isn't enough, and it can be refreshing to occasionally visit a bar and make friends for the night.
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