101–110 of 217 posts
One guy likes a set of dinnerware. One guy doesn't care about dinnerware. Religious war ensues.
...and everyone focuses on the dinnerware when really they were just examples held up in each author's actual point. A completely absurd amount of time and words have now been spent discussing a message that apparently nobody actually comprehended.
The author of this linked article has made an error: he assumes dcurtis' flatware is inordinately expensive. It is not; traditional flatware really is absurdly expensive. Much of the author's article is based on this assumption. I'd suggest he familiarize himself with "wedding gift"-style flatware. Then do a rewrite because I think there is a good argument still to be had.
I thought the author was suggesting that maybe flatware isn't worth that much. There being a bunch of expensive flatware in existence is just a straw man's rebuttal to the point that affordable flatware works just fine.
You shouldn’t be so judgmental, especially about things like that. (And this also goes in the opposite direction: If you are happy with cheap flatware, nobody should berate you for it.)
"Any reasonable person wouldn’t feel liberated by a $50 fork, but constrained by it. One wouldn’t be able to help but worry: is it being cared for correctly, is my friend going to mess it up when absentmindedly tapping the table with it, is it going to get dropped or stepped on if a dance party erupts in the kitchen? After all, it is the perfect fork, what if something happened to it to make it… not perfect?" This is…
Indeed. I don't intentionally damage new things, but people are often surprised that I don't agonize over keeping my phone, car, or laptop looking brand new. The idea of a scratched Honda sort bothers people, but idea of a scratched Audi makes people crazy. Why waste your energy worrying about this? A Audi with some scratches is a very nice car, and an iPhone with some scratches is a very nice phone.
Because other people worry about it when buying a used Audi. And the obscene cost to repair auto paint. A carelessly placed shopping cart or thoughtless lean against the car in riveted jeans can cause thousands of dollars of damage.
I'm a hypocrite. Coffee, anyone? http://raganwald.posterous.com/coffee-anyone
I'm surprised nobody here has yet mentioned Fight Club... "The things you own, end up owning you"
I think the authors of "The Best" and "The Worst" are both right. In fact, pretty much everything I own is either "the best" or "the worst" -- no middle ground. I identify the very few things that really make a difference to me (my laptop, my stereo, my kitchen pots & pans & knives, my jeans) and buy the absolute best I can afford. And I identify the things I don't really care about (the rug, the chairs, most kitchen…
But isn't that okay? Isn't it okay if I own something that can't be used as proof of how awesome I am?
If forced to decide between Dustin's reality and Moxie's, I think I'd chose Dustin's. A world made up of overly-reviewed, pretentious gadgets slightly edges out a utilitarian, post-apocalyptic, hellscape Bartertown where people scavenge through wreckage looking for makeshift utensils and clothing. I picture oil drum fires. Thankfully, I am not limited by those choices. I can continue to do what I already do, which is…
That second scenario sounds great to me. Reminds me of Burning Man. You'd be surprised what tools you can cut out of a gallon jug.
Thank you. That article about "The Best" bothered me in a way I couldn't completely verbalize. Beyond a certain threshold, the quality of objects just simply doesn't matter. The example of flatware was particularly annoying, because, really, in what way does a fork ever actually "fail"? Have you ever had food halfway to your mouth when the fork just suddenly collapses or something? As a tool, flatware is completely s…
Lots of flatware "fails" because the manufacturing is poor and leaves a nasty ridge on the bottom side, which is uncomfortable to hold. And plenty of cheaper forks/spoons seem to bend very easily. Sure, it's a small, but nevertheless annoying thing to deal with. Declaring any particular design of flatware to be "the best" seems rather silly and just boasting of design they happen to like.
But I think you hit the point of what they call in economics "diminishing marginal returns" for flatware at a pretty low price point, certainly below $10 a piece. And now with the internet where you can read reviews of flatware sets, you can more easily hit that sweet spot.
However, the best is finding the really expensive stuff at garage sales since a lot of people get it as gifts and never use it.
I think the authors of "The Best" and "The Worst" are both right. In fact, pretty much everything I own is either "the best" or "the worst" -- no middle ground. I identify the very few things that really make a difference to me (my laptop, my stereo, my kitchen pots & pans & knives, my jeans) and buy the absolute best I can afford. And I identify the things I don't really care about (the rug, the chairs, most kitchen…
Well, well, Mr. Galt: "There are two sides to every issue: one side is right and the other is wrong, but the middle is always evil." Much as absolutism makes for simple priorities, applying these general principles out of any context is going to make you wrong no matter what you choose. As in game theory, where mixed strategies often defeat any individual strategy, the best, the worst, and the middle all encounter th…
A world class supercomputer isn't the same category of good as a MacBook Air. Most laptop owners would feel worse off in some aspects of the trade, as they would no longer have a portable computer to travel with.
If a Macbook Air nets you the most personal utility from a portable computer, as opposed to a 2003 Thinkpad, your ownership could be used to support rather than negate the "best or worst" heuristic.
A better example to support your position would be if you owned the 2011 model instead of the 2012 model of the same laptop. You could declare ownership of the newer models always nets you greater utility, but that upgrading every year isn't worth the opportunity cost, and that it would be silly to find "the worst" laptop to downgrade to every-time you decide to forego an upgrade.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
...and everyone focuses on the dinnerware when really they were just examples held up in each author's actual point. A completely absurd amount of time and words have now been spent discussing a message that apparently nobody actually comprehended.
Two households, both alike in strength of opinion over spoons.