--- Jim Sharkey wrote:
>
> Erik Reuter wrote:
>
> > On Sun, Jul 14, 2002, Nick Arnett wrote:
> >>It's soiling the nest that we build together.
> >
> >"Soiling the nest that we build together" sounds
> like hippie
> >feel good stuff or melodrama to me. To me, Brin-L
> is a mailing list
> >to read and have interesting discussions. Maybe we
> are >diametrically opposed on this.
>
> See, now this is an interesting topic. Is Brin-L a
> community, albeit an electronic one, or is it simply
> an impersonal forum for opinionated polymaths to
> have it out?
>
> That is, do we have an attachment to each other that
> goes beyond the desire to, say, compare and contrast
> Kant and Kierkegaard (sp?)? Has the list become
> more than a bunch of strangers united by their
> enjoyment of Dr. David Brin's literature? Are we,
> or should we be, emotionally invested in each other?
>
> Here are a couple of pros and cons Nick's idea.
> Feel free to add or disagree:
>
> The pros: genuine concern for others' tragedies,
> like the passing of the Van Baardwijk's child, or my
> father's death from cancer. The esprit de corps,
> like when a person posts an Irregulars question, and
> even the people that maybe aren't their biggest fans
> stuill chip in to help them out. The sense that
> we've moved beyond just discussing things with
> strangers, to having stimulating disagreements with
> friends.
>
> The cons: The personal affronts sometimes given
> between parties during those discussions. The
> discussions that get heated, because certain people
> don't really like each other.
>
> It's harder for me to pro and con Erik's POV, but
> I'll try. Again, feel free to add or disagree.
>
> The pros: Dispassionate discussion. A certain
> intellectual freedom is more easily attained when
> you see everyone else not as friends, but more as
> potential allies or adversaries in any topic of
> discussion. That same distance keeps you getting
> emotionally entangled with people you've never met,
> and keeps the discussions on a more intellectual
> level.
>
> The cons: It's a cold place like this. No one is
> close to anyone, and after awhile the company of
> strangers can be depressing. Also, it suggest that
> the people within it may be disinterested in their
> fellow posters as human beings.
>
> Anyway, I thought it might be nice if this
> discussion could springboard into a more interesting
> debate on list philosphy. YMMV.
I wanted to think this one over a bit before
responding; why did I even look into Brin-L, and what
did I expect of it? What did "you" expect of a member,
and would I fit in?
As a Brin fan, I have been very impressed with his
ability to anticipate events or their becoming
'public.' Two particulars: the survivalists of _The
Postman_ -> how the incident at Ruby Ridge put
paramilitary groups in the mainstream media; the
Helvetian "gnomes" (of _Earth_, I think) -> how the
Swiss bank/Nazi stolen gold connection bomb-shelled.
His web site recommended the 'list, so I looked.
As in his best works, I expected a mix of science,
philosophy and human interest/possibilities, with a
big leavening of humor. ("Yowp! YEOWP!" -Fiben, in
_The Uplift War_)
And as my last question (and post) reveals, I am
strongly biased toward the "community" version of a
list group. That reflects, not surprisingly, my
preferences in books, movies and real life. Oh, I
like a rousing debate as well as the next person, and
have always loved 'knowing things' (eg peregrine
falcon stoop speed) and learning new ones (eg the
immune cascade - now there's a fascinating
conglomeration of checks and balances!); but in the
end, if there's nothing to engage me emotionally, I'll
lose interest. I'm not saying that this is _the_
superior mode, but I find it compelling - indeed,
necessary.
So after lurking for a month or so, here I am...
Tag!
You're It Maru
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