People
I pondered briefly as I tried to sleep last night that although I rail about stupidity, and the frustrating people I meet who don't seem to use what little intelligence they may have, my true attraction factor - the thing about people I notice most quickly and am most attracted to - is not intelligence, but rather the ability to think for oneself, even if said thinking isn't of the highest caliber.
I have lived among the academe. I have conversed with genius. I have argued with everyone, and the people about whom I find myself spouting encomium are not always those with a spark of genius, but those with a spark of weird. I like people who think differently, even if they don't think well. Truly, I prefer a mixture of both, but if I had to choose between a genius conformist and an eccentric imbecile, I believe I'd choose the imbecile. At least the thoughts expressed would be individual.
Little good conversation has come from the Polonii of the world who spout platitudes and cliche. Conversation comes from those people willing to risk censure to stir up the thoughts settling in over any gaggle.
If I were to speculate pointlessly, I think I would decide that the reason I love these people is that alone, I tend to stagnate. I settle in on my own ideas and start believing my own omniscience. I feel that I need someone to question me without being downright belligerent (like, say, my family, who are notoriously obtuse).
I see this also as a trend in my television and movie taste. Unfortunately, these media tend to be more deceptively nonconformist, as any media event truly non-conformist would also be unpopular enough to lose sponsorship. Every successful show must by definition also be common. It's frustrating. So much for the Poet and the Sun.
I have lived among the academe. I have conversed with genius. I have argued with everyone, and the people about whom I find myself spouting encomium are not always those with a spark of genius, but those with a spark of weird. I like people who think differently, even if they don't think well. Truly, I prefer a mixture of both, but if I had to choose between a genius conformist and an eccentric imbecile, I believe I'd choose the imbecile. At least the thoughts expressed would be individual.
Little good conversation has come from the Polonii of the world who spout platitudes and cliche. Conversation comes from those people willing to risk censure to stir up the thoughts settling in over any gaggle.
If I were to speculate pointlessly, I think I would decide that the reason I love these people is that alone, I tend to stagnate. I settle in on my own ideas and start believing my own omniscience. I feel that I need someone to question me without being downright belligerent (like, say, my family, who are notoriously obtuse).
I see this also as a trend in my television and movie taste. Unfortunately, these media tend to be more deceptively nonconformist, as any media event truly non-conformist would also be unpopular enough to lose sponsorship. Every successful show must by definition also be common. It's frustrating. So much for the Poet and the Sun.
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