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naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   31958 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of December 5, 2022

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Then I feel like an idiot engaging with something like that at face value.... in the same exasperated vein as, perhaps, of someone with Renaissance values in Medieval times lamenting how little interest there was to discuss ideas outside of religious ones.

I definitely wouldn't encourage in engaging with things at face value if you care about the actual truth of the matter. As for the whole Renaissance values in Medieval times... I think you are being a tad overdramatic here. Sure the general discourse is more low-brow than I would like, but this is an unprecedented time in history for high level, intellectual discourse to flourish. We have an embarrassment of riches, you can spend your whole life engaging with brilliant people sharing fascinating ideas. Just because it takes more effort to have those conversations doesn't mean the discourse doesn't exist - this comparison seems extremely suspect to me.

So, if you lost interest in CW, are you saying you'd unplug without FOMO? I sometimes wonder if media consumption is just an addiction.

Media consumption is absolutely an addiction for many people. I have disengaged from the CW in the past many times. It's not always easy, and the Motte perhaps harder to disengage from than most, but it can be done. Best way in my experience is actively filling your time with other diversions. Staying busy for lack of a better phrase.

Just as a class of knowledge, [the news] seems like such a terrible waste of time, and even knowing that generations have lived without this contrivance it still holds such a grip on me because everyone else is doing it too.

If you feel this way, don't bother watching the news. If you genuinely care about connecting with others over topics in the cultural milieu, maybe subscribe to a high quality email newsletter or get your news from here. You write as if you have no agency with regard to the news, and that's not true! You can and absolutely should step back, evaluate your relationship with news media, and change it to suit your wants and needs.

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