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gog  1yr ago (text post)   Edited 1yr ago   6433 thread views

Where are the people smarter than us hanging out?

In Paul Fussell’s book on class (I think), he says that people are really worried about differentiating themselves from the class immediately below them, but largely ignorant of the customs and sometimes even existence of the classes above them. When I found SSC, and then The Motte, and stuff like TLP, I was astonished to find a tier of the internet I had had no idea even existed. The quality of discourse here is . . . usually . . . of the kind that “high brow” (by internet standards) websites THINK they are having, but when you see the best stuff here you realize that those clowns are just flattering themselves. My question is, who is rightly saying the same thing about us? Of what intellectual internet class am I ignorant now? Or does onlineness impose some kind of ceiling on things, and the real galaxy brains are at the equivalent of Davos somewhere?

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The quality of discourse here is . . . usually . . . of the kind that “high brow” (by internet standards) websites THINK they are having

No, it really, really isn't. The quality of the discourse here is incredibly shoddy. It is 95% as if Ibram Kendi were debating Ben Shapiro.

The quality of the discourse here is incredibly shoddy.

Okay, let's see some evidence?

It is 95% as if Ibram Kendi were debating Ben Shapiro.

You immediately provide direct, contrary evidence with this simile. 4D chess or...?

You immediately provide direct, contrary evidence

Well, you have a good sense of humor, I will give you that.

Please point to better discourse friend.

Where do you go on the internet for high-quality discourse?

I'm genuinely curious what standard you're comparing to.

People are not going to expend enormous intellectual energy on these debates, because it's not worth it.

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