[ExI] Objective standards?

[William Flynn Wallace]

Dan - ​Probably an issue of exposure and guidance and maybe self-control.
But if it's all a matter of tastes, why care so much about it?​

​Because I am a teacher - to the bone!  Teachers are sharers and if I love
something I want to share it.  That's what psych 101 does, isn't it?
Present a large number of areas in a rather shallow way to see if some are
drawn to one or another and want to follow it up somehow.

As for music, it's not presented in school in most places, and so most
people don't even have the chance to see what they might like, and I think
that's sad.​  Also sad is the fact that they might use it as sonic
wallpaper, just for background and never hear that there is anything more
to it because they don't just sit and listen, and because if they did
they'd still not get all of it because of their untrained ears.

Now - I went to concerts with a chemistry teacher and he knew nothing about
music but he knew he liked some classical.  I argue that his enjoyment
might equal mine, and that he really doesn't need any more knowledge than
he has.  But if he did, he would enjoy it on a more complex level and on
more levels, just as good English teachers can do with books.  No, I did
not try to teach him.  I thought it might be perceived as patronizing.

I have pointed out the donkey imitation in Midsummer Night's Dream, and
that's not essential to the enjoyment, but it's interesting, eh?

Take Huckleberry Finn - the symbolism taught is that the river is a good
place and the shores are bad places etc.  Interesting even if not what
Twain had in mind.  True, as Terry Pratchett said, for a given value of
true.

bill w
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.extropy.org/pipermail/extropy-chat/attachments/20150929/b82cb3e5/attachment.html>