Keep Your Identity Small

[Matariki]

http://www.paulgraham.com/identity.html

<snip>

As a rule, any mention of religion on an online forum degenerates into a religious argument. Why? Why does this happen with religion and not with Javascript or baking or other topics people talk about on forums?

What's different about religion is that people don't feel they need to have any particular expertise to have opinions about it. All they need is strongly held beliefs, and anyone can have those. No thread about Javascript will grow as fast as one about religion, because people feel they have to be over some threshold of expertise to post comments about that. But on religion everyone's an expert.

Then it struck me: this is the problem with politics too. Politics, like religion, is a topic where there's no threshold of expertise for expressing an opinion. All you need is strong convictions.
...
I think what religion and politics have in common is that they become part of people's identity, and people can never have a fruitful argument about something that's part of their identity. By definition they're partisan.

[Matariki]

1. Or as my partner likes to say -

Opinions are like assholes. If you don't have one, you're full of sh*t.

;-)

[MineralMan]

2. Javascript? Baking?

Here's someone who hasn't been on forums devoted to those subjects. Flamewars are everywhere.

What?!? You use Canola Oil? Don't you know that will absolutely ruin your recipe? What are you? A fool?

And about variable names. Yours suck!

[Matariki]

5. LOL - you are absolutely correct!

is it identity or anonymity?

[MineralMan]

8. People will go off on almost any subject...

I'm on a bunch of forums about things like fishing, boating, outboard motors, automobiles, and stuff like that. The flame wars that get going are amazing on all of them.

I'm not sure why people would get enraged about someone using NGK spark plugs in an Evinrude outboard motor, instead of Champions, but you can start a flame war on that subject just by mentionin it.

It's a wonder and a marvel.

[DearAbby]

3. Now days Politics has become a Religion

and instead of the "My God is better than your God" battle, its My political philosophy is better than yours...or it's all like a Super-bowl game...I can't figure which.

[LanternWaste]

4. I think we emotionally invest...

I think we emotionally invest a lot of ourselves into particular concepts-- religion, politics, some philosophies, economics, etc., and have done so through the ages.

I think that sometimes we invest so much of ourselves into those concepts we come to believe that an opposing viewpoint is in effect challenging not merely our belief system, but also challenging who we are as individuals.




(I'm the first to admit my own guilt on many occasions...)

edit: sp

[ikojo]

6. Another topic sure to elicit strongly held

opinions is Windows v Mac.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

7. That's the same topic, when you get right down to it.

http://www.themodernword.com/eco/eco_mac_vs_pc.html

[Matariki]

10. Oh, that's brilliant. I love Eco - thanks for the link. n/t

[MineralMan]

9. Well, that makes perfect sense...

Bill Gates is the great Satan, after all. Only Steve Jobs really, really understands what a personal computer should be. Everyone knows that, and if you don't...you're just a moran! :nuke:

[Javaman]

11. I worship my desk stapler and I observe it's politics. nt

[union_maid]

12. Browser wars, anyone?

Operating systems, e-mail clients, web hosts, HTML editors, CSS. Diet, smoking, recreational drugs, health, child rearing, country mouse/city mouse, my team vs. your team, oh, and your favorite band sucks, btw. And that's just scraping the surface.