|
|
#12
09-18-2007, 06:07 PM
|
|||
|
|||
Re: The Most Important Thing In The World Right Now
[ QUOTE ]
Please tell me why you (or even Jesus) should care about them more than your cat. [/ QUOTE ] Because David Sklansky sees fit to start multiple threads on this topic. 
|
|
#14
09-19-2007, 06:37 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Re: The Most Important Thing In The World Right Now
[ QUOTE ]
Maybe we need to consider just how very cheap this sort of news is to produce - almost zero research from dumb journalists and pseudo-experts, and so simple that its easy to present. I wonder how different it would be if all news cost the same to produce (I fear not much). [/ QUOTE ] I don't think there would be any significant difference. I don't know much about the costs of operating a cable news channel, but I would think the cost of producing one set of news vs. a different set of news is almost always negligible when you consider the value of offering the better story. There are a lot of costs that the station will have anyways. Advertising, salaries, equipment. So since a lot of the cost is static, the cost of actually producing the news does not comprise the full range of expenses; however the quality of your product does comprise the full range of your revenue. So it probably would never make sense for a profitable channel to be swayed by the cost difference of two stories unless all else was damn near equal. It'd be like signing an all-star outfielder, but putting the team up in uncomfortable hotels to save money. So I think the real question is why do people desire this sort of news? It's almost like why Paris Hilton became a super celebrity. She is because she is! I always found it interesting that I could be at a baseball game, thinking my team is 6 games ahead of the 2nd place team. We could be in a tight game, and I'm emotionally invested in every pitch. Someone scores to tie the game in the 7th, and that's like the worst thing ever to me. Then I could look at the newspaper again and realize that our lead is actually only 5 games, and it'll just be like "oh, oh well.... STRIKE 3! YES!!!" But shouldn't anything (short of injuries and the ilk) that I observe happening in that game not possibly be as objectively bad as realizing we're a whole game worse than I thought? So I dunno. We are social creatures. It's pretty easy to ascribe value subjectively when you empathize with someone else. Since the main challenge of our environment is simply our social interactions with each other, it seems good (and so it must be natural) to interpret someone else's moods and interests as worthwhile in their own rights. Stories like this are a good thing anyways. I'd rather see two idiots talk about something that is actually stupid than about something that is important but that they reduce to stupid.
|
|
#15
09-19-2007, 11:16 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Re: The Most Important Thing In The World Right Now
I don't. I care way more about my cat.
|
|
#16
09-20-2007, 02:30 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Re: The Most Important Thing In The World Right Now
[ QUOTE ] Is getting to the bottom of the OJ sports memorobilia breakin. Its the top story on CNN and I assume most news shows. And though the producers and commentators on those shows may think that other stuff might be more important, they know that that isn't what most people want to know about. Please tell me why you (or even Jesus) should care about them more than your cat. [/ QUOTE ] This may not be the Best Sklansky Post ever but it certainly is in the Top Ten. And for more reason than just the obvious. Made my day anyway. And I care more (when I care about anything at all that is) about some Farmer Girl in Thailand than OJ - Or some random cubic meter of interstellar space for that matter. -Zeno
|
|
#17
09-20-2007, 03:05 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Re: The Most Important Thing In The World Right Now
Of course, the most IMPORTANT thing and the most INTERESTING thing are not always the same....
|
|
#18
09-20-2007, 01:42 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Re: The Most Important Thing In The World Right Now
[ QUOTE ]
I don't. I care way more about my cat. [/ QUOTE ] Agreed!
|
|
#20
09-20-2007, 04:38 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Re: The Most Important Thing In The World Right Now
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] Is getting to the bottom of the OJ sports memorobilia breakin. Its the top story on CNN and I assume most news shows. And though the producers and commentators on those shows may think that other stuff might be more important, they know that that isn't what most people want to know about. Please tell me why you (or even Jesus) should care about them more than your cat. [/ QUOTE ] I don’t know who “them” is in your last sentence and I can’t make heads or tails of your question. But if you are asking why people care about this new OJ development, then it is because people have a sense of poetic justice. OJ is a murderer, that got off Scott free and has been playing golf every day since. If he ends up going to jail for a much “smaller” crime, especially if he spends a great deal of time in jail, then this will be a hoot for the general public. Why? Well imagine a vicious murderer that escapes justice, then one day this cocky s.o.b. steals a stick of bubble gum and go’s to jail for 20 years. This scenario hugely appeals to peoples imagination of justice and revenge. [/ QUOTE ] "go's"? are you serious. you think maybe it might be goes. the crap like "i like apple's" is bad enough. sweet. possessive verbs. i mean verb's.
|
 |
|
|
Linear Mode
