----- Original Message -----
From: "Zero Powers" <zero_powers@hotmail.com>
> But never fear, I'm sure there will always be something for you to spend
> your money on in order to get the sort of exclusivity you're after.
> Personally, I'm not interested.
I think it's cool that you're not interested-- obviously each of us is free
to ascribe value to things by whatever criteria we choose. However
exclusivity -does- hold tremendous value for lots of people other than you,
and as a result, motivates them to contribute to achieve it.
I'll grant that exclusivity can be extremely arbitrary-- but I fail to see
how that's even a factor. I am, in fact, in favor of 'artificial'
conventions that create interesting markets-- but that's because I don't
really believe in the word artificial. (Ok, that's probably another
conversation.)
The fact of the matter is that one tends to automatically take for granted
those things that are plentiful and easy to achieve. You personally may be
in favor of more free stuff, but I am a really ambitious person... and I am
interested in very exclusive, very difficult to achieve goals.
> If something only holds value for you because it serves as a status
symbol,
> showing that *you* can afford goodies that are unattainable to the lumpen
> masses, that's fine. For me, I appreciate things for the use I can make
of
> them, regardless of the cost. I suppose you are the kind of person who
> would rather pay for a web browser like Opera, than get a more powerful
> program like MSIE for free. Not so for me.
God, you make it sound like humans would have made it this far without bait.
What frightens me most about the sort of future you want is its apparent
desire to eliminate the positive feedback loops that have driven our species
for so many years. It doesn't bother me at all that there are lots of young
people out there hungry for status, or money, or recognition, or fame or
whatever. I happen to be tremendously ambitious myself-- I'm simply not
going to be content under those circumstances.
And, yes, I -do- seek status. In fact, I'm looking for massive recognition.
I'm an artist and I'm hungry for an audience. I love creating interesting
experiences for people. I get a warm glow in my stomach when someone says
something really nice about my work. Fame is good too. It's a good
currency to have on this planet. It's not for everyone, I'll grant that,
and it's a type of power-- and as such, it tends to corrupt. But I'm
interested in having power. In being able to choose my own destiny. In
being empowered to do the sort of work that I love. In owning an Aston
Martin DB7 Vantage Volante.
Ah, the Volante...
Damn, I am one superficial dude.
Okay, okay, but just one more time... Ah... the Volante...
But you know, it doesn't bother me that, for instance, some scientists might
be hungry for recognition. I don't require that people contribute out of
the goodness of their hearts. If a bunch of kids wanna get together and
decide that Action Comics #1 is worth thousands and thousands of dollars, I
say: cool! You can't just say to me: "But Jason, wouldn't it be a nicer
world if every little boy and girl out there could have an Action Comics #1
of their own?" Come on! I don't want to live in even-world!
In fact, I *hate* even-world! Damn you even-world! I curse even-world and
all the evil even-worldlians!
Oo... that's kinda fun to say: "evil even-worldlians."
--::jason.joel.thompson::
::evil even-worldlian hater::
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Mon Oct 02 2000 - 17:36:16 MDT