thoughts on television.
i think it's conventional wisdom amongst leftists, liberals, and hipsters that television is bad.
i remember distinctly in the first grade that my teacher told me: "if you watch too much tv, then you will become fat." at the time i had a horrid aversion to fat and being a fat person,
(why, i neither know nor remember; perhaps it was because there were already so many 'reasons' for kids to pick on me, and i was trying to give them fewer such reasons ..)
and for the span of a few years, i tried to watch less television, or to do something else while in front of the tv .. such as playing with a huge cardboard box of Legos.
i think it unnerves people that i don't own a tv, or watch tv regularly. the facts are simple: i've made a personal economic choice, they have also made personal economic choices, and that's that.
yet in light of fact, it doesn't seem to fly very well.
i suspect that others suspect that i disapprove of them, and how they live their lives with 'the evil that is tv.'
if so, i think they're seriously overestimating me: even if i were so easily dismissive, it wouldn't be worth the time and energy to actively disapprove of every person i meet.
the reason might also be simpler: my not watching tv is just one more thing which makes me different, and as a general rule, humans dislike, even fear, the different. if anything, it makes life a little more difficult. for instance, take conversation:
i'm lost when someone mentions 'lost' or 'deal or no deal' or 'heroes,'
have a rough idea when someone mentions 'battlestar gallactica' or 'house' or 'the colbert report,'
and know enough to groan when someone mentions 'the simple life' or 'american idol' or 'survivor'
and this doesn't count the content of monday night football or sportscenter (on espn) or other sports coverage on tv. moreover, think of all the instances when a bit of conversation would come in handy:
walking to your desk in the office, and by happenstance, your co-worker is walking in step with you;
bumping into your next-door neighbor while raking autumn leaves, and when you have no excuse to leave suddenly;
sitting in a cramped airplane seat, when suddenly you make eye contact with your soon-to-be-gabby seat neighbor ..
i think you get the point.
television unifies, especially now that cable tv is so prevalent. like it or not, it is part of modern culture.
these are things many people will talk about often and with excitement, and people care about them, because having something to share and to look forward to, it makes life a little more bearable.
i like to think i understand the importance of happiness and hope, having lived these last few years without much of either.
the strange part about life without tv is that i often find myself bored. the point of giving up tv is to grow into a more active, mindful person and to foster your own innate, creative ideas by thinking for ourselves.
the problem is that i happen to be a boring person, and my creative, innate ideas happen to be dreary, pessimistic ones. i make many conclusions from contemplation, but i don't often like them.
it also happens that more 'thinking time' often equates to more mathematics time, which further sours my disposition.
this is also strange: i used to have better sleep when i'd regularly watch television. these days, i don't.
i remember distinctly in the first grade that my teacher told me: "if you watch too much tv, then you will become fat." at the time i had a horrid aversion to fat and being a fat person,
(why, i neither know nor remember; perhaps it was because there were already so many 'reasons' for kids to pick on me, and i was trying to give them fewer such reasons ..)
and for the span of a few years, i tried to watch less television, or to do something else while in front of the tv .. such as playing with a huge cardboard box of Legos.
i think it unnerves people that i don't own a tv, or watch tv regularly. the facts are simple: i've made a personal economic choice, they have also made personal economic choices, and that's that.
yet in light of fact, it doesn't seem to fly very well.
i suspect that others suspect that i disapprove of them, and how they live their lives with 'the evil that is tv.'
if so, i think they're seriously overestimating me: even if i were so easily dismissive, it wouldn't be worth the time and energy to actively disapprove of every person i meet.
the reason might also be simpler: my not watching tv is just one more thing which makes me different, and as a general rule, humans dislike, even fear, the different. if anything, it makes life a little more difficult. for instance, take conversation:
i'm lost when someone mentions 'lost' or 'deal or no deal' or 'heroes,'
have a rough idea when someone mentions 'battlestar gallactica' or 'house' or 'the colbert report,'
and know enough to groan when someone mentions 'the simple life' or 'american idol' or 'survivor'
and this doesn't count the content of monday night football or sportscenter (on espn) or other sports coverage on tv. moreover, think of all the instances when a bit of conversation would come in handy:
walking to your desk in the office, and by happenstance, your co-worker is walking in step with you;
bumping into your next-door neighbor while raking autumn leaves, and when you have no excuse to leave suddenly;
sitting in a cramped airplane seat, when suddenly you make eye contact with your soon-to-be-gabby seat neighbor ..
i think you get the point.
television unifies, especially now that cable tv is so prevalent. like it or not, it is part of modern culture.
these are things many people will talk about often and with excitement, and people care about them, because having something to share and to look forward to, it makes life a little more bearable.
i like to think i understand the importance of happiness and hope, having lived these last few years without much of either.
the strange part about life without tv is that i often find myself bored. the point of giving up tv is to grow into a more active, mindful person and to foster your own innate, creative ideas by thinking for ourselves.
the problem is that i happen to be a boring person, and my creative, innate ideas happen to be dreary, pessimistic ones. i make many conclusions from contemplation, but i don't often like them.
it also happens that more 'thinking time' often equates to more mathematics time, which further sours my disposition.
this is also strange: i used to have better sleep when i'd regularly watch television. these days, i don't.