"Politeness: n. the most acceptable form of hypocrisy."
~Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914)
in The Devil's Dictionary.
~Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914)
in The Devil's Dictionary.
Ok, so it's been a long time that I've wanted to finish this post (I started it over a month ago), and therefore I can't quite remember (silly me) what it was I was going to say exactly about "thanks". Probably something quite cynical, I'll let you make it up for yourself, on reflection now I'm in a different mood and probably didn't mean it.
Wishing people good luck however, is something that society "just does" apparently and that really gets on my nerves. Stop reading now if you don't like the typical gripe at customs that do no harm and are politically untouchable.
First of all, it makes no sense. People have no control over luck, which in and of itself is an incredibly abstract notion. Because if one takes into consideration the element of time, I reckon that everything evens itself out in the end, it's just that there is no way of knowing (I know, I know, I'm making a claim that can't be disproved, and I wish there was a better way of expressing this, as I'm sure there probably is, but I am not aware of it, let alone do I master it, so this is the best I can be bothered to do.) exactly.
Secondly, do you really mean it?
An example: I remember once I was playing a chess tournament (I know, stereotypically geeky but if you think that way then fuck off.), and I came up against this bind lady, and at some point during the game she left her queen en prise, which means I could have taken it, and really I should have, and just thought about it longer. But, being blind, her eyes showed no expression of "wow how stupid am I to have let that happen?" (which she later told me was what she had been thinking)
So I missed it. It was a huge stroke of luck on her part, being blind. Plus it is traditional to wish your opponent/adversary good luckbefore a match. In this instance however, I regret it quite badly. Humans being so fallible, they need all the luck they can get. Sounds selfish I know, but hey I can say what I like, and bonus points for me for saying what I really think eh?!
Wishing people good luck however, is something that society "just does" apparently and that really gets on my nerves. Stop reading now if you don't like the typical gripe at customs that do no harm and are politically untouchable.
First of all, it makes no sense. People have no control over luck, which in and of itself is an incredibly abstract notion. Because if one takes into consideration the element of time, I reckon that everything evens itself out in the end, it's just that there is no way of knowing (I know, I know, I'm making a claim that can't be disproved, and I wish there was a better way of expressing this, as I'm sure there probably is, but I am not aware of it, let alone do I master it, so this is the best I can be bothered to do.) exactly.
Secondly, do you really mean it?
An example: I remember once I was playing a chess tournament (I know, stereotypically geeky but if you think that way then fuck off.), and I came up against this bind lady, and at some point during the game she left her queen en prise, which means I could have taken it, and really I should have, and just thought about it longer. But, being blind, her eyes showed no expression of "wow how stupid am I to have let that happen?" (which she later told me was what she had been thinking)
So I missed it. It was a huge stroke of luck on her part, being blind. Plus it is traditional to wish your opponent/adversary good luckbefore a match. In this instance however, I regret it quite badly. Humans being so fallible, they need all the luck they can get. Sounds selfish I know, but hey I can say what I like, and bonus points for me for saying what I really think eh?!
Thanks for listening (or possibly, but I honestly can't remember, no thanks).
1 comment:
HAHAHAHA YOU LOST TO A BLIND WOMAN!!! HAHAHA! -Marc
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