[2013-Mar-19] The Value of Information Exchange

[x918x]

I’ve been thinking recently: isn’t the exchange of information between humans done primarily for the purpose of bonding with your peers and reinforcing your position within your particular social clique? Talking about ideas is interesting to one particular group and boring to another, talking about people is interesting to one social group and boring to another, etc. It could be argued that sports, music, art, all only exist to give people something to talk about and bond over. Take music for example: a particular clique happens to align with a particular genre. People within that clique will then bond by discussing their shared enjoyment of the genre while mocking the music tastes of members of different cliques. The “us vs. them” mentality is a great way to form group solidarity. Within a clique, members establish a hierarchy based on who has a better mastery of the relevant subject matter (for example, hipsters competing over who knows the best, most obscure bands). It seems to me that all of academia is its own clique and the subject matter of choice is “ideas.” The hierarchy is established by who has the largest collection of interesting ideas and outsiders are ridiculed for their ignorance. Basically, academia is a version of chimps grooming each other that occasionally produces things like atomic bombs as a side-effect.

[Qapla]

I've been thinking recently; Isn't Zach becoming an elitist snob who doesn't care about his original audience and now solely caters to the kind of people who don't want a punchline?
Really though, I'm looking forward to the next volley of graph jokes.

[noone]

I've been thinking recently; Isn't Zach becoming an elitist snob who doesn't care about his original audience and now solely caters to the kind of people who don't want a punchline?
Really though, I'm looking forward to the next volley of graph jokes.

Say what you will about graph jokes, they're (usually) short.

[Remarkatron]

Uh.

Isn't this comic talking about other people, therefore matching the second category?

[GUTCHUCKER]

You cuntwallops aren't my peers.

[Rishahnu]

Philosophy aside, it's obvious to me that Zach has never actually seen a jerry can.

[Qapla]

That's clearly meant to be some kind of key.

[Edminster]

Philosophy aside, it's obvious to me that Zach has never actually seen a key.

[ThePeople]

interesting people don't talk about ideas they kill cops