Random Thoughts...or...What's on Your Mind?

[Candleicious Ghost]

So, recent discussions with family and elsewhere has promoted a past musing of mine: why is popularity such a sought after thing?

Now, I'll grant that I never have been popular on anything I've done and my experiences with various entertainment has largely been around older shows, or films compared to my peers, and besides Star Wars didn't gravitate towards popular music, shows or anything.

So, probably something I'll not really grasp I guess but I'm curious if anyone has felt that popular appeal.

IMHO, everything about popularity, whether desiring/possessing it, or embracing/promoting it, centers around tribalistic, evolutionary drives. Your survival ordinarily depends upon being approved of & included, and signalling that you should be, and perpetuating that dynamic

You're not the only one to feel that way. I always find it kind of interesting, and a fascinating phenomena how famous people suddenly have more weight given to their opinions when they are famous as opposed to when they were a simple nobody that nobody has ever heard of. Take for example JK Rowling. She's my pet favourite to pick on.

Before she was famous she was a nobody writing stories until a publisher picked them up and then she became a famous somebody. All of a sudden her opinions and tiniest thoughts mattered whether we wanted to hear them or not. Why should her thoughts be more important than any other woman in the street? Why does her being famous change the value of her opinions?

 

[fireproof78]

Why should her thoughts be more important than any other woman in the street? Why does her being famous change the value of her opinions?

This is often my question, be it about people or trends; why does popularity lend more weight?

Honestly, people commenting on random topics just because they're famous doesn't give any more weight behind the comments if they don't know about the material.

IMHO, everything about popularity, whether desiring/possessing it, or embracing/promoting it, centers around tribalistic, evolutionary drives. Your survival ordinarily depends upon being approved of & included, and signalling that you should be, and perpetuating that dynamic

I can see that. Honestly, that tracks with a lot of the anxiety symptoms I see people working through in my practice. But, well, like with reducing anxiety, reducing the level of care for popular opinion is also something I find helpful because my survival doesn't depend on approval from the group.

 

[Mojochi]

You're not the only one to feel that way. I always find it kind of interesting, and a fascinating phenomena how famous people suddenly have more weight given to their opinions when they are famous as opposed to when they were a simple nobody that nobody has ever heard of. Take for example JK Rowling. She's my pet favourite to pick on.

Before she was famous she was a nobody writing stories until a publisher picked them up and then she became a famous somebody. All of a sudden her opinions and tiniest thoughts mattered whether we wanted to hear them or not. Why should her thoughts be more important than any other woman in the street? Why does her being famous change the value of her opinions?

The real irony, in her case and many others, is that the people who are bothered by her opinions are the ones propelling them to higher status, not the supporters. (initially) We're prone to be blind to our own outrage powering their influence. Her opinions are ideally as insignificant as anyone else's, if everyone were to have just collectively decided to ignore her as meaningless. No one really gave a crap what she thought beyond how worthwhile her fantasy stories were, until some folks championed her BY championing against her.

This is often my question, be it about people or trends; why does popularity lend more weight?

Honestly, people commenting on random topics just because they're famous doesn't give any more weight behind the comments if they don't know about the material.

I can see that. Honestly, that tracks with a lot of the anxiety symptoms I see people working through in my practice. But, well, like with reducing anxiety, reducing the level of care for popular opinion is also something I find helpful because my survival doesn't depend on approval from the group.

Oh yeah... I never said those instinctual drives would be stress free lol. They're a cause of considerable concern for people, and it takes a real commitment to choose to deviate, because even in those deviations, you can succumb to the drive of joining a movement. However, they ARE in fact primitive, meaning meant for a simpler dynamic, or a small unit of influence, family, clan, tribe etc... We today have blown them out of proportion IMHO & apply them on the grandest scales imaginable (political allegiances, religions, nation-states etc...) when individually they needn't be, much like a lot of stuff we've blown out, & our own health rejects that

"The real problem of humanity is the following: we have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions, and god-like technology" - E.O. Wilson

 

[Candleicious Ghost]

The real irony, in her case and many others, is that the people who are bothered by her opinions are the ones propelling them to higher status, not the supporters. (initially) We're prone to be blind to our own outrage powering their influence. Her opinions are ideally as insignificant as anyone else's, if everyone were to have just collectively decided to ignore her as meaningless. No one really gave a crap what she thought beyond how worthwhile her fantasy stories were, until some folks championed her BY championing against her.

Oh yeah... I never said those instinctual drives would be stress free lol. They're a cause of considerable concern for people, and it takes a real commitment to choose to deviate, because even in those deviations, you can succumb to the drive of joining a movement. However, they ARE in fact primitive, meaning meant for a simpler dynamic, or a small unit of influence, family, clan, tribe etc... We today have blown them out of proportion IMHO & apply them on the grandest scales imaginable (political allegiances, religions, nation-states etc...) when individually they needn't be, much like a lot of stuff we've blown out, & our own health rejects that

"The real problem of humanity is the following: we have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions, and god-like technology" - E.O. Wilson

Ok wow thank you that was really an interesting post.

I'm off to bed now

 

[auntiehill]

Crap, it's cold all of sudden.

 

[DarrenTR1970]

Had an old coworker of mine whom I haven't seen in 15+ years walk into the shop and take me to lunch. How nice.

 

[Candleicious Ghost]

Had an old coworker of mine whom I haven't seen in 15+ years walk into the shop and take me to lunch. How nice.

That's pretty cool

 

[auntiehill]

Ugh. Sinuses are killing me this morning.

 

[Aragorn]

This is the second time I set up an Amazon return and they told me to just keep it. I realize they're a $$$$$$ company and don't care about the $15 refund, but I still feel guilty about it.

 

[Candleicious Ghost]

This is the second time I set up an Amazon return and they told me to just keep it. I realize they're a $$$$$$ company and don't care about the $15 refund, but I still feel guilty about it.

Refunds are the one thing Amazon are very good at.. I've had one situation where they said that too, keep the item and processed a refund and it was a $100 item which surprised me

 

[auntiehill]

Letting the days go by, water flowing underground...

 

[Candleicious Ghost]

Letting the days go by, water flowing underground...

Once in a lifetime

 

[Captain Marsh]

I go to the one at Ladue Crossing myself.

I actually used to frequently go to the two that are in Creve Coeur (remember the one that always had "Double Coupons" posted in big letters on the front of the store?). At the time my grandmother lived in Creve Coeur and my parents and I lived in Fenton.

Also, this: As you know, Kroger exited the St. Louis area in the mid 1980's. But what you may not know is Kroger owns Ruler Foods, which has several stores in the St. Louis metropolitan area including one on Grand Blvd across from Tower Grove Park. They're basically Kroger's answer to Aldi's.

But I also love the fact that in Midtown St. Louis on Grand Blvd near Chouteau, a Target store was opened about a couple of years ago. It's next door to Captain D's, near Grand Station Metrolink station and St. Louis University, and across the street from Saint Louis University Hospital. It's much smaller than the Target in Hampton Village or Brentwood, but it's easier to get to (parking isn't an issue like at Brentwood; Brentwood Target store is basically the worst parking lot in the US), it's on the number 70 Grand bus route, and they have just about everything you need.

 

[fireproof78]

This is the second time I set up an Amazon return and they told me to just keep it. I realize they're a $$$$$$ company and don't care about the $15 refund, but I still feel guilty about it.

It's all percentages to them. They get credit on the return from the manufacturer and would have disposed of the item anyway. It's cheaper this way.