or is 'mimetic desire' the playground of the idle rich // the playground of The Literary Obsessive's horses? Or just the favourite pass-time (sic) of substack readers?
Chorus: 'there is a season, turn, turn, turn ...' (da capo). ['nuff]
David. Jumped in . Interesting and repartee between you and Natasha is worth the price of admission. She’s fascinating , haaa put on a Polo shirt for you and smart as whip. I’ll follow her . You should continue to be a deux !
we had 4 children (negotiated down from my partner's opening bid of 14) and loved every one of them. just saying. and it has been a bumpy ride so far (wouldn't have it any different). my partner always said that what she loved most in life was having babies and making compost, not necessarily in that order (don't know what that does for (both) your rather too neat algorithms, or is it just a completely different gig?) mmmmm ....
“No amount of therapy could have improved my happiness level more than getting off Instagram.” I’ve been growing adverse to social media for years and this conversation is truly hitting as to why. When we all began back in the 2010s era it was authentic and real. Not performative. Even here on substack you see this lethal behavior starting to creep in. Thanks for a great thought piece!!
And yet … this drive for status also seems to be bumping up against bed rotting and kid rotting. Two speeds: all in and perfect or all out and sloppy. 🤦🏻♀️
Shawn, no question that Substack triggers our mimetic desire, but arguably in some positive ways–––"I've got to make my essays better." The difference may be that we have a greater amount of control here although still subject to luck, algorithms, etc. Plus we can form meaningful person to person relationships.
That was an interesting point about distance from celebrities. Thinking back to the seventies, especially with bands, the pickings were so meager when it came to their private lives and opinions. Beyond the music press, you were left to infer things from album covers or lyrics, or you might come across the odd TV interview by chance. That scarcity built an incredible mystique around them, almost god-like. So when you saw them live, like the time, as a teenager, I saw Led Zeppelin at Knebworth, it was genuinely hard to believe these people were actually there in front of you, in human form, rather than just as photos or disembodied voices and instruments. It would feel completely different if you had already watched them through a ton of Instagram Stories, Facebook Lives, or even Substack posts. I think there is something to be said for being underexposed and interview-scarce, like Dylan and others, where the mystery stays intact.
or is 'mimetic desire' the playground of the idle rich // the playground of The Literary Obsessive's horses? Or just the favourite pass-time (sic) of substack readers?
Chorus: 'there is a season, turn, turn, turn ...' (da capo). ['nuff]
no idea where you're going with this riff, but ...
Prestige or babies...my wife and I chose babies...
Such a stimulating conversation (no pun intended) — thank you David for hosting and Natasha for everything you shared.
David. Jumped in . Interesting and repartee between you and Natasha is worth the price of admission. She’s fascinating , haaa put on a Polo shirt for you and smart as whip. I’ll follow her . You should continue to be a deux !
thanks for the ride. :))
we had 4 children (negotiated down from my partner's opening bid of 14) and loved every one of them. just saying. and it has been a bumpy ride so far (wouldn't have it any different). my partner always said that what she loved most in life was having babies and making compost, not necessarily in that order (don't know what that does for (both) your rather too neat algorithms, or is it just a completely different gig?) mmmmm ....
and remember ... substack is not meant to be a proxy for immortality. it all gets erased with the next 'sharing / shearing' ha, ha. (laughter off ...)
“No amount of therapy could have improved my happiness level more than getting off Instagram.” I’ve been growing adverse to social media for years and this conversation is truly hitting as to why. When we all began back in the 2010s era it was authentic and real. Not performative. Even here on substack you see this lethal behavior starting to creep in. Thanks for a great thought piece!!
Yep, Substack is just earlier in the maturity cycle https://joukovsky.substack.com/p/the-theory-of-the-leisure-class-on
And yet … this drive for status also seems to be bumping up against bed rotting and kid rotting. Two speeds: all in and perfect or all out and sloppy. 🤦🏻♀️
I am terrified to ask what “kid rotting” is
😂 Instead of putting kids in camps and many activities letting them rot around all day on screens. 😱
Shawn, no question that Substack triggers our mimetic desire, but arguably in some positive ways–––"I've got to make my essays better." The difference may be that we have a greater amount of control here although still subject to luck, algorithms, etc. Plus we can form meaningful person to person relationships.
That was an interesting point about distance from celebrities. Thinking back to the seventies, especially with bands, the pickings were so meager when it came to their private lives and opinions. Beyond the music press, you were left to infer things from album covers or lyrics, or you might come across the odd TV interview by chance. That scarcity built an incredible mystique around them, almost god-like. So when you saw them live, like the time, as a teenager, I saw Led Zeppelin at Knebworth, it was genuinely hard to believe these people were actually there in front of you, in human form, rather than just as photos or disembodied voices and instruments. It would feel completely different if you had already watched them through a ton of Instagram Stories, Facebook Lives, or even Substack posts. I think there is something to be said for being underexposed and interview-scarce, like Dylan and others, where the mystery stays intact.