From: Vanessa Novaeris (novaeris@hotmail.com)
Date: Sat Jun 22 2002 - 13:15:09 MDT
Alex wrote:
<<Those who really 'play' for a living get the best wages on the
planet...musicians, actors, authors, movie directors...we can see what
society truly values when we look at, say, David Duchovney's salary
compared to , say, Sir John Sulston's. (sorry John, you did agree that
was true down the pub, remember?). Scientists and educators get naff all
compared with pop stars etc.
Now, what does this imply? Why is creativity so revered (not to mention
it's sex appeal; how come you don't get science groupies?)...Something
here is valued very highly. Whay do you suppose it is?
(bigger soapbox may be needed)>>
Right on!!! But I like to distinguish pop-culture art as an industry separate
from the capital “A” Art because the former is driven solely by the motivation
to sell & profit. I think true creativity, pure Art created with no external
motive, is not so popular or profitable & these Artists struggle much like the
scientists (yes, thankfully there still are a few starving artists left out
there in the world)
Getting back to your point, I do agree a bigger soapbox is needed. You make an
excellent observation here that really hits home for me. I don’t think it’s
the “art” itself that people revere as much as the image attached to it, the
social status that surrounds it, etc. You all know exactly what I mean, so
I wont continue. People love the act, incorporating it into their lives. I
remember reading somewhere, very possibly on this list, that people who watch
a lot of t.v. think they have more active social lives & more friends than
they actually do. Scary, huh? I think that has something to do with it – its
all image & ego.
But if its any consolation, since I started reading & especially since I
joined this list, I can confidently say that I have become a self-professed
science groupie (even though I feel dumb & don’t know very much yet, but I
guess that’s all part of it ;) ) Honestly though, it literally took total
isolation from the outside world for me to discover this, so I don’t know
what, if anything, that implies about the general public.
novaeris
---- This message was posted by Vanessa Novaeris to the Extropians 2002 board on ExI BBS. <http://www.extropy.org/bbs/index.php?board=61;action=display;threadid=52122>
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