Wonderful Human Beings

http://www.ribbonfarm.com/2010/10/14/the-gervais-principle-iv-wonderful-human-beings/

by bhousel • 16 years ago

46 3 16 years ago

defen• 16 years ago

I read that whole thing hoping I would get the promised explanation of Toby (from the previous entries) and he's still holding out. Bastard.

Anyone have any ideas? My guess is that he's some sort of Zen master who has transcended the need to play games, although I'm not sure where that fits on the hierarchy.

vgr• 16 years ago

Though I do that kind of cliffhanger stuff on occasion, that isn't the reason here. My "theory of Toby" merely requires a good deal of groundwork to be laid. And you're right on both counts... he's not in the hierarchy, and Zen/transcending have a role in the explanation.

It just won't be the kind of feel-good Zen/transcending you are probably thinking of (which you should expect, since Toby displays too much misery to be a traditional Enlightened One).

If you are really curious about how I am developing this thread, read Nietzsche's 'Thus Spake Zarathustra'

Venkat

CWuestefeld• 16 years ago

Wow. I've only read 2.5 parts so far, but this is really good. A few thoughts:

1. I think it needs to be made clear that you're talking about "sociopaths" in a clinical sense, meaning people with no conscience. This isn't judgmental in itself. And from what I was reading recently, such people do make up somewhat more than 1% of the population, which probably fits into the right proportion for your theory.

2. Any amount of self-honesty reveals that I'm a "clueless". But I think you paint this in a rather negative light. Because you're discussing things in largely monetary terms, the "clueless" come out like dummies. But I believe that in my case, while the monetary side might make me look like a "promoted loser", there can be other rewards that even the accounting. This is especially true when the sociopaths that I'm dealing with tend to be "light side" rather than "dark side". (although I must also admit to the possibility that I'm so clueless that I've even been hoodwinked in this.)

3. I've perceived glimpses of Powertalk, but I find it tiresome. I don't want to work that hard.

4. The places I've perceived it isn't in business, but in politics (without being judgmental, I think that Bill Clinton was the absolute master of it -- that's an acknowledgment of his brilliance without looking at what he may or may not have used it for). I'd really be interested in an analysis of how these roles play out in the governmental arena. You noted that it's applicable in the "Goodfellas" context; I expect it is also for government, although, at least in a democracy, the roles being played and the masks that define them, must be different.

Wonderful Human Beings

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