Klarinet Archive - Posting 001051.txt from 2000/02

From: Neil Leupold <leupold_1@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] Opinions
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2000 12:14:58 -0500

--- GrabnerWG@-----.com wrote:

> Also, as Dan Leeson has pointed out so many times, we love to throw out
> opinion without reason or fact behind it. And, also unfortunatley [sic],
> the internet, and mailing lists like this have perpetuated and encouraged
> this practise.

Oh bullsh*t. Dan, what hast thou wrought? Sorry Walter, this isn't
really directed at you. It's just kind of annoying in general that
the notion of artificial purity and snooty epistemological elitism
has actually spread to the point where list members are spouting it
dogmatically. Gimme a break. This is almost as bad as our silly
discussion about whether or not people should nudge a twig up their
rear ends and write like Rumpole of the Bailey. Klarinet is about
exchanging ideas, perspectives, and humor (we're clarinetists, after
all!), not necessarily about scientifically controlled and proven
facts in pedantically proper prose. Naturally, it is often useful
when clear-cut information is available, but nobody lives life in-
side an oscilloscope. If people want to liken life to an experiment,
let's at least make sure we understand what kind of experiment it is:
an imprecisely empirical one -- and imprecision is not an inherently
negative idea. The prescriptive dogma of "all opinions must be sub-
stantiated by veracious data" is one of the things that keeps so many
of our members in the woodwork, and in the many years that I've been
on the list, I've seen too many people announce their departure from
it precisely because they felt intimidated by this snob-ocratic atti-
tude. It is my OPINION that members are free to submit whatever ideas,
thoughts, feelings, facts, falsehoods, and whatever else occurs to
them within the bounds of civilized discourse. Interestingly enough,
my opinion happens to correlate with fact. We can debate 'til we're
blue in the face about whether or not they *should* express whatever
is on their minds, but it's a losing argument when the facts are al-
ready known. Even you can't disagree with that logic (and you know
who "you" are).

-- Neil
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