In that light I guess people like coding and encoding. They talk so they can listen to voices other than thier own, and that is healthy.
But you have to assume that what you say is worth listening to to begin with, and that is kind of self-centered.
SteelAttack said:It's a good kind of self-centeredness, at any rate. Someone who believes he's got nothing of worth to say probably has self-esteem issues. Or clinical depression.
Though depression can actually act to view the world more accurately.
But you're in the right place. I hate talking specifically about myself. Opinions, great, but me, no. It makes job searching an aberration. I'll highly self-conscious, and cut things I say short in the rare event that I say more than a few words.
But I spend a couple hours a week not just talking freely, but recording it and advertising it. It's not the expression, it's the meaning. It's the words. We do the podcast because it's fun, not because people are listening, and not because we think of ourselves as better, and I would suspect that you listening aren't thinking that we're egotistical dicks the entire time (okay, bad example).
Simplifying, though, if you're not expressing yourself, who else are you going to express?
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Tell me to get back to rewriting this site so it's not horrible on mobileExpression is to communicate an emotion. The source of the emotion may be egotistical in nature, but the expression not.
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Tell me to get back to rewriting this site so it's not horrible on mobileOkay, well breaking that down a little, I'd say that all communication provides information, but not all communication is intended to provide information. Which is the same thing you are saying to an extent when you say that not all information communicated is egotistical in manner.
Taking a step back though, we have taken the conversation ahead a little, and that may be my fault. I'm just talking about expression, not communication (which the succesful act of encoding and decoding). The original question was: Is the act of expression (just the encoding) also a pure act of ego.
Is it an act of narcissism to come to this site and express that Iwata interviewed some Nintendo developers about Game and Watch? I'd think that we'd all agree that on the face of it it would be ridiculous to think so. But if you look to the intent it may be. What if my sole goal in relaying that information was to bring attention to myself? (hey I warned you this thread was a wank!).
aspro said:
Is it an act of narcissism to come to this site and express that Iwata interviewed some Nintendo developers about Game and Watch? I'd think that we'd all agree that on the face of it it would be ridiculous to think so. But if you look to the intent it may be. What if my sole goal in relaying that information was to bring attention to myself? (hey I warned you this thread was a wank!).
It certainly is. Even selfless behavior, both over the internet and IRL, can be aimed towards recognition/validation from your peers or superiors. Of course, the fact that there is such a possibility doesn't necessarily means that it always happens like that.
Through our only chance of interaction over an internet board (posts), we aim to gain recognition, to be acknowledged for what we are (or we are not), and gain respect from people we might never meet. That certainly is narcissistic, at least to an extent.
SteelAttack said:
It certainly is. Even selfless behavior, both over the internet and IRL, can be aimed towards recognition/validation from your peers or superiors. Of course, the fact that there is such a possibility doesn't necessarily means that it always happens like that.
Through our only chance of interaction over an internet board (posts), we aim to gain recognition, to be acknowledged for what we are (or we are not), and gain respect from people we might never meet. That certainly is narcissistic, at least to an extent.
But to define narcissism in that way is to declare the term meaningless. Just like art, if all things are narcissistic, nothing is.
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Tell me to get back to rewriting this site so it's not horrible on mobileI have come to the conclusion that not all expression is narcissistic though. Back to my earlier example, posting a story about Iwata is not narcissistic. Commenting about the story in the boards is an act born from self importance, but not narcissism.
I should note that I am using the term in an extremely loose sense, which is definitely improper, but at least somewhat adequate considering the scope of our discussion. That's why I stated previously that every healthy personality has to have some degree of narcissism (which should be understood as a proper, healthy measurement of our own importance). In this context, what aspro identifies as narcissism becomes nothing more than the perception of self-importance or value.
If I was to adhere to what narcissism actually means, from a clinical standpoint, then I would have to say no. Narcissistic personalities are characterized by an overwhelming sense of self-importance, and in most cases, that leads to varying degrees of social dysfunction. A true narcissist wouldn't even be able to conform to the mostly anonymous nature of almost all currently available venues for internet interaction, which more often than not yield lukewarm results (at best) regarding recognition or appreciation.
A proper perception of self-importance becomes narcissistic behavior when the subject berates or ignores everyone else around him/her, or demands recognition to a degree incongruous with the tasks performed, among other traits.
Everyone wants to be loved. Maybe the self expression is to gain approval and self worth?
gamingeek said:
Everyone wants to be loved. Maybe the self expression is to gain approval and self worth?
And there's nothing wrong with that.
Do you love me?
SteelAttack said:gamingeek said:
Everyone wants to be loved. Maybe the self expression is to gain approval and self worth?And there's nothing wrong with that.
Do you love me?
Not since you deserted me on Animal Crossing.
SteelAttack said:You're not playing it either!
Only because you stopped.
Do a from scratch play through like you did on SMG and De Blob.
gamingeek said:Only because you stopped.
Do a from scratch play through like you did on SMG and De Blob.
I believe my wife and kids will strongly oppose to that.