This is going to be a bit of a weird post, but I kinda wanted to say it because I've been thinking about this a lot lately, so I just want to share my thoughts on this so you can understand what I'm thinking, or tell me yours in return. I would love some feedback.
I love trivia. I love learning new things. I love random information. This means that I can tell you that there are no green mammals, aside from possibly the three toed Sloth, but that's only because of the algae that grows in their fur. This means I can tell you that there is a type of seal called the crab eating seal, but it doesn't eat crabs. Same goes for the bird eating spider. It means I can tell you that there is a 'vampire deer' that has fangs but no antlers, that the largest species of otter and the largest species of salamander are both about human sized, that humans have lost wars with birds twice, and a thousand other things. But, I don't know a lot of other things about these things. Some, but not a lot.
Part of me writing up these posts is me telling you something interesting and looking into things I haven't thought about for a while, but part of it is also wanting to get other people interested in the chaotic interestingness that this world is. So, when I make my posts, I'm trying to get people's attention, and I post sources you can go to if you want more. I do this because there is a lot of information that I find repetitive/boring/obvious, and I don't think they help the post. Me telling you about the eating habits of the Rainbow Squirrel and how much they eat doesn't matter when the really interesting parts are their size and coloration. Same goes for their exact ranges, or things like that. I want to get you interested and hopefully you'll look for more.
This means my posts can be pretty short sometimes, but I think it's ok because I tell you the parts I think you'll remember.
Today, I was a bit worried that me doing it this way is misleading to you because I'm not giving you the whole picture or telling you nearly as much as the blog posts by people who are studying things more in depth. If it's what people want, I wouldn't mind doing more in-depth posts. I probably wouldn't do them as often and I'd have trouble doing as much of the little things that don't have a lot known about them, but I could do that. I just want that known in case people have preferences.
I also want to point out that, yeah, I'm cherry-picking. I'm doing a lot of careful picking of facts instead of telling you everything, but so does everyone else. News stories tell you the most sensational bits (the interesting parts) and the parts that you will react to like they want you to. Teachers tell you what you need to know to pass their tests, and what they think will help you be interested in their subject. Cherry-picking is a fact of life, and it's one part of the biases of journalists and news stations and everything else. There is no way to avoid the bias of an author, or the bias of a speaker. It feels paranoid, but try to remember that when you're reading the newspaper or social media or anything else. The internet is especially good at finding things to reassure you that your own biases and interests is everywhere, and that your views are valid. Turning that off is impossible, and trying to go against that can be uncomfortable. Just something to keep in mind for life.
So...that's me. If you have any questions/comments/suggestions/requests/other, please let me know. I'm writing this blog because I want people to learn something interesting, so please let me know if there's anything I can do to make that easier or more likely to actually happen.
No comments:
Post a Comment