oldtobegin:

what, i’m supposed to go through the process of paying my dues all over again at 28 because some dude who thinks he isn’t pompous won’t read anything written by anybody who isn’t internet famous? no. it’s become increasingly apparent to me that the large majority of cultural commentators have zero interest in learning from other people (there are notable exceptions)

THIS. And it’s not confined to internet music critic circles. It’s also at the root of most of the idiocy I run across in commentary from academics and public intellectuals about digital culture and new media. This amazing world-changing (for better and worse) cultural shift is going on, and they’re not even the least bit curious about it. Their interest is confined strictly to how it (usually negatively) affects their little sandbox. How can people who claim to be intellectuals or writers be so fundamentally closed off and incurious?  What is the point of doing any of this if it isn’t learning, discovering, sharing, etc?

This is a bone-deep, foundational thing with me, and I can’t get my empathy circuits to really process other ways of approaching these issues. It’s not exactly adaptive in the current academic and intellectual environments, but what are you gonna do?