I've been here for awhile now, here being reddit. I don't really do much other than observe, but I realize that lately I've shifted my attention from the posts themselves to peoples reactions to posts in comments. Not just the good or well-adjusted ones, but the scolded posts. The ones that emit a sort of radical or poorly adjusted view. And the ones that just fall away from the intellectual norm. They aren't mature enough, or they are pseudo-intellectual; poorly written, too generic, too excited, unfunny, bland, an observation without a point, just not good enough. What are those people thinking? Why do it? Is it just for the social verification, a meek attempt to be part of a larger whole, to be accepted? Is it simple reflex, and entirely unimportant and I'm just overanalyzing. I am, I know I am, I know this doesn't matter, but I'm bored and thinking and feel like just talking and not being heard, flexing my mind a bit i guess, so bare with me on this poorly written ramble based on bad science through unimportant issues. Or don't, it doesn't really matter to me. Right so these people, the down-voted and potentially delusional, what can this hive of paper emotion and cheap intellectual thrills do for them? For all of us? How does reddit help us grow in a positive way? Is it all worth it, or are we wasting our time better spent elsewhere? Well after some thought, I've come to the conclusion that the hive is a good thing. Reddit is like every society, and everyone is poorly adjusted in one way or another. But here is the thing, despite our ignorance we are mostly logical beings, even the not so intellectually or socially gifted can change their views quietly and safely when emotion is taken out of the equation. What I mean by that is the internet is brutal to poorly adjusted responses, but the anonymity and ability to watch without engaging gives people the barrier necessary to change their views without having to be shafted by the hordes of "well-adjusted experts" on this particular subject. This is a good thing. This is a safe place to learn basic social and intellectual theories different from everyday interactions. (I'm not diminishing their importance however) But here is the thing, yes people tend to be in the middle of he bell-curve overall however everyone has their strengths, and their weaknesses. To be honest I don't think reddit is the best place to become an expert on a particular subject, that, in my opinion, requires more in depth interaction, classes, time, effort, long term commitment, and so on. However, I believe to have a normal, average view on a subject does not take that much effort, in fact the information presented on reddit is enough to relieve one of basic ignorance. Thats the thing, so lets go back to the bell curve imagery, we had average people based on a lot of strengths and weaknesses, held back in their weaknesses by a simple ignorance of some subjects, over their time on reddit that ignorance disappears, and they become a better adjusted person, closer to their intellectual and social ceiling. The subjects they are strong in do not get stronger, however they don't necessarily weaker, thus the overall adjustment is a positive one, the people of reddit benefit. The role of the hive is to push the well-adjusted comments to the top of the page, and they receive the most exposure. They usually have a better than average opinion, or spark one in the ensuing comments and thus the ignorant gain knowledge, where the intelligent have their views affirmed or at best slightly adjusted. Counter-arguments can easily be made to my opinion of reddit, but honestly i don't think many people can change my mind. People like to nitpick and give circumstantial arguments against parts of an overall thesis. Drives me mad, of course there are endless permutations of specific points, this is a complex social system. I am talking about the overall direction, not about one fuckwit who went over to the red pill and learned that some statistics provide evidence for misogynistic views. However, people do drool over that shit, be well adjusted, get some up votes and so on, doesn't help me. Its not wrong, it could even be necessary for aforementioned reasons, but I just can't enjoy it. There is a reason I really only observe and do not participate. I can handle a one on one argument, face to face, social cues, counterpoints, quick-fire intelligence, hell I might learn something new, or teach someone else something new. I'll be viewed for what I am, not for how I come across in one aspect of my overall personality. The internet is brutal, one dimensional, and cooly logical and I don't like being viewed in that light. It's like arguing drunk, we aren't going to accomplish much. I could go on but I feel like it would get personal, and I'll get portrayed as a pseudo-intellectual douche, if you aren't already getting that impression. No one ever really seems to get that impression in real life, and thats kind of why I hate arguing on the internet. I guess thats why I'm posting here as well, I don't want to argue or people to have opinions on my views. Claim I'm wrong, even when I am, I am plenty, and I get that a lot of what I just wrote isn't intellectually sound. Do you know what I mean? I don't pigeonhole myself, I don't like defending my view because I could write a whole argument, right now, on all the things that were wrong with this thesis. Its frustrating arguing with people I agree with over unimportant aspects of my ideas. Its boring and I hate the "lets both write about how smart we are and prove to each other we are intellectually capable beings for social verification" shit. This is why I don't belong. Concrete arguments bore the shit out of me, they are just so obvious. I'm ok with being wrong, I guess I just don't feel the same elation others do with being right. I glad I have friends who are willing to let me debate about fun things. People I can be wrong around. Life isn't all that bad. Well thats about all I really wanted to say i guess. Thank you for your time.