Is Ignorance Bliss?

Deno

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some things are better left unknown. I think basically that what the saying means. Not being stupid is good for you. Why worry about things you can't change.
 

mickswim

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i quote: Is happiness for the masses just a matter of keeping people uneducated, bored, apathetic and in the dark with distractions?

in a word - yes.

however, there's always a caveat -
do people who know more, think faster?
is that how we work?
and if we think faster - do we think better?
or just arrive at different stops?
 

D_Bob_Crotchitch

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I don't watch CNN but I do try to make a difference. I can send money through certain organizations to help dig water wells, provide livestock, seeds, and farm implements. I don't think I am here just to take and have fun.
 

transformer_99

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Sometimes you have to act like you're too stupid to know the difference, it just diffuses what would otherwise turn into an ugly incident.
 

SpeedoGuy

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Why do you need to know about all the suffering in the world if it makes you unhappy?

Whenever I'm subjected to an overload of compassion fatigue I attempt to remember the following:

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference."

Reinhold Niebuhr
 

earllogjam

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Whenever I'm subjected to an overload of compassion fatigue I attempt to remember the following:

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference."

Reinhold Niebuhr

I get that media overload sickness too and this "truism" from Jenny Holzer, the conceptual artist, comes to mind:

"Enjoy yourself because you can't change anything anyways."

Jenny Holzer: Truisms
 

SpeedoGuy

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I get that media overload sickness too and this "truism" from Jenny Holzer, the conceptual artist, comes to mind:

"Enjoy yourself because you can't change anything anyways."

Jenny Holzer: Truisms

That's the dilemna, earl.

I always wanted to be more than a self assured (and blissfully ignorant) average working joe. I thought I might find profound truths and contentedness through physical travel, academic study and inquiry into the world around me. Of course, the opposite actually occurred: I now feel less sure of myself and my surroundings than had I just stayed home and read comic books.
 

earllogjam

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That's the dilemna, earl.

I always wanted to be more than a self assured (and blissfully ignorant) average working joe. I thought I might find profound truths and contentedness through physical travel, academic study and inquiry into the world around me. Of course, the opposite actually occurred: I now feel less sure of myself and my surroundings than had I just stayed home and read comic books.

LOL. Well being a thinking person certainly makes one more interesting to talk to at cocktail parties.

I have the same experience you do. The more I know about the world as spoon fed by the media and news the less I want to be part of it.

It boils down to a matter of trust for me. I realized early in life that "truth" coming from "professionals" top down is always a bit dubious as there is always an element of bullshit in everything they espouse.

This was particularly true of my family doctor who always misdiagnosed and mis-prescribed medicines making me sicker than I had to be, the teacher who told my parents that I could not read and should go to a special school, and the media or TV documentary that only gets half of the story right that gets passed as truth.

What is reality anyways? It certainly isn't the haze of life that is painted by the TV. But many buy into that distorted version reality, lock stock and barrel as truth and never question it against their own perceptions.

Sometimes a good comic book can be more satisfying and useful than understanding the nuances of Mugabe's re-election in Zimbabwe.
 

jason_els

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I can't be ignorant. If there's a subject I'm interested in then I have to study it. Ridiculous an example as it is, Jerry Springer usually found the most ignorant people on the face of the earth and paraded them for public amusement. Those people didn't seem remotely happy to me. They seemed consumed by the most trivial matters, and lived sad lives of vocal discontent. On rare occasion, I meet ignorant people who are happy. Most of the time they're bimbo trophy wives or party girls living on air and somebody else's money.

Wisdom is the most painful thing to gain in life. I can see why so many people avoid it.
 

SpeedoGuy

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LOL. Well being a thinking person certainly makes one more interesting to talk to at cocktail parties.

True, but the number of cocktail parties I get invited to is trivial. Nil, really, now that I'm a parent.

I do get invited to family gatherings, of course, and the occasional house party in my neighborhood. I always get my hopes up that I'm going to meet an interesting, travelled, and witty conversationalist and spend the evening chatting with him/her.

The reality, inevitably, is always more mundane. The women group up in the kitchen and spend the evening gossiping about TV or their children's toilet training progress. Meanwhile, the men gather in the garage, drink beers, and chat about cars and sports. Not knowing much about sports or cars, I'm always out of place and inevitably I end up sitting on the sofa alone perusing coffee table photo books and checking my watch to see when its time to go home and go to sleep.

Groan.
 

earllogjam

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The reality, inevitably, is always more mundane. The women group up in the kitchen and spend the evening gossiping about TV or their children's toilet training progress. Meanwhile, the men gather in the garage, drink beers, and chat about cars and sports. Not knowing much about sports or cars, I'm always out of place and inevitably I end up sitting on the sofa alone perusing coffee table photo books and checking my watch to see when its time to go home and go to sleep.

Groan.

Sounds like you've experienced more that a few Logjam family gatherings.

You're running with the wrong crowd Speedo. After an evening with interesting well traveled gay guys, it's a long way down to discussing motor oil at a Logjam family gathering.
 
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For me bliss isn’t something you aim to achieve, or that state you reach when you have more money, when you reach the goal of a bigger house, faster car etc. Bliss is actually a state of being. Relax, and find your bliss. It could be free, or quite cheap to do so.
 
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I think having a short memory is bliss for some, thank goodness not all are blessed with this bliss. :) Miss ya Earl.