this post is not about making sense
$Zero
it's about making nonsense.
because of the way the human mind works, making nonsense is not as
easy as it seems it oughta be.
take this very post for example.
when i first wrote the title, i thought that i could explain what i
meant very easily.
but that was yesterday.
and now that i'm taking a few moments to write the thing, all of my
arguments have escaped me.
it's kinda like the bowling ball post i made recently.
i had every intention of it not being about bowling balls, at all.
but as i got to the end of the post, i was struck with an idea of how
to make it amusing.
so instead of making my original point, i made another.
try it for yourself.
try to not make sense.
start a post called:
this post is not about [whatever]
and then proceed to write about anything else but [whatever].
-$Zero...
this post is not about bowling balls
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.writing/msg/843c122e9cf90d34
Pies de Arcilla
> this post is not about making sense
>
> it's about making nonsense.
>
> because of the way the human mind works, making nonsense is not as
> easy as it seems it oughta be.
>
> take this very post for example.
>
> when i first wrote the title, i thought that i could explain what i
> meant very easily.
>
> but that was yesterday.
>
> and now that i'm taking a few moments to write the thing, all of my
> arguments have escaped me.
>
> it's kinda like the bowling ball post i made recently.
>
> i had every intention of it not being about bowling balls, at all.
>
> but as i got to the end of the post, i was struck with an idea of how
> to make it amusing.
>
> so instead of making my original point, i made another.
>
> try it for yourself.
>
> try to not make sense.
>
> start a post called:
>
> this post is not about [whatever]
>
> and then proceed to write about anything else but [whatever].
>
> -$Zero...
You failed. Posting about nonsense, or even purposely posting
nonsense, is about the subject of sense vs. nonsense. There's only one
subject, whichever half of it you say you're addressing.
Maybe I'm just feeling dualistic today.
Pies de Arcilla
I go to Dunkin Donuts now and then, but my favorite doughnuts are at
the grocery store. Price Chopper makes doughnuts in their store bakery
that are the non-circular, twisted, yeast-raised type and are coated
with cinnamon sugar. And they're only 69 cents apiece. That's like
0.44 euros.
$Zero
not necessarily.
like, if you post complete nonsense, for instance.
anyway, this post was about not making sense.
and that's exactly what the post was about.
you can't dispute that.
> There's only one subject, whichever half of it you say
> you're addressing.
this post was about not making sense.
it didn't say that it was about making sense.
and even if it did, it could validly compare the two concepts without
failing in any way whatsoever by viurtue of simply making the
comparison discussing one or the other or both.
> Maybe I'm just feeling dualistic today.
that kinda makes sense.
-$Zero...
this post is not about bowling balls
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.writing/msg/843c122e9cf90d34
Grand Mal
"$Zero" <zero...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:8a0e368a-cffd-4ffd...@b1g2000hsg.googlegroups.com...
On Jul 27, 12:11?pm, Pies de Arcilla <dearci...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Jul 27, 11:10 am, "$Zero" <zeroi...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
-like, if you post complete nonsense, for instance.
-anyway, this post was about not making sense.
Is that the same thing? I mean,
"This post is not about making sense", and
"This post is about not making sense."
-and that's exactly what the post was about.
-you can't dispute that.
$Zero
> "$Zero" <zeroi...@gmail.com> wrote in message
>> not necessarily.
>
>> like, if you post complete nonsense, for instance.
>
>> anyway, this post was about not making sense.
>
> Is that the same thing? I mean,
> "This post is not about making sense", and
> "This post is about not making sense."
it's an interesting question.
is it the same thing?
can be.
but how would YOU specifically distinguish the former from the latter?
>> and that's exactly what the post was about.
>
>> you can't dispute that.
-$Zero...
this post is not worth reading
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.writing/msg/eb7b1a4eafeefb31
$Zero
it would have been much more thought-provoking and interesting if you
had entitled it:
This post is not about doughnuts
-$Zero...
this post is not worth reading
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.writing/msg/eb7b1a4eafeefb31
Pies de Arcilla
> On Jul 27, 12:16�pm, Pies de Arcilla <dearci...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > This post is about doughnuts.
>
> > I go to Dunkin Donuts now and then, but my favorite doughnuts are at
> > the grocery store. Price Chopper makes doughnuts in their store bakery
> > that are the non-circular, twisted, yeast-raised type and are coated
> > with cinnamon sugar. And they're only 69 cents apiece. That's like
> > 0.44 euros.
>
> it would have been much more thought-provoking and interesting if you
> had entitled it:
>
> This post is not about doughnuts
No, then I would have been just imitating you, rather than doing
something original. I like the idea of a self-referential post which
is consistent with itself, like an interlocking puzzle. When I wrote
the above, I was thinking very little other than how much I like those
doughnuts, although the thought intruded at the end that I'm lucky to
live here and not in Europe.
It's extremely difficult to be consistent with oneself, even
temporarily.
Pies de Arcilla
> On Jul 27, 4:07�pm, "Grand Mal" <ironw...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > "$Zero" <zeroi...@gmail.com> wrote in message
> >> not necessarily.
>
> >> like, if you post complete nonsense, for instance.
>
> >> anyway, this post was about not making sense.
>
> > Is that the same thing? I mean,
> > "This post is not about making sense", and
> > "This post is about not making sense."
>
> it's an interesting question.
>
> is it the same thing?
>
> can be.
>
> but how would YOU specifically distinguish the former from the latter?
If a post is not about making sense, it might be about ice cream. But
if a post is about not making sense, then it is equally about making
sense. Not making sense can only be understood relative to making
sense.
$Zero
if a post is not about making sense but instead is about ice cream it
had better not make any sense with regards to being about ice cream
otherwise it would not qualify as a post being "not about making
sense."
if, OTOH, a post is about not making sense then it need not be about
making sense in anyway whatsoever.
in any case, not making sense can certainly be understood irrespective
of making sense.
actually, "not making sense" can't be understood any other way.
so, does that make any sense?
-$Zero...
the complex vs. the simple
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.writing/msg/784486d529ae7e85
$Zero
> On Jul 28, 2:06 pm, "$Zero" <zeroi...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > On Jul 27, 12:16 pm, Pies de Arcilla <dearci...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > > This post is about doughnuts.
>
> > > I go to Dunkin Donuts now and then, but my favorite doughnuts are at
> > > the grocery store. Price Chopper makes doughnuts in their store bakery
> > > that are the non-circular, twisted, yeast-raised type and are coated
> > > with cinnamon sugar. And they're only 69 cents apiece. That's like
> > > 0.44 euros.
>
> > it would have been much more thought-provoking and interesting if you
> > had entitled it:
>
> > This post is not about doughnuts
>
> No, then I would have been just imitating you, rather than doing
> something original.
you would have been doing something original either way.
> I like the idea of a self-referential post which
> is consistent with itself, like an interlocking puzzle. When I wrote
> the above, I was thinking very little other than how much I like those
> doughnuts, although the thought intruded at the end that I'm lucky to
> live here and not in Europe.
>
> It's extremely difficult to be consistent with oneself, even
> temporarily.
perhaps the same difficulty applies to being inconsistent.