06-02-2003, 12:26 PM | #1 (permalink) |
Tilted Cat Head
Administrator
Location: Manhattan, NY
|
Ignorance is bliss?
I was chatting to someone and I thought of...Is ignorance truly bliss? If you were ignorant how would you know any different to truly know of or seek something better?
__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not. |
06-02-2003, 01:01 PM | #2 (permalink) |
Addict
Location: Brook Cottage, Lanark, Scotland
|
if you spent the last 6 months in a cave you would have missed the stress of the war . . . that is true.
Another view of the same concept is the expression "stick your head in the sand" . . if you hide then maybe it will all just go away . . . but then that presumes you know whats going on . . you just dont want to face it. Children are the perfect illustration that ignorance is bliss . . . . . . . . they are innocent and now nothing of the nasty world. I wish I had listened to my parents when they said it was the best days of my life . . . .. .
__________________
Where your talents and the needs of the world cross . . there lies your vocation. |
06-02-2003, 01:23 PM | #4 (permalink) |
Loser
|
Ignorance is not bliss...because then you don't have the knowledge or experience to control your environment,
at least to some extent. Yes, there is an additional responsibility or burden that comes with this, but this is the price of freedom. Anything worth something, is worth effort. |
06-02-2003, 01:29 PM | #5 (permalink) |
Addict
Location: Brook Cottage, Lanark, Scotland
|
Ignorance is only bliss in hindsight . . when its too late. Whilst you are ignorant you cant know the horrors that would otherwise fill your head . . so you cannot appreciate the bliss. So ignorance can never be bliss that can be enjoyed. If your knowledge of something stresses you and you find you are jealous of someone else who is living 'in ignorance' then you suffer more . . . so its like I said . . knowledge = hell (and the obvious opposite of that ie. 'ignorance is bliss' is a fallacy).
__________________
Where your talents and the needs of the world cross . . there lies your vocation. |
06-02-2003, 01:33 PM | #6 (permalink) |
Addict
Location: Brook Cottage, Lanark, Scotland
|
The true opposite would be 'you dont know what your missing!'. Where you might have been on a 5 star luxury holiday . . and you return to work to chat to someone who has never been on holiday in their life . . . you could imagine that their ignorance of the holiday experience is a negative thing . . . they 'dont know what their missing' . . . or ' you cant miss what you have never had'.
"Sadder still to watch it die . . than never to have known it". N Peart
__________________
Where your talents and the needs of the world cross . . there lies your vocation. |
06-02-2003, 01:44 PM | #7 (permalink) | |
Tilted Cat Head
Administrator
Location: Manhattan, NY
|
Quote:
__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not. |
|
06-02-2003, 02:37 PM | #9 (permalink) |
Fledgling Dead Head
Location: Clarkson U.
|
Ignorance is bliss, but I would rather be miserable and know what the fuck was going on.
For an answer to this question (in one form) read 1984, and consider the proles. They are oppressed by the government to some point, but as long as the gov't doesnt touch the booze, porn or hookers, they don't care what happens. They don't know any differant, and they are uneduacated, so why would they risk their life as they know it? I swear, it really does relate! |
06-02-2003, 05:53 PM | #11 (permalink) |
ClerkMan!
Location: Tulsa, Ok.
|
I have to agree with rogue on this one. Ignorance is defintly NOT bliss. It sometimes seems like it to the educated ones. Only because if you are ignorant you don't have to work through right and wrong (and grey areas) of things. But I for one, someone who wants to know everything there is to know, would find ignorance to be hell. That is, if I had enough knowledge to know that knowledge exists. If not then I would just be another slobering idiot.
__________________
Meridae'n once played "death" at a game of chess that lasted for over two years. He finally beat death in a best 34 out of 67 match. At that time he could ask for any one thing and he could wish for the hope of all mankind... he looked death right in the eye and said ... "I would like about three fiddy" |
06-02-2003, 07:48 PM | #12 (permalink) |
Junkie
Location: Up yonder
|
I think the only way ignorance could be bliss if we are talking the very young (talking complete innocence here) or the "mentally challenged" to be politically correct.
For any intelligent human you crave to learn....which brings us to the idea that the more you know, the more you realize you know nothing. But that is what drives us. Without that spark to learn more and expand the ol' grey matter....well without that then it's not worth it. For myself I don't mind admitting I don't know about certain things...admitting your lack of knowledge and asking to be taught is one of the best ways to learn.
__________________
You've been a naughty boy....go to my room! |
06-02-2003, 09:41 PM | #13 (permalink) |
Psychopathic Akimbo Action Pirate
Location: ...between Christ and Belial.
|
I have a journal entry about this, actually. Click if you might be interested.
http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/journal...&journalid=323
__________________
On the outside I'm jazz, but my soul is rock and roll. Sleep is a waste of time. Join the Insomniac Club. "GYOH GWAH-DAH GREH BLAAA! SROH WIH DIH FLIH RYOHH!!" - The Locust |
06-08-2003, 01:15 AM | #16 (permalink) |
Insane
Location: In front of my keyboard.
|
That's the point of that saying... its like sex... if you NEVER knew about it, you wouldn't know what you were missing... when you found out about it (via many methods) you became less ignorant and now you know that you have to have it all the time to survive!
__________________
Why continue fighting? Is it for Love? Illusions. All as artificial as the Matrix itself, although only a human mind could invent something as insipid as Love. |
06-08-2003, 02:12 AM | #17 (permalink) |
Still searching...
Location: NorCal For Life
|
Ignorance is bliss until you know ignorance is bliss. Once you start the education process, you must not stop it.
__________________
"Only two things are certain: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not certain about the universe." -- Albert Einstein |
06-08-2003, 05:35 AM | #18 (permalink) |
Upright
|
Well, you know Matrix, right? Let's say that you are living quite happily inside the Matrix, not knowing the truth (being ignorant). Then you get unplugged and find out the truth (no more ignorance): You are going to spend time in a dirty hovercraft with nothing to eat but strange goo and nothing to wear than rags. Would you be still happy?
So yes, in a way, ignorance is bliss. But knowledge can be bliss, too. |
06-08-2003, 07:24 PM | #19 (permalink) |
Upright
|
Even though i agree w/ most of u people... u must also look at it from this point of view.....
if u were pulled over by a cop for going 45 in houston... when the speed limit is 35... but u didnt know that b/c u r from LA and the limit there is 45.... u will still get the ticket reguardless if u didnt know what the law was... (reguarldess if u were ignorant about the law or not) in that case ignorance can bring u no bliss.... only a day in court, day in "how to drive safely" and it will take away weight form your wallet.... jsut another view on this situation |
06-11-2003, 12:17 AM | #22 (permalink) | |
Still searching...
Location: NorCal For Life
|
Quote:
__________________
"Only two things are certain: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not certain about the universe." -- Albert Einstein |
|
06-12-2003, 08:46 PM | #23 (permalink) |
Crazy
Location: Never Never Land
|
To quote John Stuart Mill, "It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied. And if the fool, or the pig, is of a different opinion, it is because they only know their own side of the question. The other party of the comparision knows both sides."
|
06-13-2003, 06:03 AM | #25 (permalink) | |
Crazy
Location: Never Never Land
|
Quote:
2) You recieve terrible brain damage. This time however, the accedent awakens part of your brain that most people are not able to use. You become able to retain almost everything you read, see, or hear. Your reading skills are triple that of a normal person. You quickly become an outstanding expert in the field of Philosophy examining many of the toughest question philosophical minds have ever encountered. But, you can never find an answer to anything, only more questions. This leaves you utterly disatisfied for the rest of your life. Ok so which one do you choose? Complete ignorance with complete happiness? Great intellegence with utter disatisfaction? If this scenario doesnt work for you create your own, but I think that if you think about it deeply, most (but not all) people will choose knowledge and disatisfaction. |
|
06-13-2003, 03:08 PM | #26 (permalink) |
Psycho
Location: 4th has left the building - goodbye folks
|
Well seeing as you have kindly taken away any social responsibility (if you had said I would be a brilliant chemist with the capacity to create life saving drugs then things would be different) then I would opt to be the happy retard.
Many people would opt to be a miserable genius. I would have once upon a time. Then I did two things: 1) Read about the last years of a number of (miserable) geniuses lives. [Nietzsche being particularly notable for going mad when he saw a man being cruel to a donkey I think it was.] 2) Realising that we value knowledge because we associate it with happiness (learning makes us happy, being smart makes us happy and knowledge gives us money, power and 'stuff'). Decouple knowledge from happiness and I opt for the latter.
__________________
I've been 4thTimeLucky, you've been great. Goodnight and God bless! |
06-14-2003, 05:24 PM | #28 (permalink) |
Upright
|
Isn't it about relative ignorance? I mean like you dont have to be a retard to be ignorant about something. It's only about the information, wich in itself is often not quite the truth.(if thruth exists that is.) Scientists discover that others have been wrong from the beginning, we can never "know".. We only think that we do. So I say we are all ignorant and blind regardless of the amount of bliss we are granted. Just be satitisfied with what you got.
|
06-14-2003, 07:35 PM | #29 (permalink) |
Junkie
|
To me, this is 50/50. There are a lot of things that people have told me that I wish that I didn't know. There are also many things that people tried to hold back from me, but I'm glad that I found out anyway.
__________________
"Fuck these chains No goddamn slave I will be different" ~ Machine Head |
06-19-2003, 04:43 AM | #31 (permalink) |
Addict
Location: Melbourne, Australia
|
I tend to agree with what duckznutz was saying about the value of hindsight.
I think that the “Ignorance is bliss” statement works better in a past tense. Perhaps more along the lines of “Ignorance was bliss” as the “bliss” of ignorance can only fully be perceived and reflected upon after new learning’s. Knowledge calls for action where’s ignorance calls for complacency. Maybe exertion is the missing antonym for “bliss”. |
07-31-2003, 01:43 PM | #34 (permalink) | |
Upright
|
Quote:
|
|
07-31-2003, 01:59 PM | #35 (permalink) |
Insane
|
Actually the entire quote is (IIRC): "Where ignorance is bliss, tiss folly to be wise". Somehow it got taken out of context and shortened to "ignorance is bliss", which isn't really true.
Getting a blow job is nice, but getting a hummer while watching two big-breasted beautiful lesbians eat each other out is truly bliss...
__________________
D'oh! |
08-02-2003, 11:30 PM | #36 (permalink) |
Idolator
Location: Vol Country
|
I'm just the type that would like to know whats going on, so I could fight it. I generally believe that ignorance is bliss, but still, given the choice, I would choose to know. Thats just me.
__________________
"We each have a star, all we have to do is find it. Once you do, everyone who sees it will be blinded." - Earl Simmons |
Tags |
bliss, ignorance |
|
|