TAW122
Emissary of the right to die.
- Aug 30, 2018
- 6,707
Have you ever heard of inspirational stories and xyz person managed to succeed in whatever they are doing? Or the top 0.1%, 1%, or whatever? One of the most annoying things is that whenever there is an outlier, society and people tend to use the 'exception' as the benchmark rather than the rule. I get it, it's mostly used to inspire and to encourage others to do better. If that's their purpose, then great. But if it is used as a realistic metric in which to compare, measure, or evaluate something, then that's wrong.
For example, I'll use the entertainment/sports industry as some example. There is someone who, out of many millions who had a successful break and managed to make him/herself a name in some industry. That person could be on YouTube, Twitch, or whatever social media platform. However, there are SO many more people who just don't make it, they can't muster a good enough following, a large enough fanbase, or whatever. So hearing others try to use outliers or the very successful as benchmarks for others is simply wrong imho. If they want to use it to inspire and motivate those who wish to be motivated then great, that's good and fine. But to use it as some realistic standard is just absurd. There is a reason why they are the 'exception rather than the rule.' Some people are just really talented, lucky, blessed, and played all their cards right, that's great. But for every success, there are many more who have failed and/or didn't make it. People simply don't hear about those because they aren't interesting or story-worthy to them, but they do exist.
Another example, some super ambitious student who is really good at math and science earned admission into some of the top universities in the nation, including MIT, Harvard, and Stanford to name a few, but just because 'he/she' got in doesn't mean that the majority of people can get in. To use him/her as a benchmark for greatness or saying well he/she made it into these schools, so you can too is simply wrong.
Or a better example, in terms of health, most people would know that being obese (Disclaimer: I have nothing against obese people, not fat-shaming but using an example for discussion purposes only) is not good for one's health and that they will have health problems. Then some smartass or someone brings up the outlier of Mr./Mrs. Obese Person who survived into his/her late 60's and is still alive and what not. Sure, there are always exceptions out there and people who don't fit it the norm, but that doesn't negate the claim that being obese is generally not good for one's health. That point still stands and is still valid as ever because most people who are obese are generally unhealthy and on average, do die younger due to other health conditions and comorbidities.
Some smartasses like to use the outliers and exceptions in convos and arguments just to discount whatever claim another person is using and it's annoying as hell. Not only does that prevent someone from making a statement, stating a fact, or saying anything (because there is always some exception).. it just becomes laborious and tedious to hold a conversation!
Has anyone encountered people who do that? What are your thoughts on this?
For example, I'll use the entertainment/sports industry as some example. There is someone who, out of many millions who had a successful break and managed to make him/herself a name in some industry. That person could be on YouTube, Twitch, or whatever social media platform. However, there are SO many more people who just don't make it, they can't muster a good enough following, a large enough fanbase, or whatever. So hearing others try to use outliers or the very successful as benchmarks for others is simply wrong imho. If they want to use it to inspire and motivate those who wish to be motivated then great, that's good and fine. But to use it as some realistic standard is just absurd. There is a reason why they are the 'exception rather than the rule.' Some people are just really talented, lucky, blessed, and played all their cards right, that's great. But for every success, there are many more who have failed and/or didn't make it. People simply don't hear about those because they aren't interesting or story-worthy to them, but they do exist.
Another example, some super ambitious student who is really good at math and science earned admission into some of the top universities in the nation, including MIT, Harvard, and Stanford to name a few, but just because 'he/she' got in doesn't mean that the majority of people can get in. To use him/her as a benchmark for greatness or saying well he/she made it into these schools, so you can too is simply wrong.
Or a better example, in terms of health, most people would know that being obese (Disclaimer: I have nothing against obese people, not fat-shaming but using an example for discussion purposes only) is not good for one's health and that they will have health problems. Then some smartass or someone brings up the outlier of Mr./Mrs. Obese Person who survived into his/her late 60's and is still alive and what not. Sure, there are always exceptions out there and people who don't fit it the norm, but that doesn't negate the claim that being obese is generally not good for one's health. That point still stands and is still valid as ever because most people who are obese are generally unhealthy and on average, do die younger due to other health conditions and comorbidities.
Some smartasses like to use the outliers and exceptions in convos and arguments just to discount whatever claim another person is using and it's annoying as hell. Not only does that prevent someone from making a statement, stating a fact, or saying anything (because there is always some exception).. it just becomes laborious and tedious to hold a conversation!
Has anyone encountered people who do that? What are your thoughts on this?
