The dynamic between the master judge & the archetypal fool is something I'll be reflecting on. Even if essay patterns are universal and you can get a highly reliable score (/judgment) on any draft you submit, that insight might only be as valuable to the degree that it makes you laugh.
I always enjoy watching you reveal hidden patterns behind the workings of the human universe. And the desire to be praised by someone deemed an authority figure seems fundamentally central to our make-up.
He’s back!! Bravo. I’d never thought of this dimension of Bake Off and its moral/religious consequences, so thank you for bringing them to light. Also reminds me of Simon Cowell in the American Idol days. :)
I’m thinking that discernment is based on personal experience, experiential knowledge, and judgement seems more biblical, patriarchal, the shoulds of our culture. Memetic desires. What we are told is right. Outer Vs inner, interoception Vs exteroception. Or something like that, treacherously easy to get wrong if there is any wrong in this world.
Interesting that you would say mimetic. I just read Girard and his whole argument is that Christianity is anti-mimetic, in that our alignment to a universal good protects us from the mimetic violence of the past, which was once completely universal.
I agree with you -- but I would use yet another word to describe what you're saying "judgment" stands for: tyranny. I don't think tyranny is good. But judgement is necessary. Discernment, to me, just means "judgment carefully considered," which I would assume is a given.
Domination has always been my go to word for tyranny, a definition from Riane Eisler’s “The Chalice and the Blade”. Raised a Christian I tend to shy away from the societal norms of judgement. (I don’t fit their definitions, so they do not make sense) Carefully considered, is now what I try to achieve, as I try to discern just whose desires I am reacting to, or acting from. I find all desires become suspicious and worth further investigation under this new criteria. Is this what Girard addresses?
Now that you mention it, You don't see handshakes much anymore.
When I was a young man, men didn't complete business deals without a firm handshake. Signatures on paper were just scrawls on a page. It was the handshake that sealed the deal. Woe to you if you didn't have a good strong handshake.
This year, I decided to binge every episode for the first time, and I did. Then I got a little antsy, coming down hard, and I discovered the Great British Sewing Bee. Not quite as kind but really lovely too. And now I'm on the Great Pottery Throwdown where the greatest thing the judge, Keith, can do is cry over a contestant's work, which he does more frequently than you'd expect. Now that is a judge! Also it hits me in the same places as Bake Off.
The dynamic between the master judge & the archetypal fool is something I'll be reflecting on. Even if essay patterns are universal and you can get a highly reliable score (/judgment) on any draft you submit, that insight might only be as valuable to the degree that it makes you laugh.
No kidding, this made me laugh.
The master and his emissary…
I always enjoy watching you reveal hidden patterns behind the workings of the human universe. And the desire to be praised by someone deemed an authority figure seems fundamentally central to our make-up.
Thanks, Rick. I enjoy doing that, too.
He’s back!! Bravo. I’d never thought of this dimension of Bake Off and its moral/religious consequences, so thank you for bringing them to light. Also reminds me of Simon Cowell in the American Idol days. :)
WOO! Thanks, Alina :)
Discernment Vs Judgement. I am trying not to conflate the two.
What's the difference you reckon?
I’m thinking that discernment is based on personal experience, experiential knowledge, and judgement seems more biblical, patriarchal, the shoulds of our culture. Memetic desires. What we are told is right. Outer Vs inner, interoception Vs exteroception. Or something like that, treacherously easy to get wrong if there is any wrong in this world.
Interesting that you would say mimetic. I just read Girard and his whole argument is that Christianity is anti-mimetic, in that our alignment to a universal good protects us from the mimetic violence of the past, which was once completely universal.
I agree with you -- but I would use yet another word to describe what you're saying "judgment" stands for: tyranny. I don't think tyranny is good. But judgement is necessary. Discernment, to me, just means "judgment carefully considered," which I would assume is a given.
Domination has always been my go to word for tyranny, a definition from Riane Eisler’s “The Chalice and the Blade”. Raised a Christian I tend to shy away from the societal norms of judgement. (I don’t fit their definitions, so they do not make sense) Carefully considered, is now what I try to achieve, as I try to discern just whose desires I am reacting to, or acting from. I find all desires become suspicious and worth further investigation under this new criteria. Is this what Girard addresses?
Now that you mention it, You don't see handshakes much anymore.
When I was a young man, men didn't complete business deals without a firm handshake. Signatures on paper were just scrawls on a page. It was the handshake that sealed the deal. Woe to you if you didn't have a good strong handshake.
Seriously -- I grew up in the South and you had to learn how to shake hands and make eye contact by 11 or so.
For Sure.
It was the biggest honour back in the BBC days… then he started handing them out like hot cakes.
Well, it depends on how good the hot cakes were...
This year, I decided to binge every episode for the first time, and I did. Then I got a little antsy, coming down hard, and I discovered the Great British Sewing Bee. Not quite as kind but really lovely too. And now I'm on the Great Pottery Throwdown where the greatest thing the judge, Keith, can do is cry over a contestant's work, which he does more frequently than you'd expect. Now that is a judge! Also it hits me in the same places as Bake Off.
Nice! Thanks for commenting, Jo