"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
by any other name would smell as sweet"
Authenticity.
Being real.
Would the concept of authenticity be the same in any other terms? Is authentic an admirable quality as some sort of axiom? Can we deduce the desire to obtain authenticity from more basic governing laws of nature? How should we define it?
Authentic is a belief that allows for no deviation. It implies we were born with certain unalienable characteristics, and any attempt to deviate is a flaw. I will loosen this definition by saying that the idea of being authentic means that you should have a basic set of interests and find enjoyment from mainly the same things you did at the age of 14. For some it might be a few years before 14 - and others a few years after 14. But whatever interests you had at that age are the only true, unfettered, unpoluted interests and desires that you should ever have. Not to say they were not void of certain influences, just that whatever influences they were were more pure and for more defensible reasons. Your friends all played basketball so you all watched the same games on tv and read the same magazines so before class started and at lunch you discussed the same topics which were 100% genuinely of interest to you and you had no concept of trying to do so because others thought they were cool. Your friends all like Harry Potter, and bonded over the fact that it was slightly embarrassing to the masses that you enjoyed reading about a boy wizard. Your friends all had acne and were uncomfortable around the opposite sex so this unfortunate genetic trait led you to get interested in things not involving the opposite sex - this means magic the gathering. Now, maybe you were a mix of these things or maybe you had other interests that do not fall into these categories (although I cannot think of anything else) but the point still holds.
The social free market worked its charm and people with common interests found each other and anyone who was not authentic in a particular group was chastised, made fun of, or just simply didn't fit and left the group.
As adults, this changed. At some point it became par for the course (see what I did there) to all of a sudden be interested in working on your golf game. When did it become okay for people to feign their interest in politics? Where did all the magic the gathering people go? Can interests authentically change?
They can. And do. But your interest at the age of 14 more directly speak to who you are then an interest you acquired at the age of 25 in order to have something to talk about at lunch. This isn't to say that the aforementioned ability is not a good one - so as to maintain social relationships where they would not exist otherwise. But someone must clearly identify that interests for any other reason that a continuation of an interest that existed before the age of 15 is not to be trusted. It will only exist as long as it serves another purpose other than enjoyment.
As for the magic the gathering and dungeons and dragons kids. Where are you now? After much struggle and contention through the years is it true that sports fans are the only authentic people out there? They surely appear to be more unwavering than most (hence, authentic) in maintaining their youthful innocence. Are sports the only authentic interest?
Have a reached a more basic issue at hand? Are sports the only authentic interest? Does the real life drama that plays itself out on the small screen in so many different forms offer the only true diversion from all things not sports - so as to provide entertainment in a truly authentic consistent manner over the years? Have people with other interests left their youth and authenticity in the past - accepting to be something other than authentic as an adult? Were they just ignorant to the joys of sports?
WHAT DO PEOPLE WITHOUT SPORTS DO??
by any other name would smell as sweet"
Authenticity.
Being real.
Would the concept of authenticity be the same in any other terms? Is authentic an admirable quality as some sort of axiom? Can we deduce the desire to obtain authenticity from more basic governing laws of nature? How should we define it?
Authentic is a belief that allows for no deviation. It implies we were born with certain unalienable characteristics, and any attempt to deviate is a flaw. I will loosen this definition by saying that the idea of being authentic means that you should have a basic set of interests and find enjoyment from mainly the same things you did at the age of 14. For some it might be a few years before 14 - and others a few years after 14. But whatever interests you had at that age are the only true, unfettered, unpoluted interests and desires that you should ever have. Not to say they were not void of certain influences, just that whatever influences they were were more pure and for more defensible reasons. Your friends all played basketball so you all watched the same games on tv and read the same magazines so before class started and at lunch you discussed the same topics which were 100% genuinely of interest to you and you had no concept of trying to do so because others thought they were cool. Your friends all like Harry Potter, and bonded over the fact that it was slightly embarrassing to the masses that you enjoyed reading about a boy wizard. Your friends all had acne and were uncomfortable around the opposite sex so this unfortunate genetic trait led you to get interested in things not involving the opposite sex - this means magic the gathering. Now, maybe you were a mix of these things or maybe you had other interests that do not fall into these categories (although I cannot think of anything else) but the point still holds.
The social free market worked its charm and people with common interests found each other and anyone who was not authentic in a particular group was chastised, made fun of, or just simply didn't fit and left the group.
As adults, this changed. At some point it became par for the course (see what I did there) to all of a sudden be interested in working on your golf game. When did it become okay for people to feign their interest in politics? Where did all the magic the gathering people go? Can interests authentically change?
They can. And do. But your interest at the age of 14 more directly speak to who you are then an interest you acquired at the age of 25 in order to have something to talk about at lunch. This isn't to say that the aforementioned ability is not a good one - so as to maintain social relationships where they would not exist otherwise. But someone must clearly identify that interests for any other reason that a continuation of an interest that existed before the age of 15 is not to be trusted. It will only exist as long as it serves another purpose other than enjoyment.
As for the magic the gathering and dungeons and dragons kids. Where are you now? After much struggle and contention through the years is it true that sports fans are the only authentic people out there? They surely appear to be more unwavering than most (hence, authentic) in maintaining their youthful innocence. Are sports the only authentic interest?
Have a reached a more basic issue at hand? Are sports the only authentic interest? Does the real life drama that plays itself out on the small screen in so many different forms offer the only true diversion from all things not sports - so as to provide entertainment in a truly authentic consistent manner over the years? Have people with other interests left their youth and authenticity in the past - accepting to be something other than authentic as an adult? Were they just ignorant to the joys of sports?
WHAT DO PEOPLE WITHOUT SPORTS DO??
been hoping this turns into a sports blog at some point quite some time
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletewhat about music? if you are invested in the art of music at the age of 14, you are likely to resort to it at least as a private hobby when you are 25. (or any other art). same goes for technology and gadgets. Many interests and hobbies are accessible to you as you get older that have not been accessible at the age of 14; it is not until 20ies that you discover who you are; hence it is hard to talk about authenticity of character and interests. i.e. you are the fake you at the age of 14 :)
ReplyDeleteMatija, you raise valid points. And I agree on each accord. Music is a big one that I wish I would have discussed at length. If your interest is music evolves continuously - and does not experience discontinuous changes - then you are maintaining authenticity. The same probably holds for the other interests and hobbies you have described.
ReplyDeleteThanks.