I once drove by a church reader board that stated: “A good friend stabs you in the front.” This message velcro’d itself to my brain and became a useful tool more than once in my professional and personal lives. Sometimes “good friends” tell you things you don’t want to hear. “Good friends” also make it apparent where they are coming from, as well as clearly stating their intentions. “Good friends” are always just that. No need to overthink the definition of a “good friend” – it IS what it IS. Someone with genuine respect and affinity for you as a human being. And vice versa. In an ideal world, forums such as these allow for spirited discussions among “friends.” We absorb, postulate, share, mentor and contribute to the well-being to all those who attach themselves to the group. And, yes, sometimes things appear to be so conflicting to our current knowledge base that we feel a strong compulsion to offer emotionally charged opposing viewpoints. I think we know when we’ve crossed over from discussions “among friends” to those comments and considerations that are intentionally abrasive. Are others gaining from of having you attached to the discussion? Or am I just trying to make this more about “me”, and less about “them?” Yes, I enjoy releasing my inner 9-year-old while doing a smokey burnout in one of my hot rods. However, I found that’s a pretty good idea to let my passengers know what they’re in for and ask permission before dumping the clutch. (My grandson, when treated to such an experience never wants to ride in one of my prized hot rods again). Some of us should consider if/how our comments benefit the forum before “dumping the clutch.”
A few months back, I had a little windshield time, turned on the AM radio and tuned to an old-time comedy radio program. It went something like this:
Host: “We’re going to do a math quiz.”
Guest: “Okay”
Host: “What’s 6 plus 6?”
Guest: (pause, no answer)
Host: “Well, it’s 12.”
Guest: (excited voice) “6 plus 6 CAN’T be 12! 8 plus 4 is 12!!!”
The lesson here (for me) is that there can be more than one correct answer to a problem. Yes, people CAN be quite confident in their ability to hear differences in things. And, yes, people CAN be quite confident that they can attach their known science to a particular problem and have absolute certainty to the voracity of their conclusions. As one person recently stated when asked about how to handle politics during the Holidays: “Let your friends be wrong!” Pretty good advice?
Related to the scope of this forum: We’re not youngsters and have a finite number of clicks remaining on the clock. Tangents are not harmful, just not the best use of time. Politics and religion? Then, how about superchargers vs turbochargers? The value/performance aspect of wines from Argentina? Quilting? Ingrown toenails? How ‘bout we keep things (as close to) high performance audio as we can, please. Tick, tick, tick ….
I’d like to close by acknowledging the value of forums, like these. They are essential in sustaining the viability of high-performance audio. In my part-time “gig” at YOUniteUSA, I deal with unapologetic, fire-breathing partisans on a daily basis who really enjoy breaking things. I have come to value the links and connections that keep us “human” and work pretty hard to sustain our existing links while putting some effort into establishing new ones. There are calculated efforts above our “pay grades” to break those links and connections thus my/our motivation to acknowledge, validate and celebrate our common links and connections. We’ve spent more than a little effort in to categorizing those links. This group, for example, fails into our “shared indulgences” category, which is at the tier just below “purposeful bonds” and above “navigating complexity”. So, what we are doing HERE matters. More than you think. I hope everyone who contributes in a way to helps preserve these efforts congratulates themselves and acknowledges their role in keeping this thing going. And, I hope those who want to invalidate this forum and it’s contributors, finds another forum. I heard the Ingrown Toenail forum is looking for outspoken, miserable participants.
Thanks to all of you for what you do to make this forum possible. And, the OP for providing the stimulus of this discussion.
