"From those to whom much is given, much is expected."

[Geekbabe]

Those words come to mind whenever I stop to consider the membership of Anandtech.Never have I seen such a large group of relatively young, healthy,well educated people assembled in one place. Many here respresent the supposed very top echlons of what our socxiety has to offer in terms of their brightness and ability to move and change our world. A more stunning array of talents it would be hard to find anywhere else.

Given all of the above,one would expect the off topic section of Anandtech to be over run with posts expressing gratitude for what nature, your parents and the gods of good fortune have bestowed on many of you. One would also expect to see frequent brain storming threads on things that this community could do to make a diffeence, both locally and more globally
in the lives of others who have not been nearly as fortunate.

Do we see these posts ? seldom ! no,instead we have threads that go on for miles decrying the fact that under priveledged kids might get a free lunch, we have threads consigning abused foster kids to lives of being treated like footballs being punted everywhere cause heaven forbid we can't let Gay couples take them in.Then we get into the Oscar threads
and I am rendered speechless at some of the attitudes displayed regarding race. What gives with some of you guys? You have so freaking much, your plates are so full, how can you be so bitter and so angry ?


I'm just a nobody, came from nothing, no fancy background, my IQ and my bankbook are probably laughable compared to many of you here, so you can sit there and laugh this rant off if you like but I would hope some of you would at least sit back for a minute and remember the quote "From those to whom much is given, much is expected." and ask yourselves, "what have I given lately ?"


just my feverish two cents worth

Baff

 

[fatalbert]

I am bitter at times, but overall not really, I try to give back when I can, but it isn't always possible,

college is expensive

 

[linuxboy]

Hi baff

What gives with some of you guys? You have soo freaking much, your plates are soo full, how can you be so bitter and so angry ?

Yeah, what is it with you intellectual-types? Always going around, posting here, thinking you know what's what. . HeHe

Well baff, I'm bitter because someone yoinked my plate. Where is that culprit? Now I have to sit here pouting because I have no plate. Then I realize that other people are willing to share food and you know, things ain't so bad after all.

In seriousness, however, I find your comments to be perplexing. On the one hand, this is not reality. On the other, it is since real people post real thoughts about their lives. Often, the demarcating line between what is in our real worlds, in our minds, and in the products of our minds and our creations becomes very blurred.

So I think I agree with you that in all times, not just now, people continually forget that they live in a society. I just read a quote the other day from something I wrote and it said "life is a group project, not a solitary endeavor". A real tension and struggle exists here. There is the need to go out and be by oneself and be free and the pull of society is very strong and we must cooperate and be altruistic to live together as people. Forgetting that one has ties to other people can lead to a forgetting that with ties come responsibilities, by virtue of the existence in a society. And so much time is wasted going around and focusing on trite, workaday problems such as appearance, race, personal preference, obsessive focus on sexuality, et cetera.

One lives in this quagmire and knows that more can be done. I think most realize exactly what they can do and the need to do it. Yet this realization does not result in action since things as they are are not very often as we desire them to be. Plus, you're bound to get people who think that living and existence can be shortened to a philosophy like objectivism and that ideas of giving are really useless since one should gratify ego desires and always be rational.

What am I saying?

I'm saying that you're right, and that people will read this and say "THAT'S IT. I WILL GO OUT AND DO STUFF. BAFFLED HAS CHANGED MY LIFE". After that, nothing or very little will be done. The more things change, the more they stay the same. It is saddeneing, but one does meet people along the way who are able to bring a smile, to inspire, to create hope that much good is in the world and to recognize the truth in that.

I suppose to answer your question of "what have I given lately", I must say, that as a young person, I think the saying "it is more noble to succeed at home first" really resonates with me and thus probably one of the most important things I have given was a smile that made my mom smile. Often, I lack the wisdom or knowledge to do much more than that. I think I fit into your category of "lots of people smarter and even more richer".

But the day has just begun.

Cheers !

 

[Ameesh]

<< Many here respresent the supposed very top echlons of what our socxiety has to offer in terms of their brightness and ability to move and change our world. >>



i think you give us too much credit.



<< posts expressing gratitude for what nature, your parents and the gods of good fortune have bestowed on many of you. >>



Ive told my parents how much i love and appreciate them in person, they have a hard enough time checking email let alone read a BB.



<< no,instead we have threads that go on for miles decrying the fact that under priveledged kids might get a free lunch, we have threads consigning abused foster kids to lives of being treated like footballs being punted everywhere cause heaven forbid we can't let Gay couples take them in.Then we get into the Oscar threads >>



i agree i have no idea what could make them soo bitter, i take it back i think it has something to do with the way they were raised.



<< I'm just a nobody, came from nothing, no fancy background, my IQ and my bankbook are probably laughable compared to many of you here, so you can sit there and laugh this rant off if you like but I would hope some of you would at least sit back for a minute and remember the quote "From those to whom much is given, much is expected." and ask yourselves, "what have I given lately ?" >>



Money isnt everything, I have come to respect your thoughts and i hope you dont get too fed up with us.

 

[Zenmervolt]

"From those to whom much is given, much is expected."

That's an interesting idea, vaguely socialistic (which sets off alarm bells in my head whether I want it to or not), but I tend conditionally to agree with it. To me, the first and foremost priority should be, as Ayn Rand says, "man's survival qua man". I am thoroughly unable to help another if I have not first helped myself. However, this does not mean that I should focus exclusively on myself, rather that I should tend to others once I have assured my own "safety" (for lack of a better term).

One of the things that I do not like about that phrase is the implied endorsement of laxness on the part of those to whom not much has been given. It seems to imply that those who have much are burdened, while those aho have little can simply sit around with their collective hand outstretched for alms. Now, I will bend over backwards (metaphorically, of course) to help someone who is working hard to better himself, but I will likewise bend over backwards NOT to help someone who sits around waiting for a handout.

I tend to believe that hard work, simple honesty, determination, and persistence are required from all people. I believe in helping anyone who shows such virtues in accordance with my ability to offer help without (or with minor) detrimental effect to my own position.

ZV

 

[ThaGrandCow]

<< Many here respresent the supposed very top echlons of what our socxiety has to offer in terms of their brightness and ability to move and change our world. >>

<stares at computer monitor>
<drools>
hey wait! I know that word!






actually... I gotta ask baffled... are your meds making you just a bit hallucinagenic?

 

[docmanhattan]

meh

I think you're letting a thread get to you too much. Race threads, like any other hot topic is going to bring strong opinions and some will be thoughtful and well articulated and others will be offensive and worthless. The trick is to ignore the trash and move on.

As far as posts expressing gratitude for what nature, your parents and the gods of good fortune have bestowed on many of you. being absent, I think everyone, yourself included, are guilty of that. In truth, though, that isn't the nature of an Off topic forum and I would think it's fair to say that most of us don't know eachother well enough to imply that there is a lack of gratitude.

 

[dirtboy]

<< Many here respresent the supposed very top echlons of what our socxiety has to offer in terms of their brightness and ability to move and change our world. >>



I think that is highly debatable.



<< A more stunning array of talents it would be hard to find anywhere else. >>



I do think you are giving out more credit than is due. If your agruements were true, than we would see a higher level of intelligent conversations and we certainly would have no need for mods.

 

[Geekbabe]

<< Hi baff

What gives with some of you guys? You have soo freaking much, your plates are soo full, how can you be so bitter and so angry ?

Yeah, what is it with you intellectual-types? Always going around, posting here, thinking you know what's what. . HeHe

Well baff, I'm bitter because someone yoinked my plate. Where is that culprit? Now I have to sit here pouting because I have no plate. Then I realize that other people are willing to share food and you know, things ain't so bad after all.

In seriousness, however, I find your comments to be perplexing. On the one hand, this is not reality. On the other, it is since real people post real thoughts about their lives. Often, the demarcating line between what is in our real worlds, in our minds, and in the products of our minds and our creations becomes very blurred.

So I think I agree with you that in all times, not just now, people continually forget that they live in a society. I just read a quote the other day from something I wrote and it said "life is a group project, not a solitary endeavor". A real tension and struggle exists here. There is the need to go out and be by oneself and be free and the pull of society is very strong and we must cooperate and be altruistic to live together as people. Forgetting that one has ties to other people can lead to a forgetting that with ties come responsibilities, by virtue of the existence in a society. And so much time is wasted going around and focusing on trite, workaday problems such as appearance, race, personal preference, obsessive focus on sexuality, et cetera.

One lives in this quagmire and knows that more can be done. I think most realize exactly what they can do and the need to do it. Yet this realization does not result in action since things as they are are not very often as we desire them to be. Plus, you're bound to get people who think that living and existence can be shortened to a philosophy like objectivism and that ideas of giving are really useless since one should gratify ego desires and always be rational.

What am I saying?

I'm saying that you're right, and that people will read this and say "THAT'S IT. I WILL GO OUT AND DO STUFF. BAFFLED HAS CHANGED MY LIFE". After that, nothing or very little will be done. The more things change, the more they stay the same. It is saddeneing, but one does meet people along the way who are able to bring a smile, to inspire, to create hope that much good is in the world and to recognize the truth in that.

I suppose to answer your question of "what have I given lately", I must say, that as a young person, I think the saying "it is more noble to succeed at home first" really resonates with me and thus probably one of the most important things I have given was a smile that made my mom smile. Often, I lack the wisdom or knowledge to do much more than that. I think I fit into your category of "lots of people smarter and even more richer".

But the day has just begun.

Cheers ! >>




This is getting scary, I actual read and understood what you were saying with only two read thru's

On a more serious note, my posting was more just the typed expression of the overwhelming thoughts that have been striking me as I glance thru some of the bigger threads around here lately.


As to your contributions, they are indeed many as you've provoked quite a bit of thought in me (no easy task ) and you enrich these boards with your contributions.


Btw, you've also made me smile, here have a popsicle

 

[Jfrag Teh Foul]

<< "it is more noble to succeed at home first" >>



Very wise statement. The core of society and its motivations gets its roots from the homefront and the values taught there.

 

[Geekbabe]

<<

<< Many here respresent the supposed very top echlons of what our socxiety has to offer in terms of their brightness and ability to move and change our world. >>

<stares at computer monitor>
<drools>
hey wait! I know that word!






actually... I gotta ask baffled... are your meds making you just a bit hallucinagenic? >>




no, but being laid up here has given me plenty of time to read the types of threads that I usually skip
over and some of the responses have made me glad that I have a bucket nearby to get sick into.

 

[Hammer]

I'm not bitter at all, I'm actually a very happy person.

I do like to argue and laugh at people though. Sorry.

EDIT: forgot the 'not' - why do I always do that?

 

[Geekbabe]

<< I'm bitter at all, I'm actually a very happy person.

I do like to argue and laugh at people though. Sorry. >>




well if the shoe isn't your size you needn't try it on eh ?

 

[Viper GTS]

I'm pretty sure all teenagers are bitter & angry, & a healthy percentage of the populace here is still in their teenage years.

Hope may not yet be lost, as age tends to force maturity on even the most rebellious teen.

Viper GTS

 

[Amused]

<< Those words come to mind whenever I stop to consider the membership of Anandtech.Never have I seen such a large group of relatively young, healthy,well educated people assembled in one place. Many here respresent the supposed very top echlons of what our socxiety has to offer in terms of their brightness and ability to move and change our world. A more stunning array of talents it would be hard to find anywhere else.

Given all of the above,one would expect the off topic section of Anandtech to be over run with posts expressing gratitude for what nature, your parents and the gods of good fortune have bestowed on many of you. One would also expect to see frequent brain storming threads on things that this community could do to make a diffeence, both locally and more globally
in the lives of others who have not been nearly as fortunate.

Do we see these posts ? seldom ! no,instead we have threads that go on for miles decrying the fact that under priveledged kids might get a free lunch, we have threads consigning abused foster kids to lives of being treated like footballs being punted everywhere cause heaven forbid we can't let Gay couples take them in.Then we get into the Oscar threads
and I am rendered speechless at some of the attitudes displayed regarding race. What gives with some of you guys? You have so freaking much, your plates are so full, how can you be so bitter and so angry ?


I'm just a nobody, came from nothing, no fancy background, my IQ and my bankbook are probably laughable compared to many of you here, so you can sit there and laugh this rant off if you like but I would hope some of you would at least sit back for a minute and remember the quote "From those to whom much is given, much is expected." and ask yourselves, "what have I given lately ?"


just my feverish two cents worth

Baff >>



Most of this is probably directed at me.

Baffled, I have never said we shouldn't be helping people. I have only said that I do not believe government should be doing it with our tax money. Doing so not only creates dependancy, it makes one person ENTITLED to the fruits of another's labor. I firmly believe the sense of entitlement in our society is destroying it.

I DO give to charities. I will not list what I have done here, but it's extensive by most standards and includes both time, and money. The causes I have given to mainly involve people with AIDS (less now than I used to as there just isn't that many requiring day to day care), the homeless, and safe houses for abused mothers and children.

BTW, my life was not the silver spoon existence you may think it was. I had to pull myself out of a teenage drug addiction and join the army to pay for school. My primary education was abysmal, and my status as a child was lower middle class.

Success has little to do with "good fortune" and everything to do with hard work, and self determination. If good fortune were the key, the lottery winners of the world would be running things. They aren't.

I understand your heart is in the right place. I do not fault you for that. However, socialism cannot be the answer if our society is to remain free.

For those who think people would starve without Welfare and government handouts: No one was starving to death in the US in the twenty five years before Johnson's creation of the Welfare state with his "Great Society" farce. What is even more telling is that his "Great Society" has not met a single one of it's original goals.

 

[linuxboy]

Btw, you've also made me smile, here have a popsicle

Madam, I would like to trade in your popsicle for one of those cookies that seem to be (in)famous 'round dese here parts.

Cheers !

 

[Cyberian]

Noblesse oblige, the motto of the National Honor Society.

 

[jonley]

<< Many here respresent the supposed very top echlons..... >>



Excuse me, but smoking which hallucinogen made you reach that conclusion?

Most of the people at AT are highschool/college kids who dont have social skills to make real friends.

If you want intelligent discussions, I suggest you look somewhere else......

 

[Azraele]

Baff, I don't think there's an easy answer to your questions. In fact, I honestly don't know why. What does motivate humankind to do good, to create? A leader? A spark of thought? A flash of inspiration? All I can guess is that the boards are kind of like chatter, where people blurt out the idle baubles of the mind, such as "I am hungy." They rarely stop to think or wonder, though I have seen a thread or two where someone will post a revelation or even a picture that they found impressive. This is closer to the soul of humanity. A thread with a picture link to a sunset, so beautiful it moves us all. More rarely still there will be real brainpower, threads on the universe, mind, time, dimension, or soul. Hard it is, though to keep these heated discussions from bursting into flames and digressing into mere arguments and name calling.

Why the anger, why the pettiness? Do we take what we have for granted? I think for most, the answer is yes.

 

[Geekbabe]

<<

<< Many here respresent the supposed very top echlons..... >>



Excuse me, but smoking which hallucinogen made you reach that conclusion?

Most of the people at AT are highschool/college kids who dont have social skills to make real friends.

If you want intelligent discussions, I suggest you look somewhere else...... >>




High school and college kids who have probably forgotten more about computing than most in this world will
ever know. This world is becoming increasingly eltronically driven, these young folks are the future.

 

[Jimbo]

<< Many here respresent the supposed very top echlons of what our socxiety has to offer in terms of their brightness and ability ... A more stunning array of talents it would be hard to find anywhere else. >>



baffled2 my dear, you are confusing intelligence with wisdom. Yes, most here are incredibly bright if you were to measure IQ scores. They are also, with some exceptions, a socially retarded crowd that has trouble getting a date on Friday night. That is why many are here. If they are the catalyst for social change and the saviors of Western Civilization, then GOD HELP US ALL!

 

[jonley]

<<
High school and college kids who have probably forgotten more about computing than most in this world will
ever know. This world is becoming increasingly eltronically driven, these young folks are the future. >>



Just knowing about computers means nothing, it is not a mark of intelligence or ability.
Most of the people who are going to make a difference in this world dont sit around BB arguing, these people are
going about MAKING a difference.

 

[Novgrod]

Luke 12:48: "To whom much is given, much will be required."

I've certainly been given much, and I'm giving a goodly amount. Every year i pay insane amounts of taxes. I'll end up in a job that will benefit society.

Here's a communist idea for you: take according to your needs, give according to your abilities. While I don't believe the former, I do the latter. My ablilities (and I probably speak for most of the people here) are intellectual, so I'll give something along those lines. Right now I'm finishing the definitive work on the origins of the war with Tripoli [protection of trade, in case anyone is interested]

Anyway, it's human nature to be dissatisfied, I think.

Or perhaps I'm totally wrong.

 

[nullshark]

<Many here respresent the supposed very top echlons of what our socxiety has to offer in terms of their brightness and ability to move and change our world.>

While I do believe that the people who congregate here are very bright, I've personally never seen a larger collection of socially-retarded, prejudicial, closed-minded people in my life




This is why I tend to only read the humurous threads in Off Topic. I save the heady, noble stuff for my real life compatriots who can interact, instead of just spewing their opinion all over my shoes.

 

[sandorski]

Zenmervolt: Novgrod beat me to it. If that's a socialist idea("to whom much is given, much is expected") then Jesus was a Socialist. This was said after Jesus and his disciples were watching people give their monetary offerings to the temple.

First, a rich man placed an impressive sum of money into the offering container(I think it was a box of some kind). Then a frail old woman placed a single coin into the offering container. Jesus then explained how the woman's meager offering was more substantial, because she had given from her poverty, while the large sum given by the rich man was insignificant, because it was but pocket change.

That said, it is really not too surprising that many Western Socialist leaders/founders were actually Christian Ministers and Clergy. If Jesus had chosen Anandtech OT for the platform of his ministry, even the most devout Christians who frequent this forum would be likely to dismiss him as a whacko Commie.