/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.11671072]

I don’t think it’s that self-serving to say /lit/ is, by far, the most intelligent board on 4chan (which on an image board isn’t saying much) but really there’s no competition...

But why don’t you take the next step and stop frequenting 4chan? I did about 4 years ago and never looked back. The medium is the message and 4chan, as a medium, has this insidious way of affecting thought with its very particular subculture (as well as degrading attention). I only came to realize this when I largely disconnected from internet culture and went on a reading purge. Also, there are many other places to have in depth conversations about literature and philosophy, it turns out.

[Anonymous No.11671084]

I only say this because I think many posters here are wasting their potential. If you’re having in depth conversations about Wittgenstein, image boards are a waste of your time.

[Anonymous No.11671088]

>>11671084
What are some other places?

[Anonymous No.11671104]

>>11671088
I'm interested too

>>11671084
I wish people having in depth conversations about Wittgenstein were killed on sight
Wittgenstein > 4chan & memes > philosophy > literature

[Anonymous No.11671107]

>>11671104
holy shit I fucked up with the signs.

[Anonymous No.11671109]

>>11671088

It depends on your interest but the subreddits historyofideas, academicphilosophy, criticaltheory, are really good and full of grad students and stuff

But I realize people here might have a prejudice against reddit

[Anonymous No.11671121]

Other investigations of the phenomenon, such as "Why People Fail to Recognize Their Own Incompetence" (2003), indicate that much incorrect self-assessment of competence derives from the person's ignorance of a given activity's standards of performance.[4] Dunning and Kruger's research also indicates that training in a task, such as solving a logic puzzle, increases people's ability to accurately evaluate how good they are at it.[5]

[Anonymous No.11671128]

>>11671072
4chan gets shit on a lot but honestly I have learned a lot on this site, particularly /lit/. Its an easy place to find quick debates (maybe Discord is taking over right now but its way more of a cesspool than 4chan). Beyond debates you can learn new things and be exposed to new ideas every day, its not that bad honestly

[Anonymous No.11671135]

>>11671109
>hey guys stop wasting your time on 4chan go to reddit instead!

saged and hidden

[Anonymous No.11671139]

>>11671107
>>11671104
>holy shit I fucked up with the signs.
yikes..what would wittgenstein say about that

[Anonymous No.11671152]

the philosopher Confucius (551–479 BC), who said, "Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance"[4]
the philosopher Socrates (470–399 BC), who interpreted a prophecy from the Delphic oracle that he was wise despite feeling that he did not fully understand anything, as the wisdom of being aware that he knew nothing
the playwright William Shakespeare (1564–1616), who said, "The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool" (As You Like It, V. i.)[21]
the poet Alexander Pope (1688–1744), who wrote in An Essay on Criticism, 1709: "A little learning is a dangerous thing"
the novelist Henry Fielding (1707–1754), who, in the novel The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, wrote: "For men of true learning, and almost universal knowledge, always compassionate [pity] the ignorance of others; but fellows who excel in some little, low, contemptible art, are always certain to despise those who are unacquainted with that art."
the naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882), who said, "Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge"[1]
the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900), who wrote in Human, All Too Human (aphorism 483), "The Enemies of Truth. — Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies."[22]
the poet W. B. Yeats (1865–1939), who, in the poem The Second Coming, said: "The best lack all conviction, while the worst / Are full of passionate intensity."[11]
the philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell (1872–1970), who said, "One of the painful things about our time is that those who feel certainty are stupid, and those with any imagination and understanding are filled with doubt and indecision."[11]

[Anonymous No.11671162]

>>11671135

Reddit culture, in general, is shit but if you just subscribe to those particular subs and don’t clog your newsfeed with stupid shit, they can be super useful if you have a question about a reading or something. No need to be reactionary

[Anonymous No.11671163]

>>11671152
>>11671121
that's 4chan for you, a bunch of idiots trying to be edgy

[Anonymous No.11671166]

[Anonymous No.11671170]

>>11671109
I don't dislike the site as a whole but the format of posts and the general manner in which they talk to eachother over there is disgusting to me. 4chan is not exactly Plato's Academy but the level of unrestricted dialogue and anonymity is unparalleled in history and allows for some of the most honest and insightful discussions I've gotten to be a part of in my young life, discussions that I never in a million years would have gotten to have in person with someone I know. It's obviously not always good here, but I really think 4chan is such a special place. people throughout history must've been dying for something like this to come along.

I agree that you should take breaks from it now and again though. It definitely has a subtle poisoning effect on the way you think and this becomes apparent when you ditch the site for an extended period and then come back.

[Anonymous No.11671193]

>>11671152

[Anonymous No.11671207]

>>11671170
>a subtle poisoning effect
>subtle
kek

[Anonymous No.11671215]

Yeah but I like having a place where I can make crude jokes about philosophers and poets, and have them understood without people getting butthurt. Obviously there exist places where you can have more serious discussion than /lit/, but none where you can have a giggle comparing German idealists to anime girls

[Anonymous No.11671221]

>>11671072
With brainlets from /pol/ infesting every board now, the difference between "board intelligence" is minimal.

>I did about 4 years ago and never looked back.
Yeah, anon, I stopped smoking a while ago too. Celebrated it with a cig a day.

>But why don’t you take the next step and stop frequenting 4chan?
Because my standards aren't too high. I can't be assed to keep up with e-people on Skype or whatever the kids use these days, so when I feel like discussing anything or just free my mind with shitposting, 4chains isn't too bad. At times someone makes me chuckle and at times some faggot anon even reminds me of how silly I am. It's a nice thing in moderation.

[Anonymous No.11671232]

>>11671170

The way people communicate on the subs I mentioned seems fine to me (but that’s my opinion), I also don’t like the format and tedious rules of a lot subs but sometimes it helps quality control. In general, smaller subs seem better.

Anonymity is an interesting thing but I have to wonder what positive it brings about in conversation? Generally I’ve been under the impression that it allows for people to express taboo or socially unacceptable views or speech which often seem to revolve around racism or calling someone a faggot. I realize not all socially unacceptable ideas a bad but the ones people can’t say under a name, more or less tend to be.

[Anonymous No.11671251]

>>11671232
Jesus Christ why the fuck are you posting here you absolute deluded reddit fag? Fuck back off to reddit

[Anonymous No.11671273]

>>11671232
>it allows for people to express taboo or socially unacceptable views or speech which often seem to revolve around racism or calling someone a faggot.
That's how kids use it.

Anonymity allows a much more honest and open discussion, since it moves the focus to the thing being discussed instead of who brought it up. It also helps people to ask "dumb" questions.

[Anonymous No.11671278]

>>11671232
>Generally I’ve been under the impression that it allows for people to express taboo or socially unacceptable views or speech which often seem to revolve around racism or calling someone a faggot. I realize not all socially unacceptable ideas a bad but the ones people can’t say under a name, more or less tend to be.

You're right, this place is too toxic. You definitely belong somewhere else.

[Anonymous No.11671300]

>>11671221
>The founders of the paramilitary groups were nationalist intellectuals, former army officers and young landowners opposing peasants' and country labourers' unions. Their methods became harsher as Mussolini's power grew, and they used violence and intimidation against Mussolini's opponents.[1]
>>11671221

[Anonymous No.11671302]

>>11671273

Ahh, that makes sense. It takes the ego out of it (to a degree)

[Anonymous No.11671308]

>>11671152
all morons

[Anonymous No.11671309]

>>11671072
I only poke around occasionally. But honestly if you want to improve your life you'd want to eliminate using the internet altogether, and it's very difficult to do that (at least with where my life is at).

[Anonymous No.11671314]

>>11671232
>Anonymity is an interesting thing but I have to wonder what positive it brings about in conversation?
Nothing in conversation but privacy would be nice.

[Anonymous No.11671315]

>>11671251
I've literally been on 4chan/reddit since before the two cultures decided they hate each other.

It's really just not that different. People here just hate reddit because they get to see what normies think of their opinions.

[Anonymous No.11671317]

>>11671300
>nationalist intellectuals
God, I love oxymorons.

[Anonymous No.11671318]

>>11671317
>Mexican intellectuals

[Anonymous No.11671323]

>>11671309

You don’t have to give up the internet all together but give up the sites, apps, etc. that are addictive (often ones with newsfeeds, discussions, alerts, etc) and not improving the quality of your life, in general.

I “gave up” the internet for a while but I’d still google things if I came across something I needed more information on which was fine because I’m not addicted to googling things.

You just gotta be honest with the aspects of the internet that aren’t helping you and use it to supplement things you’re doing IRL

[Anonymous No.11671330]

This is the only site without a point system or usernames.

Point systems are absolute cancer and infect every aspect of the dialogue. If you say something unpopular you just get downvoted instead of replied to. People adapt to this by either virtue signalling to gain imaginary internet points, beat around the bush when and reply in vague ways when they disagree or just shut up because they know they will get downvoted. Usernames also suck because then people have this identity they think they have to maintain, and people try to build up this image of the 2intellectual4u forum poster who has been there since 2007 and has 20k "reasonable" long posts. Both things lead to smug and disgusting, dishonest dialogue that cripples any debate.

Here, your posts are just texts on a screen. You can't downvote or remove it, if you think the dude is an idiot you have to actually say why. Posts that are wrong actually get more attention here, while on reddit and other forums they get hidden away. Imageboards are no less "intelligent" than reddit, the only difference is that on reddit people try harder to impress you for points.

[Anonymous No.11671332]

>>11671308
based vizzini

[Anonymous No.11671349]

>>11671315

Yeah, it’s just “muh nerdy internet club is better than yours” which makes people temporarily feel better about themselves, I guess

The popular parts of Reddit seem a lot more normie and moderated and generally “left wing” (in the mainstream Hillary Clinton sense) and “friendly” which if you’re coming from here probably seems like Disney World, so I get why an average would scoff at it. Doesn’t mean their isn’t hidden gem subs tho

[Anonymous No.11671373]

>>11671330
While I generally agree with your side, people focusing more on dumb posts than having an actually discussion is an issue stemming from it.

[Anonymous No.11671386]

>>11671072
internet is the medium, not 4chan. retard

[Anonymous No.11671399]

>>11671193
This was made to troll pol

[Anonymous No.11671408]

>>11671193
>tfw [s4s] is so smart it's basically off the charts

[Anonymous No.11671426]

/sci/ is smarter than us, frankly

/lit/ is a hive for posturing art bros, transients from /mu/, and 110 IQ community college students who've read some good wikipedia articles

On /sci/ there is no way to feign knowledge you don't have. A wikipedia summary won't cut it

[Anonymous No.11671438]

>>11671426
But its knowledge thats barely worth having, especially when it comes to the mathfags over there.

[Anonymous No.11671444]

>>11671426
>/sci/ is smarter than us
I wish I could agree, but no. /sci/ in its current state is probably dumber than /r9k/

[Anonymous No.11671445]

>>11671426
Sure but "knowledge in one limited topic" doesn't mean smart.

[Anonymous No.11671449]

>>11671232
>Generally I’ve been under the impression that it allows for people to express taboo or socially unacceptable views or speech which often seem to revolve around racism or calling someone a faggot.
I can't openly discuss suicide with my peers without someone smashing the big red button on me and worrying about my mental health, for example. But here no one has any obligation to eachother, you can just talk about what goes on in the most pathetic depths of your mind,and then when the conversation is over you don't have to worry about the people you spoke with anymore. You won't have to worry about posting in another thread somewhere down the line and someone recognizing your username and going "so how are you nowadays xxusernamexx?" It's the perfect place for recluses to get the level of social interaction that would normally only take place between people who had been friends for years, but without the drudgery of maintaining a relationship for that long. Whether that's healthy or not I can't say, but it's unique reason enough for people to browse this board for years of their lives.

[Anonymous No.11671454]

>>11671330
(you)'s are the point system now

[Anonymous No.11671460]

>>11671454
Upvoted.

[Anonymous No.11671472]

What are you so fucking afraid of, OP?

If it's a waste of time, sure, but if you've got plenty and a point to make I can't think of a better place

Also;
>affecting

[Anonymous No.11671493]

>>11671426
I would agree with you if /sci/ actually had a lot of knowledgeable people on its board.

[Anonymous No.11671596]

i personally enjoy being able to say dumb shit like "i'm going to kill myself today" and use the word "tranny" occasionally without getting a full doxx and blacklisted from everywhere humanly possible and police called on me for "being a threat". otherwise i would probably be somewhere else lmao

[Anonymous No.11671629]

>>11671596
this

I have no idea how to get my Zoloft which is literally the only drug I really need. But yeah hyperbole is nice.

[sauce(dead)pan No.11671643]

>>11671072
Intelligence and communication are dependencies. You can't postulate that a person who reads and a person who communicates effectively are both intelligent; by that same token you would be a fool to assume that a well-read and poorly spoken man is intelligent.

[Anonymous No.11671648]

>>11671596
Also a good point, they do dox you now though

Even being so much more terrible than it used to be, it's the most free place online

[Anonymous No.11671674]

Admin tyranny, plebs and identities make most other forums prone to current year oedipal behavior. Here no one knows I'm a dog.

[Anonymous No.11671702]

>>11671193
i have unironically seen some mysteriously wise posts on /x/ that made more sense than my 4yr experience on this board

[Anonymous No.11671743]

>>11671072
Alright, I'm going to leave 4chan for a year.
Starting... now.

[Anonymous No.11671780]

I love 4chan, but the insecurity grates on me. I guess it does on any board. In 2012 on mu I began thinking everyone there were insincere, self-conscious dorks. This year it happened on lit, too. Most threads and posts just tell me that anon is confused and prone to self-sabotage and pity. I love the good threads, but I can't partake in these boards the same way I used to.

[Anonymous No.11671809]

>>11671780
Start/keep contributing sincerely to threads. I know it's largely futile when the only people who acknowledge you are going to meme arrow or call you a boomer or something, but it beats the complete vapid cynicism of "ironic" shitposting and every once in a while you get someone who responds with a legitimate point or question. 4chan is only as good as the posts made, if we want to make it better we have to contribute.

[Anonymous No.11671819]

>>11671809
>unironically calling for 4chan revolution
this shit cracks me up

[Anonymous No.11671820]

>>11671596
>"haha sure would suck to be a domesticated lab rat who is constantly monitored and potentially doxxed for thinking hate thoughts:
>*completes google captcha*

[Anonymous No.11671822]

>>11671809
Definitely true, and I do that. But regardless, I do that because I cannot interact with this board in the same way I used to. Hopefully people here will be alienated by the board culture one day, and react with desires to change and "uplift" it.