Re: [Pan-users] Re: Advice on other lists

[Ron Johnson]

On 2009-08-26 08:39, Steven D'Aprano wrote:
> On Wed, 26 Aug 2009 06:18:53 pm Ron Johnson wrote:
>
> > > All of this is about convenience.  I have over 4,000 CDs.  A
> > > high-storage player matters a lot to me, too, for the reason above:
> > > the higher the capacity, the more likely I am to have with me what
> > > I want when I want it.  Of *course* that's simply convenience, and
> > > of course I could get by without it.  But if I don't have to forego
> > > that convenience, why in the world should I want to?
> > Doing without exactly what you want, exactly when you want it, is
> > *not* the end of the world...
> >
> > http://www.ted.com/talks/joachim_de_posada_says_don_t_eat_the_marshma
> > llow_yet.html
>
> Delayed gratification is irrelevant to the issue being discussed. Nobody 
> is suggesting that Chris would have better CDs and more of them if he 
> waits to get home and listen to music.

But he could have spent his money on an MP3 player which, in order 
to keep costs reasonable, trades high capacity for higher quality sound.

If such a beast even exists...

[snip]
> you miss out. While de Posada is saying "Don't eat the marshmallow 
> yet", and telling us to work for the future, others remind us of the 
> importance of living in the now: eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow 
> we die, and don't forget to stop and smell the flowers.

<flame>
That's the difference between the Puritans who worked hard and 
became rich, and the ex-hippies who have presided over the 
destruction of the country?
</flame>

> I'm not being critical of de Posada's talk or his general idea, but I am 
> questioning that it's the slightest relevant to the question of iPods 
> with a million CD's worth of songs on them.

It's not a perfect analogy, but what is?

--
Obsession with "preserving cultural heritage" is a racist impediment
to moral, physical and intellectual progress.