Trying to fully describe a person through characteristics reminds me of the old fable of six blind men trying to describe an elephant where each of them was touching a different part of its body - feet, tusks, trunk, sides, etc. You can only capture a certain degree of their essence.
And, to go further, how do we (or can we) describe the depth of each characteristic? These traits (tall, young, slow, aggressive, generous) are comparative terms. How talented someone is in a certain skill is only understood when we compare that person’s ability with others.
Hmmm.... I thought I was pretty much top-of-class as a guitar player. Until I heard young kids playing at levels undreamed of by myself back in those early days. So much for myself as "the sensitive musician playing at a higher level." Than WHO?
But in Western culture, there is always someone who is called the best, or the strongest, or praised as the "most" talented. Just a Western characteristic. Even Trump called himself something: "a stable genius." w.t.f???
Today's experts are always the best. Does not matter if your civilization is in decline. The more it fails the more the elites consider themselves infallible. Fortunately there are still places where one can hang out and read the words of critics. After all, that is part of the American "freedom" heritage. It is a heritage of "individual freedom," and if Jeff and Elon get theirs I want mine too. And I have got 200 years of law to call on to protect that.
Trying to fully describe a person through characteristics reminds me of the old fable of six blind men trying to describe an elephant where each of them was touching a different part of its body - feet, tusks, trunk, sides, etc. You can only capture a certain degree of their essence.
And, to go further, how do we (or can we) describe the depth of each characteristic? These traits (tall, young, slow, aggressive, generous) are comparative terms. How talented someone is in a certain skill is only understood when we compare that person’s ability with others.
Hmmm.... I thought I was pretty much top-of-class as a guitar player. Until I heard young kids playing at levels undreamed of by myself back in those early days. So much for myself as "the sensitive musician playing at a higher level." Than WHO?
But in Western culture, there is always someone who is called the best, or the strongest, or praised as the "most" talented. Just a Western characteristic. Even Trump called himself something: "a stable genius." w.t.f???
Today's experts are always the best. Does not matter if your civilization is in decline. The more it fails the more the elites consider themselves infallible. Fortunately there are still places where one can hang out and read the words of critics. After all, that is part of the American "freedom" heritage. It is a heritage of "individual freedom," and if Jeff and Elon get theirs I want mine too. And I have got 200 years of law to call on to protect that.