Active Thinking Topic 71 - Whatever Happened to Irony?
November 28 2023
Any replies to the organizer
- thormay@yahoo.com
Venue: Zoom online
Note: Irony, sarcasm, skepticism and cynicism are often confused. IRONY notes (often with humour) a gap between the expected and the reality (recognizing a problem is the first step to fixing it). SARCASM takes a stab (often painful) at insincerity or a weakness. SKEPTICISM doubts some claimed truth, hopefully for a good reason. CYNICISM celebrates insincerity. Oscar Wilde said that a cynic is a man who knows the price of everything but the value of nothing. Erdogan, Turkey's president, remarked that "democracy is like a tram. You take it to it's destination, then you get off." That's cynicism. HYPOCRISY, the cynic's best friend, is praising one thing but doing something else.
Talking Points:
1. There are people who find irony the spice of life (me) and people who really, really hate irony. Why do people like me (you?) find irony so delicious, and the haters find it so ___ [fill in the blank]?
2. Well, what is irony anyway? [The hair splitters divide irony into three different types ... Verbal, Situational, Dramatic] (Note that sarcasm is a special kind of weaponized irony used to injure the unwary. Most irony is harmless.]
3. Now what about sarcasm? Sigh. Can you handle it? According to the experts ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5aZPbxWH74 ) sarcasm is good for everybody's brain, including the cockroach whose head is being stood on. It makes everyone more creative (say the experts). However, to avoid World War III, it is best to keep your sarcasm for friends. They will alone appreciate your cleverness (say the experts). What if you don't have any friends left?
4. Most people in public life, especially politicians, find that any ironic comment is likely to bring a near death experience for their careers. Why do you think that this is the case? Is there a remedy?
5. The irony of giftedness is that the gifted may not be free to express their real selves in general company. Being too smart is not a great party trick. What is the best cultural solution this paradox? The tall poppy syndrome is well known in (but not unique to) Australian culture. Unless it is natural sporting prowess, the most talented individuals tend to find themselves on a lonely peak with few friends, and a host of ordinary plodders waiting to tear them down.
6. Is this irony or tragedy? .... after years or decades ticking boxes, getting qualifications to use a keyboard or sit in airline business class instead of cattle class, being too clueless for the A-party list, one day you turn 50 (or 35 in China). It's time to move on/out they say. You are over the hill. You have a duty to ride into the sunset or become a pedestrian crossing attendant in a yellow vest.
7. The Law of Unintended Consequences often brings a rich yield of irony ( .. the road to hell is paved with good intentions; or an evil genius accidentally saves the world etc). Think of some examples, both personal and national and in literature.
8. Failure often brings great rewards, ironically. It may save you from a bad career or marriage. It may save a company from wasted investment. ... and so on. What are real examples of this principle, and it's opposite, where success becomes a curse?
9. Humans seem to be the peak animals on this planet, gifted in so many ways, and able to subdue most natural predators. Isn't it bitterly ironic that humans are the worst enemies of humans, regularly destroying each other's aspirations and achievements, and culminating in endless wars. What is behind this fatal flaw?
10. 'The curse of oil' is an ironic label applied to those countries blessed with easy local access to the lifeblood of the industrial age. The wealth generated has often magnified the worst features of such cultures. This 'curse' could be applied to natural resource regions in general. Look, for example, at Saudi Arabia, or Russia, or Iran. The most naturally blessed of all continents, North America, is riven with dissent and gun culture. By contrast, Japan and South Korea with few natural resources but great internal discipline, have become amongst the world's wealthiest countries. What do such contradictions say about what it takes to drive success ... whatever success is?
Extra Reading & Viewing
Lillie Marshall (Oct 15, 2022) "3 Types of Irony, Illustrated and Explained. @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZ8FeXIrEw4
Wray Herbert (October 1, 2008) "Are We Hardwired with a Sense of Irony? Language has many layers of meaning. When and how do we grasp them?" Scientific American @ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/are-we-hardwired-with-a-sense/
Seeker 2015) "Are Sarcastic People Smarter?" @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5aZPbxWH74
"You're Nothin' But a Nothin'.You're Not a Thing at All" (1934) Recorded by Raymond Paige and His Orchestra. Sung by Billy Sheets From the Walt Disney picture "The Flying Mouse" @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Xk_nxAHUTs [Comment, Thor: As a kid, this was a little rhyme my mother said sometimes : I was never sure if she was playing it straight or trying for irony (but irony wasn't her strong suite). Anyway it stuck, and recently for the first time I stumbled on it's source ]
David Foster Wallace (Oct 7, 2016) "The Problem with Irony" @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2doZROwdte4 [TM: This has some useful comments]
Kerri Sackville (24 November 2023) "People think they’re smarter than they are. Apparently, I’m one of them" The Age @ https://www.theage.com.au/lifestyle/life-and-relationships/people-think-they-re-smarter-than-they-are-apparently-i-m-one-of-them-20231122-p5elyj.html . [Thor, comment: The best bits of this wry article are in the comments. Most memorable: 1. bob - whats blockchain ? => Mac_the_Dog - It’s a solution to a problem no one’s got; 2. Musing Outloud - My favourite meme is someone calling social media the Dunning Kruger National Park [ref. Dunning Kruger Effect: Dumb people overestimate their competence, so other people think they are competent; bright people often underestimated their competence - they know what they don't know - so others think they are incompetent ]; 3. Mac_the_Dog - I am quite worried about my decline. As a teenager I knew everything, now what I don't know seems vast. Fortunately, I have two teenage kids, who know everything, who I can lean upon; 4. Sigh... Many people refuse to believe that 50% of the population are of below average intelligence [if IQ scores are your thing]. 5. Bostock - Intelligence is relative to the company we keep
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Whatever Happened to Irony? (c) Thor May 2023