Reply To: My problem…is youtube

[DrBob]

Whats the point of starting a youtube…I cant right now anyway cause parents…I doubt I will be as good as the others and frankly most of the stuff…has been dunked and talked about already…what could I possibly add? It’s the same here..I dont really post or join forums much…because I dont…really…feel like I could add anything…im not special..im not that smart…

But you are you, and in some ways your experience and perspective is unique. In addition, your style and approach may do a better job of speaking to different audiences than “what’s already out there.”

I’m a professor at a major university, and when graduate students start their programs it can be daunting. There’s a lot of research and knowledge already out there, after all. What could they possibly add?

The answer is “Lots!” They are able to see things with “fresh eyes”, and bring new ideas while still learning. They all find new things to try, and new insights to share, and many launch whole new areas of research or development or instruction.

The way you do this is by being persistent, and by staying open minded and learning from the comments and contributions of others. Be willing to incorporate feedback, and modify your ideas or direction. Be willing to work hard, and revise, and revise some more. Don’t get discouraged by comments – people comment when you are saying something interesting. They ignore you when you’re boring or just being dumb. Comments are good things.

The commenter above makes a good point, and as a theist I think the value-laden notion of considering me a disease might not track. However, it might be interesting to model the propagation of ideas in the same way that epidemiologists model the propagation of diseases. You seem particularly interested in fundamentalism, as do many here. So an interesting question would be something like what’s the transmission rate for contacts with fundamentalism? How many exposures and of what intensity must happen before someone begins to embrace fundamentalist thinking? How deeply does that thinking go, and what causes it to progress? Are there ways of inoculating people so that they are less likely to adopt fundamentalist notions when exposed? Is the proper treatment really to argue with them, or something else?

Those may be productive ways of thinking about things, or they may lead you to yet another permutation that is even more sound. Persistence. Inquisitiveness. Open mindedness. Honesty with yourself. All great things.

Good fortune on your journey.