What? I don’t know when any of these were not perceived as skills. I’m not saying this to be elitist either; I’m fucking embarrassing at all three.
This post has a solid, positive message of “we should be wary of being too rigid in our assessments of human creativity” and “just let yourself have fun”, but it comes from a really weird assumption that humans haven’t been judging humans for these things for literally ever.
When did the “so now” part start, exactly? And how are we arbitrarily delineating “skills” and “behaviors”? Distance running is a quintessential human behavior, but it’s also a skill.
I think maybe they were thinking pre-modern history? But even now, people do dance and sing around campfires, and ‘arts and crafts’ exist which is a pretty low judgement activity.
I even tried to consider pre-history, and it’s always some level of unfounded or even contradictory. I won’t mince words: the post seems to just be making shit up based on some idealized version of the (naïvely homogenized) past, and I seriously doubt its author could produce any relevant, credible sources they’ve read that support this very niche talking point.
The other way around also has a false assumption in it. OK, maybe bees don’t have the concept if skill so much, but birds most certainly do judge singing/dancing skill (when selecting mates).
Yeah, wait, I completely overlooked that because I got so distracted by the human thing. Bird songs are among the most “the only reason this is done is so that it can be judged” things in nature, and it’s one of two things listed. The other one is something the bee needs to be good at and only exists for pragmatism. I cannot with this post.
Maybe before recording and communication technologies allowed us to see and hear the best stuff all the time? Or before American Idol hammered the point home?
I dunno, I think it’s pointing at something real, although it’s more a change in degree
What? I don’t know when any of these were not perceived as skills. I’m not saying this to be elitist either; I’m fucking embarrassing at all three.
This post has a solid, positive message of “we should be wary of being too rigid in our assessments of human creativity” and “just let yourself have fun”, but it comes from a really weird assumption that humans haven’t been judging humans for these things for literally ever.
When did the “so now” part start, exactly? And how are we arbitrarily delineating “skills” and “behaviors”? Distance running is a quintessential human behavior, but it’s also a skill.
I think maybe they were thinking pre-modern history? But even now, people do dance and sing around campfires, and ‘arts and crafts’ exist which is a pretty low judgement activity.
I even tried to consider pre-history, and it’s always some level of unfounded or even contradictory. I won’t mince words: the post seems to just be making shit up based on some idealized version of the (naïvely homogenized) past, and I seriously doubt its author could produce any relevant, credible sources they’ve read that support this very niche talking point.
The other way around also has a false assumption in it. OK, maybe bees don’t have the concept if skill so much, but birds most certainly do judge singing/dancing skill (when selecting mates).
Yeah, wait, I completely overlooked that because I got so distracted by the human thing. Bird songs are among the most “the only reason this is done is so that it can be judged” things in nature, and it’s one of two things listed. The other one is something the bee needs to be good at and only exists for pragmatism. I cannot with this post.
Maybe before recording and communication technologies allowed us to see and hear the best stuff all the time? Or before American Idol hammered the point home?
I dunno, I think it’s pointing at something real, although it’s more a change in degree