Exaggeration Is Our Biggest Problem

This morning I was sitting on my couch procrastinating about studying.

It was the sunniest morning I’ve ever seen, which made it literally impossible to study so I ended up procrastinating more than anyone has ever procrastinated before in the history of procrastination.

Did I mention that I have the most uncomfortable couch in the entire world?

Like most, the story of The Boy Who Cried Wolf was read to me as a child. This was probably done with the aim of molding me into a trustworthy and honest adult (they get points for trying).

It led me to believe in the importance of a person’s word, and to see how advantageous it is for others to be able to take said word at face-value.

Yeah I know… I’m ranting again.

But doesn’t it frustrate you when it has been exactly 2 hours since their last meal, yet your friends/children/goldfish say that they are “literally dying of hunger” ?

Perhaps the schism between the current ‘left’ and ‘right’ sides of the political spectrum is caused, at least in part, by the hyperbolic manner in which both sides attempt to communicate.

I certainly find it problematic that people are reaching the end of their descriptive ranges, seriously think about it for a second.

Most people have a scale from one extreme to another for any given topic, with which they judge and identify new experiences.

For example, if I were to meet a new person and wanted to say “Hey, that Rupert is a swell fella”, this would necessitate some subconscious process which associates Rupert with a point on the scale between Mahatma Gandhi and Adolf Hitler.

Thus one can see how it may be problematic if people begin to cry wolf and immediately label anyone they disagree with as Hitleresque (like burlesque but with more mustaches and less dancing).

It means that we’ve raised, or in some cases lowered, the bar to the end, the last damn notch. Consequently we’ve limited the scope of future understanding.

So fine, i’ll admit that exaggeration isn’t our biggest problem.

But maybe modern discourse, whether public, private, or online, would be more efficient and productive if people strove to express their arguments with less emotionality and more reality.