On Jan 4, 2007, at 3:20 PM, Wojtek Sokolowski wrote:
> I have little sympathy for megastores of any kind too, but his larger
> point still stands. He argues that easy access to what one wants
> seem to
> inhibit the exposure to things that one does not even know exist.
> And that
> seems to make a lot sense. Solipsism - that of the i-pod
> generation and in
> general - seems to be nothing more than escapism from the real
> world whose
> understanding often poses a difficult intellectual task into the
> fast food
> for thought, ready-made illusions manufactured by the pop culture
> industry
> or one's own imagination.
How do you know that's what's going on? Do you have any actual experience of the world you're condemning, or are just talking off the top of your head? I keep finding all kinds of music I never knew before. My iPod is full of old, familiar stuff and stuff I've only recently discovered. Electronic distribution actually seems to result in more marginal material being distributed, not less. Most brick & mortar stores have only very limited inventory; the electronic inventory is theoretically limitless. And the experience of Netflix shows that many more niche movies are being rented than were from Blockbuster.
Doug