I'm Smarter Than You Because I Read

[blas87]

Or also known as...."You are what you watch" or "You're retarded because you watch X shows"

Honestly, I get really sick of certain people (this in real life, not anyone on here or CS.com) who say "I don't watch TV. I read." in this self righteous, I'm so smart tone of voice.

That's fine if you don't like TV. That's fine if you only watch it minimally. It's also fine if you prefer books. I just don't understand what compells people to act so snotty and better than others because the person they are talking to may watch South Park, Family Guy, reality tv, etc etc.....or read magazines like Cosmo or GQ (if you're a guy).........what is so wrong with that?

I have a coworker who rolled her eyes at me once when I was talking about what happened on last Sunday's Family Guy. She said "This is why I don't watch TV. It really hurts your brain."

I hate people who try to make me feel like a retarded bimbo because I read Cosomo and Glamour and sometimes like the trashy celeb magazines. Or because I watch a lot of adult cartoons. And some reality shows. It's what I do with my freetime before and after work until I find something else to do. It doesn't interfere with my job. So what the fuck is the problem?

[Amethyst Hunter]

I watch TV (albeit, not very much, and then only certain things) AND I read. So where's my red ribbon, already?

Eh, it's the same kind of one-upmanship you see whenever someone goes "I'm a VEGETARIAN!/CHRISTIAN!/COLLEGE GRADUATE!/etc." in That Tone (and we've all heard it before so we know what it sounds like). Goody. Now bugger off so I can go watch Aqua Teen Hunger Force and plop down with some nice trashy Cosmo mags.

[Boozy]

I know exactly what you mean, blas! There's something smug about the way some people say, "Oh, I never watch TV..." Like they just couldn't wait to throw it into conversation.

I read quite a bit; probably about three or four books a week. But I also like watching TV. I don't see how someone could say, "I don't watch TV, I read", as if every form of entertainment is all the same thing. Reading and watching TV stimulate completely different areas of the brain. Personally, I can't read to relax. Reading gets my mind going too much, so I read for mental stimulation. I watch TV to relax and turn my mind off. As a result, I don't read much pop fiction, but I love really dumb TV shows. If I'm in the right mood, Family Guy has me in stitches. And there are certain reality shows I enjoy too, like So You Think You Can Dance and Project Runway.

I don't feel stupid for enjoying those shows. It's all about being well-rounded. I know a woman who doesn't own a TV, and she thinks she's the smartest thing around. Yet she reads Harry Potter instead of Steinbeck, The Da Vinci Code instead of Joyce, and magazines like Cosmo instead of Time or Newsweek. I'm not saying that people should not enjoy those things, because I see no problem with it. But people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

[protege]

Former co-irker J was like that. He seriously thought he was smarter than everyone...including his boss. Needless to say, he wasn't very popular around the office, and couldn't understand why most people thought he was an asshole.

For one thing, he claimed to be the only "true" Pittsburgh Steelers fan in town. Why? He felt that unless you knew the stats on the entire NFL, not just the team, that you really didn't know what you were talking about. J also claimed that the announcers were "idiots" and that he could do a better job. WTF? If you can, why don't you? Oh, that's right...people can't stand you. Also, I might not know all the stats, but I *am* a fan of the team. Sorry, but I have better things to do with my time than watch football coverage 24/7.

Same guy claimed to have no knowledge of cars...yet insisted he was the best driver on the planet. My response? Until he could handle a five-speed, he had no right to criticize *anyone.* Didn't like that too much. He also didn't like the fact that a little ice and snow wasn't enough to delay me from getting to work on time. Me, with a car...meanwhile, he and his *Jeep* usually came in an hour late if it snowed, and he had a *much* shorter commute!

Can you tell I'm glad that I no longer work with him?

[blas87]

Thank you all for understanding! Although I don't read a lot of books, you and I sound a lot alike with our TV shows Boozy, lol.

And I feel the same way you do. I watch TV to unwind and relax my mind. Or to make myself feel better. I consider myself halfway intelligent, I don't see a problem watching Maury Povich or The Hills. It's not as if I live my life that way.

[ArcticChicken]

I read, I don't watch TV much. That's because most network TV doesn't interest me, and I don't have cable, so I can't watch the Sci-Fi channel, or BBC America, or HBO.

You watch reality TV, and read 'trashy' magazines, you know what that makes me think about you? That makes me think you're entertained by different things than I am.

[Finduilas]

I'm boring because I don't have a TV

I completely accept that different people are entertained by different things and can totally see where you are coming from, Blas. I would be aggravated by that if I were on your side.

However, I'm subject to the same "partisan" condescension. People will be discussing some TV show or another (usually Grey's Anatomy, for some reason it's ALL THE RAGE in my dorm, I've never watched it for the upcoming reason). They'll look at me expectantly, and I'll say, "Oh I don't have a TV in my room."

NO TV IN THE ROOM!!!!! HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLY ENTERTAIN YOURSELF WITH NO TV????

Thus: It's aggravating when people are judged by their choice of entertainment. They would (or should) never get away with judging someone by their hair color or something else of personal choice, why is this any different?

[AdminAssistant]

I hate the expectation that because I'm female, I should love sappy movies, sad movies, romantic comedies, Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives (and so on and so forth).

I hate chick flicks. Well, hate is a strong word - I just don't find them interesting. My movie collection is mostly action/adventure movies with a few comedies and dramas thrown in. I have a few TV shows I watch regularly, stuff like Mythbusters, Rachael Ray, and, my new favorite, Ace of Cakes. But the only thing I will rearrange my life for is NCIS.

And, to be honest, NCIS is a perfectly legitimate 'girly' show. I mean...Mark Harmon, Michael Weatherly, Sean Murray? mmmmm. David McCallum was quite the hunk back in the day, too. (Of course, the ladies on that show are nothing to sneeze at, either.) I'd much rather watch very sexy men run around chasing bad guys than more typically 'female' shows.

[Antipsych]

But people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

You may be right! 1,000 Drew Carey/Whose Line... points to the first person to get the reference. That's right, the points are like vocal chords on Britney Spears - totally useless!

Laughing at myself - for a spelling freak who hates psychiatry, I made quite a Fraudian slip there, huh?

[Devilboy]

But people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

You may be right! 1,000 Drew Carey/Whose Line... points to the first person to get the reference. That's right, the points are like vocal chords on Britney Spears - totally useless!

"Don't Ask Me Why", but "I Don't Want To Be Alone", "Sleeping With The Television On" when I could be reading a book instead.
"Sometimes A Fantasy" novel is enough to get me "Through The Long Night".
Though, watching a cinematic version of that book is a "Close To The Borderline" alternative to reading the actual novel sometimes.

[DGoddess]

I hate the expectation that because I'm female, I should love sappy movies, sad movies, romantic comedies, Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives (and so on and so forth).

I can't stand any of that stuff myself. Seeing women acting weepy and can't think for themselves, not my reality at all.

I hate chick flicks. Well, hate is a strong word - I just don't find them interesting. My movie collection is mostly action/adventure movies with a few comedies and dramas thrown in. I have a few TV shows I watch regularly, stuff like Mythbusters, Rachael Ray, and, my new favorite, Ace of Cakes. But the only thing I will rearrange my life for is NCIS.

And, to be honest, NCIS is a perfectly legitimate 'girly' show. I mean...Mark Harmon, Michael Weatherly, Sean Murray? mmmmm. David McCallum was quite the hunk back in the day, too. (Of course, the ladies on that show are nothing to sneeze at, either.) I'd much rather watch very sexy men run around chasing bad guys than more typically 'female' shows.

I used to watch NCIS (and yes, I've liked David McCallum for years . . . rawr )but I simply lost interest in the show after season 3. Couple that with the fact that Tuesday nights, I'm in bed by 8 because I'm up at 4 a.m. to be at work by 6 a.m., it just got harder and harder to keep up with the episodes. Now I just don't have the interest in it I once did.

I do good to watch Nancy Grace on CNN most evenings except Thursday, when "My Name is Earl" comes on and I simply stop what I'm doing to watch it.

It's not that I don't like tv . . . it's the fact that most of the shows on tv now simply don't appeal to me.

[Bloodsoul]

I've forgotten why I stopped watching most television that's not on the History Channel, Cartoon Network, or doesn't start with the word "Law" and ends with the word "Order". I'd like to get back into reading, too, still have a stack of unread books... but damned internet keeps drawing me back in.

[Slytovhand]

I'm smarter than all of you - cos I don't have a TV (and haven't for years) and the only regular reading I do is Fratching.com - the only place to get good information and unbiased opinions.....

(oh - and CS....for my entertainment......)






But back to the main topic - intelligence and knowledge are two seperate things. Reading educational books will increase your knowledge, not your intelligence. (presuming you actually understand what you're reading..)

[Antipsych]

"Don't Ask Me Why", but "I Don't Want To Be Alone", "Sleeping With The Television On" when I could be reading a book instead.
"Sometimes A Fantasy" novel is enough to get me "Through The Long Night".
Though, watching a cinematic version of that book is a "Close To The Borderline" alternative to reading the actual novel sometimes.

Fine. "You Were The One" who would have gotten the points, but now they're "All For Leyna."

[vanima]

The only thing i have to add to this is...

Sometimes the book readers really are smarter than the tv/movie watchers...

prime example... more than ONE person i have come across didn't know one or more of the following:
1) who shakespeare was (how the hell....)
2) didn't know LOTR was actually a BOOK... (ermm what??)
3) didn't know who huck fin was...
4) didn't know how to find a book in the library for a research paper... (no books.. nothing.. at all....*blink*)
5) didn't know "the diary of anne frank" was anything OTHER than a movie...
6) didn't know what the odessey was...


etc etc etc...

these are people i graduated with.. work with.. randomly meet in the library at school....