In which… “something, something, cultural relativism. But definitely only a weak version of it.”
A while ago I wanted to play trivia at home with friends. I had stumbled upon a British trivia show that inspired this notion. We played together (i.e. watched the show while guessing along). The problem: we didn’t know the British popular culture.
I then went on a hunt for equivalent shows that we Americans might be able to enjoy. Ultimately, I arrived at… Jeopardy.
That’s right: I hunted around through around a dozen shows and ended up at the quintessential American trivia show.
Why?
Is the format familiar to me?
Is it coherent within my culture?
Does it have form that fits my expectations, simply because I was raised on it?
For a while now, I have been of the opinion that most human preferences are not real but learned. Your influential parent enjoys eating spicy food → you learn to enjoy spicy food. A leader of your country speaks with a lisp → people are still speaking with a lisp centuries later.
It really removes many beliefs about the meaning of “good”, doesn’t it?
Still, some things are clearly worse than others.
I’m reminded of a friend who concluded (after much analysis) that “good” simply means safe and “bad” means dangerous. (Both in roundabout ways.)
How do you branch out? How do you discover other good things? And when is it okay to go back to what you grew up with?
Tonight, my partner and I made enchilada casserole. She grew up eating it with green sauce and was hesitant to make it red. We ended up making two: one red, one green. It was a fun game to compare: the safety of the known alongside the adventure of the new. The verdict? Red won.
It’s fun to play games where even if you lose you win.
I’ll take play for 300, please, Alex!
Julian Wise 