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Originally posted by LesMisanthrope
reply to post by soficrow
It is my hope that out of such mediocrity, quality will once again become realized as more important and valuable than quantity. I look to the Renaissance and the Enlightenment as examples of higher tastes in art, spirituality, knowledge etc. growing out of the stagnation of the ages that proceeded them.
Let's hope this is true.
I am tempted to agree - but more inclined to play Devil's Advocate, and draw your attention to the more simple, elegant solutions. Besides scientists aspiring to simple elegance, many artists and art forms do as well (like Hemingway, Haiku and the post-moderns). Where might such efforts fit in your hopes?
Originally posted by LesMisanthrope
reply to post by soficrow
Simplicity, when designed, is a sign of intelligence. Simplicity without design always seems arbitrary. In the hands of the masses, simplicity, like in the case of 90% of twitter posts, doesn't yield elegance, but merely a lack of substance. In the hands of an artist, simplicity is designed with elegance and substance in mind.
You must speak to each man and woman on their level, and at best all at once. That means layering your speech patterns towards the whole crowd. This is where the artists shine in the new medium's of information/idea exchange via social networks such as twitter, FB, and G+.
It's actually a ton of work to do it just right. You have to create impressions which integrate as you go. So what I'll say is there's a difference between genuinely "dumbing down", and reaching a wide audience. From actually being dumb, and playing dumb. The individual who can speak the truth while seeming like an idiot to the "educated" is actually brilliant, in my assessment. He knows his audience, and plays the role well.
So maybe you are playing your role, and it's up to others to "dumb it down"/spread it to a wider audience.
Maybe this is happening, and you're simply unaware of it.