(In the interest of attempting to counterbalance the peer pressure here, I would like to officially solicit [perhaps privately, or perhaps ModusPonies may want to sent up an anonymous comment box], for people who attended the event who had criticisms or just were not quite as awed as the people who’ve commented so far)
This is not in any way intended to assume there was a problem worth examining. But one of the legitimate criticisms of ritual is that it creates something difficult to criticize, and I think all rationalist rituals should come built in with an appropriate time (a few days afterwards) to evaluate the event and try to counterbalance the social pressure to conform.
(In the interest of attempting to counterbalance the peer pressure here, I would like to officially solicit [perhaps privately, or perhaps ModusPonies may want to sent up an anonymous comment box], for people who attended the event who had criticisms or just were not quite as awed as the people who’ve commented so far)
This is not in any way intended to assume there was a problem worth examining. But one of the legitimate criticisms of ritual is that it creates something difficult to criticize, and I think all rationalist rituals should come built in with an appropriate time (a few days afterwards) to evaluate the event and try to counterbalance the social pressure to conform.
I agree completely. Everyone, feel free to leave me anonymous feedback.* Let me emphasize that, if anyone had a bad experience, I really want to know.
*This address is not just for Schelling Day. Anyone is welcome to give me any sort of feedback.
Positive:
I feel closer to the people who were there than I did before.
Some people said things that felt like missing puzzle pieces, explaining something about them that had always seemed strange to me.
Negative:
There were parts where I was bored.
People coming in in the middle, while someone was speaking especially, was disruptive.
The “eating the combined food” was a little awkward, as people had preferences and didn’t really like the combinations.
Overall I’m glad I went. The negatives were minor compared to the positives.