ThomasM
[PuristS]
14331
Healthy skepticism is a good thing, but is it possible to take it too far?
Hi,
When does skepticism become cynicism?
Is there an important distinction, relevant for hobbyists and aficionados?
I am seeing more and more a tendency, even propensity, for certain individuals to play the cynicism card quickly and frequently. And it seems this number is growing.
And in many cases, with dubious justification (or no justification at all)
I'm curious to read the thoughts of the general community on this.
Do you see this as a growing trend?
Is it an issue? Is there substance behind the trend?
And are the reasons new, or just seemingly so because of all the newbies who forget that the single most indisputable success of the Swiss High Horology hegemony over the past 100 years is their success at marketing?
Thanks,
TM
Healthy skepticism is a good thing, but is it possible to take it too far?
Hi, When does skepticism become cynicism? Is there an important distinction, relevant for hobbyists and aficionados? I am seeing more and more a tendency, even propensity, for certain individuals to play the cynicism card quickly and frequently. And it se...
Thoughts...
Hi Thomas, Skepticism and cynicism are very different, at least to my mind. I am very skeptical about many of the claims about the supposedly performance-enhancing complications as there are virtually never hard figures to back them up, and this leads me ...
It is possible to be a part-time cynic.
In my view, the watch industry has to a large extent bifurcated itself. While all watch companies rely on both "quality" and "marketing" to make their products desirable, most companies have made decisions to be either primarily quality-driven or primaril...
excellent comments and defining of the framework, thanks!
Hi, MKVC, Well made points, and I agree with the ideas! Regarding your last point about community commentary - I touched on this once or twice before, recently; in one case, it quickly went astray and really drew out lots of projections and unexplicated a...
Sometimes a difficult distinction to make in my head
I am, somewhat by nature, a skeptical person. I have become quite skeptical of anything that appears in company press releases, not because I think that they are lying to us, but because what I think of as "reality" somewhat conflicts with PR. PR is, in s...
Interesting point..
Though, I do think using the word "newbies" is a little dismissive. Personally, I find it amusing that so many of the manufacturer's claims go unchallenged. Spurious history, banal processes and materials renamed to glamourise them, unfalsifiable claims.....
"newbies" not meant to be dismissive...
Hi, I did not intend to use "newbies" in a pejorative or dismissive sense, any more than I am a "newbie" myself because I don't understand the depth of feeling held by Chinese abused by Japanese, or WWII Jews by Germans. (strong metaphors used intentional...
Very interesting question, Thomas! It hits the mark.
First, the main difference between skepticism and cynicism: skepticism is always justified, cynicism only in certain cases. So ideally, skepticism should be an attitude and cynicism a conclusion. Alas, were it always so! It's interesting to see from your ...
the mechanical wristwatch has become a disposable commodity
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$500 tourl.....
No I can't spell. lol. I've seen the same add advertising a $500 tourliben in Newsweek, yes I'ma news junkie. Let's think about this and analize what we are seeing. Possibility one. The ad is telling the truth and they aren't trying to rip you off. Seiko ...
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