Pacal_II Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Edit: I know "weird" is a subjective sense and I'm not really able to give a clear definiton of what I mean by it. That's why I gave many examples bellow, of stuff I'd consider weird so that people could get the feeling of what I mean. I've been wondering recently about why some people, me included, like weird stuff. Let me elaborate on what I actually mean by weird stuff. In my case this relates mainly to the types of books, games paintings, films etc I like. I mean weird in both the visual/aesthetic sense and also in the sense of story/narration. Stuff people call mind-screwy or trippy. I'll give examples of what I mean by just mentioning works in different forms of media, so most will probably recognize something among those and get a better understanding of what I'm talking about. Films: Works by Terry Guilliam, Guillermo del Toro, Alejandro Jodorovsky, also films like Pi, Space Odyssey or Memento. Books: Fantasy books, but not ones with the Tolkien-esque settings and archetypes. Most known examples, books by China Mieville and Neil Gaiman. Books by Bruno Schulz, Franz Kafka, Jacek Dukaj, also Master and Margarita, The Magus, The Brothers Karamazov. Cartoons: When I was younger obviously: Billy and Mandy, I am Weasel, Cow and Chicken, Samurai Jack Games: Planescape: Torment, Zeno Clash, Sacrifice, Morrowind, Oddworld series Art: I'm not much into art, but I really love the works of Hieronymus Bosch. Anime: Spirited Away, Nausicaa, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Ergo Proxy, Serial Experiments Lain, Tatami Galaxy Comic books: Sandman, The Maxx Ok, I'm pretty sure that anyone who reads this will recognize at least some of the stuff and get an idea of what I mean by “weird”. Of course lots of people have similar tastes, but on the other hand lots of people don't. Often people will call stuff like this stupid, pretentious, or just won't have an opinion at all. People also will get disappointed by obscure and what I call mind-screwy endings of books/films/games etc. I on the other hand love that feeling, when I really don't exactly know what I've seen and I have to take a longer time to think about it, create my own interpretation or read what others have figured out. I might add that this doesn't really go into other realms of my life. What I mean by this is, that I don't wear odd clothes, I don't eat weird/exotic food, tattoo my body or anything like that. I am considered as a weird person, but that's more related to my interests or just my sense of humor and the way I talk. I might come up to a friend and tell him something like: “I heard you weren't a grasshopper until you were born at the age of minus seven” or “Did you hear that if a child doesn't learn to sit before it turns four, it won't be able to learn how to sit at all?”. Just random stuff like that. So, summing up. Why do some people like weird stuff like this? Could this be considered as something unhealthy or negative trait? Is it the effect of our environment or rather something that is encoded into our nature (pretty sure, that's no it though). Is this somehow related to childhood? Or is it just an effect of some other, seemingly un-related brain function or trait. Just why do some people like weird stuff, and why some do not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsayers Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 I don't understand the question. "Weird" is subjective. So anything can be described as weird. Therefore the question feels like, "Why do people like anything?" Why do some people like weird stuff like this? Could this be considered as something unhealthy or negative trait? Is it the effect of our environment or rather something that is encoded into our nature (pretty sure, that's no it though). Is this somehow related to childhood? Or is it just an effect of some other, seemingly un-related brain function or trait. Just why do some people like weird stuff, and why some do not? I think one useful classification would be dysfunctional. Since I've begun to work on self-knowledge and developing empathy, I've noticed that my tolerance for things like violence, nationalism, religion, etc has gone way down. Contrast this to my abusive father, who even by my step-mom's description has "gotten worse recently." He spends ALL his free time watching things like UFC, gory movies, war documentaries, and reading similar, human-conflict-esque material that isn't examining the conflict as fundamentally problematic. I think if somebody has a propensity for dysfunctional material, it would almost have to be a result of unresolved trauma, likely from childhood. I remember when I first noticed the shift in my tastes. A large portion of my pastimes were suddenly uninteresting. It felt like a curse at first. However now, I spend most of that time doing things that are more productive and responsible and it's been a wonderful, welcome transition. Hope that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pepin Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 It reflects an aspect of the psychology and/or neural wiring of the person. Though I think that may be obvious or too general, it is the best I can do. I think much of it is unrelated to good or bad, though I likely consider a lot more to be weird than the average person does, but it can certainly be bad in certain circumstances. A simple example would be a girl who exposes herself in public as an adult because in childhood she was forced to strip down in some sort of messed up situation. An example where it is neither bad or good is ASMR which is a sensation people feel in response to certain kinds of sounds, like whispering and tapping. There are hour long videos on youtube of a person tapping on various items, and there are many people that watch this stuff everyday. A somewhat obvious connection is one to projection and to a preference for fiction over reality. The further removed from our own time, the further you wish to be removed from this day. I wish to emphasize that though this can be negative in some ways, it can also be quite healthy. There is a large segment of people who delve into the weird to allow for something they cannot understand to override an aspect of their consciousness, a polarized internalization that allows for balancing. Someone who is hyper-rationalistic might have quite a fascination with nonsensical and trippy movies, abstract art, or the complexities of bebop jazz. It might be conceived as a challenge. Some sensual stimulation is simply analogous to a drug. As an example, when I want to relax I watch massage videos. I get very relaxed and quite sleepy, and in general just feel good. This is just an exploitation of the empathy networks within the brain. Due to brain wiring, some people likely just get strong stimulation with unrelated objects and events that just so happen to trigger it. As of late, I have a strong interest in facial structures and features. I somewhat wish to get a book on it, so I can put a name to what I am seeing. I get a strong satisfaction in looking at a girl's face and dissecting why I find it attractive or unattractive, what features differ from others, how the whole is derived from the parts, what is going on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nathanm Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 If the comforts of conforming to popular culture was not established in your young life you will be drawn to 'outsider' types of interests. Not that either one is right or wrong, but that's just the way it goes. There are of course varying degrees of weirdness. For instance, I can't stand to watch people LARPing. I once witnessed a LARP "fight" at a roller derby (a mighty good place to see weird people I might add) and it was the most painfully embarrassing thing I've ever seen. It was like that dream you might have of being naked in school. It's where my admiration of nerds ends. Just can't go there. But then you have something even weirder like the most fanatical religious groups, and then the other weird stuff doesn't seem so bad. The philosophical framework is useful in determining what stuff is weirdcoolinterestingpositive and what is more weirdI was abused as a childnegative. I was going to try and make a peolp joke, but nothing came to mind. That's weird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tasmlab Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Eh, you are consuming a bit of media that's a little off the center of mainstream but still have advertisements on TV for the most part. There's a long tail out there and different strokes for different folks. Now, when you start liking weird stuff like stapling your testicles to a board or dressing like a bronie, get back to us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nathanm Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Testicle stapling? Seriously man, that is soooo last week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wesley Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Testicle stapling? Seriously man, that is soooo last week. This week is testicle staple removing I would assume. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRobin Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 For me, I'd say I was more interesting in weird things when I was less connected to myself and, as a consequence of that, the world around me. With weird I mean stuff that isn't too logical or empirical and/or leaves one with a sense of not knowing what really happened, unable to make a clear connection between events of a story (Like the mentioned David Lynch movies for instance, but I'd certainly not include novels by Neil Gaiman for instance, as that's just very good and incredibly creative fantasy).Now I have to say though, I find such movies or stories rather boring and/or annoying. Things like the end of the movie Inception come to mind, where some people really enjoy not knowing or guessing/riddling what truly happened and that I just find rather annoying or irritating to a small degree. Like "come on, really? yawn.."So given that theory, I'd be inclined to ask: How much do you feel connected to yourself and the world. Say in terms of having somethign you really enjoy doing, long term plans that you work towards, being surrounded by people you acn talk honestly and openly with? (If you don't mind me asking) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hector_Viera Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Man if you know the difference between ''weird'' and ''evil'', even if you can't elaborate a impecable/logic/rational/empirist/technical blablabla definition of it... so why you need the approbation (or a symbolic ''blessing'') from others? Enjoy yourself man!! For example, I really like the poetry of Rimbaud, he wrote really ''weird'' stuff. In other hand I have a really really disgusting feeling about child pornography (as a psychotherapist I have contact with people with such kind of preferences) and don't need a impecable/logic/rational/empiristic/technical/objetive definition to say this is EVIL. Be confident with your ''internal compass'' about what is ''weird'' and ''evil'' Sincerely Héctor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts