[Musings] On the Outcomes Over Experience: In Beauty and in Life

 

My teacher reminded us that art flourishes in times of upheaval and I have been burrowing myself in my craft and reading, so I am living through the hope of how that can be so.

 

I mentioned in my routine update that I've just not been in a good mood: politically, economically, human...ly. I don't want to delve too much into all that's weighing on me because while I'm happy to share my thoughts on skincare, my thoughts on my psychology are my privilege and privacy. 

 

I've been reading the above-pictured book - Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and among all the great topics, lessons, teachings, etc. there's a passage in the book and a discussion with zzoom_zoom that's collided and sparked a realization of part of my sadness towards the direction society seems to be heading in through the lens of the beauty/skincare community sphere that I've loved.

 The Flow of Thought

Picture of pg. 140 from Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience,

highlighting the passage quoted below. 

 

"There are two words whose meanings reflect our somewhat warped attitudes toward levels of commitment to physical or mental activities. These are the terms amateur and dilettante. Nowadays these labels are slightly derogatory. An amateur or dilettante is someone not quite up to par, a person not to be taken very seriously, one whose performance falls short of professional standards. But originally, "amateur," from the Latin verb amare, "to love," referred to a person who loved what he was doing. Similarly a "dilettante," from the Latin delectare, "to find delight in," was someone who enjoyed a given activity. The earliest meanings of these words therefore drew attention to experiences rather than accomplishments; they described the subjective rewards individuals gained from doing things, instead of focusing on how well they were achieving. Nothing illustrates as clearly our changing attitudes toward the value of experience as the fate of these two words. There was a time when it was admirable to be an amateur poet or a dilettante engaging in such activities. But increasingly the emphasis has been to value behavior over subjective states; what is admired is success, achievement, the quality of performance rather than the quality of experience. Consequently it has become embarrassing to be called a dilettante, even though to be a dilettante is to achieve what counts most--the enjoyment one's actions provide."

r/AsianBeauty was built up by amateur skincare "scientists", enthusiasts. There were a handful a people who nerded out over what they were learning and shared their passions with others who not only learned from them, but shared their own experiences and asked questions that inspired more research, deeper understanding, expanded the topics, and even created entrepreneurs. These dilettantes not only ultimately changed many lives, but shaped how an entire hemisphere approached skincare. 

Passionate people inspire passion in others. The sub's had issues of course, you'll run into issues anytime a large group of people come together, but the experience of the growth of community (in relationships, level of knowledge, and learning, not just hard numbers) of the sub when I stumbled upon it was a joyous and special one. Overall, it felt like people enjoyed the experience finding like-minded folk about these niche topics and while achieving goals was always worth celebrating, it wasn't so much what a result or answer was, but the fun of the discoveries on the journey.

But I also think it was reflective of that period of the internet.

"I don't really expect the newer users that come to reddit want a sense of community. They just want answers"--zzoom_zoom

I am not a fan of AI in its current use and iteration. The focus is so heavily on answers and results, we're missing that enjoyment of actions, that flow. I do dread that between AI and where social media is now, it's training us (on steroids) out of the habit and the appreciation of the highs and lows of the challenges of the doing.

I know AI is currently marketed as a tool, and I know people my generation and older who do use it as such. But I don't know if generations following us, who grow up in a world of instant gratification of entertainment and answers, are taught the difference between a tool and a solution. Life is about experiences. There doesn't seem to be much talk of what will come in its place when you've made the experience obsolete.

"An amateur who pretends to know as much as a professional is probably wrong, and up to some mischief. The point of becoming an amateur scientists is not to compete with professionals on their own turf, but to use a symbolic discipline to extend mental skills, and to create order in consciousness. On that level, amateur scholarship can hold its own, and can be even more effective than its professional counterpart. But the moment that amateurs lose sight of this goal, and use knowledge mainly to bolster their egos or to achieve a material advantage, they become caricatures of the scholar. Without training in the discipline of skepticism and reciprocal criticism that underlies the scientific method, laypersons who venture into the fields of knowledge with prejudiced goals can become more ruthless, more egregiously unconcerned with truth, than even the most corrupt scholar." - pg. 141

Picture the back cover of Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience