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Why I Hate Victorian Literature

September 11, 2023

Literature, Society

capitalism, criticism, literature, social masses, society

I hate Victorian Literature. Actually, allow me to rephrase this: I hate Victorian literature with a passion. This isn’t very useful to you, but why I hate it can be. And the connection between why I think Victorian literature sucks and our present time, even more so.

I’ve been exposed to enough Victorian literature during my university years to have developed a pretty solid opinion of it. In other words, I’ve read enough abandoned enough texts of such authors as Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, George Eliot, Elizabeth Gaskell, to know I hate them and the rest of their lot.

This is a subjective opinion, to be sure, but I think Victorian literature was a disaster for art. The repercussions are still with us ever since, and they boil down to one critical element: making money.

hate Victorian literature
I hate Victorian literature, but I also recognize it’s responsible for much of our contemporary culture – from aesthetics such as steampunk (notice the pink Gothic element) to much deeper theoretical frameworks in areas such as the economy or temporality
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The Emperor’s New Clothes and The Problem of Experience

September 4, 2023

Programming, Society

experience, ignorance, nonconformity, programming, society

You likely know the story of the Emperor’s new clothes: An arrogant emperor is fooled by some fast-talkers into marching through the streets naked, because he was convinced he was wearing magic clothes – magic because stupid people couldn’t see them, which assured nobody dared to talk about the obvious. It took a kid shouting “Why, the Emperor is naked!” for others to gradually dare to agree. We ignore beginners and rely on experience. But the problem of experience – and this is clearly one of the lessons in “The Emperor’s New Clothes” – is that sometimes beginners can help you.

The story of the Emperor’s new clothes is one of my favorite classical fables. It’s deceptively simple (in that it contains several levels of interpretation) and ever-relevant. Indeed, it seems to have become even more relevant in our times, where the internet has facilitated a phenomenon of bandwagon fallacy on steroids.

All these are thoughts I’ve been having a lot lately, as a result of a… traumatic programming experience I’ve had. The topic of this post is first and foremost about society, so I’ll keep programming jargon to a minimum. Regardless of your background – programmer or not – being aware of the repercussions involved in the Emperor’s new clothes and what it is about is crucial.

In short, the way we use appeal to authority, glorify similarity, and ignore beginners is deeply problematic.

“The Emperor’s New Clothes” is an extremely popular metaphor because it’s extremely powerful. Graffiti from Tallinn. Photo by Ivo Kruusamägi, CC BY-SA 4.0
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How a Writer Can Be Immune to Criticism

August 28, 2023

Literature, Writing

criticism, literature, society, writing

Reading negative criticism – worse still: mere ratings – about something you made isn’t easy. Few people want to hear they’ve failed (though failure is an intriguing concept), and writers are no exception. An author who has spent endless hours and effort writing a book understandably feels dejected reading “I didn’t like it”. Is there a way for a writer to be immune to criticism?

The answer is yes, otherwise (self-evidently) this post wouldn’t exist. However, there are a couple of caveats we need to get out of the way:

  • A writer can be immune to criticism, but this does nothing for the criticism itself. In other words, what an author has control over is their own reaction. What others feel reading that piece of criticism, or whether any shortcomings the criticism describes are valid or not is beyond the scope of the post.
  • As a term, immunity might connote total defense. However, since we’re dealing with psychological reactions and strategies, immunity is very subjective and also not quantifiable. In other words, to become, as a writer, immune to criticism doesn’t necessarily mean you will be 100% carefree and not care about it.

And so, with this in mind, in this post I’ll share with you some strategies so you, as a writer, can become immune to criticism. As I said, these strategies are psychological and describe your own reaction toward any criticism.

writer immune criticism
Do it like cats! They aren’t deterred by criticism, and they even pretend whatever it is they’re criticized for was part of the plan anyway
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