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Posted by Jeff Rife on 11/22/05 18:28
Kimba W. Lion (kimbawlion@aol.com) wrote in alt.video.dvd:
> Well, it's nice to know that one can still get judged by stereotypes and
> other irrelevant things that have nothing to do with one's own actions.
Stereotyping is deciding something based on no provable facts. But, even
AOL's own target market shows they are aiming at people who aren't as
bright...people who think that computers are hard to use. So, saying that
people that use AOL aren't as bright isn't a stereotype, as long as both
speaker and listener understand that the statement is about the majority
of the users but isn't (and can never be) all-encompassing.
An example of a similar statement would be saying that NBA players are
in better physical shape than other people in the US. This is true
generally, but the extremes (the least fit NBA player vs. the most fit
non NBA player) are obvious exceptions, just like some AOL users are much
brighter than average, and some subscribe to AOL for the exclusive content.
On the other hand, a few are far less bright than even the average AOL
user...scary, huh? :)
Another good example of an exception to a generality is saying that NASCAR
drivers are better drivers than the average person in the US...except, of
course, for the one that just got arrested for DUI. But, even with this
one exception, I don't think anybody would disagree with the base
statement. Again, talking about the average computer skill level of AOL
users is a similar situation.
--
Jeff Rife | Coach: What's the story, Norm?
|
| Norm: Thirsty guy walks into a bar. You
| finish it.
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