Arrogance

[On reflection, it occurred to me that the post below was particularly ripe for parody. Here it is.]

3) Why are bloggers so bad?

For example, Sammler [trackback status not determined -- no one has tried] writes:

If any of you, my loyal readers, have any ideas as to why my blog’s popularity has declined, I’d appreciate hearing from you. Here’s some possibilities...

The main answer here is overextended ambition. Bloggers can no longer be content with producing a competent analysis of something they understand. Part of this is dictated by reality -- consider how little most people actually do understand -- and part by pride, largely misplaced, of the writers in their own cleverness.

A common flaw, based in pride and ambition, is the overenthusiastic pursuit of subtlety. A textbook case is The Stone City. The author is so keen to show the multitudinous and conflicting motivations of humanity that, in the end, he is left with no conclusions at all. Subtlety is, as its name suggests, a subtle thing, and the acclaim for those who can use it skillfully is justifiably high; thus everyone pursues that acclaim.

[Note: The block quote above is taken from American Future -- no comment on the quality of that blog is implied.]