Comparison, metaphor — is like a model of a thing

 

The purpose of a model is to represent something

Model is of course NOT the thing itself

It is but it’s representation

It omits certain aspects of it — and represents other aspects

In having a copy: theoretical or scaled down or whatever — we can manipulate it

We can manipulate, experiment, examine it’s properties in a relation, etc.

That’s why we use models

 

And that’s why we use COMPARISONS, METAPHORS

It can be a more efficient, more streamlined, even more rigorous way of considering a certain problem

 

It’s not unlike what I said about the labels:

-Labels are reductive

-But also are a way of CATEGORISING and CREATING RELATIONSHIPS — and in that sense constructive, as a whole (ampliative)

 

COMPARISON is no different,

It’s a form of forcibly creating shared categories, shared attributes for two different things

And what is gained is a useful model

Model which can yield insights otherwise unclear

 

Now,

Why even OVERTHINK it like that?

When you do science or engineering — of course you COMPARE things and LABEL things and CATEGORISE things. That’s what doing science means. You observe reality, observe facts — and organise them into theories

Somehow in daily life however, the idea of COMPARING EVERYTHING to something else, is frowned upon

 

To compare two people, every aspect of them, is considered invidious

To compare one’s life to some alternative is considered ungrateful and miserable

And indeed to compare two barely comparable things is considered fool’s errand, pointless overthinking

 

Is it so?

Yes and no

 

The “real” life, the practicalities of real life, the chaos of real life,

indeed renders overthinking, over-comparing — quite FUTILE

Indeed inscrutable fails to benefit from contemplation

Indeed incomparable fails to benefit from comparison

Real life is quite inscrutable

Many situations are indeed QUITE incomparable

Your PRECISE PERFECT PLAN fails — because real life doesn’t go according to plan

Your PRECISE PERFECT CATEGORISATIONS, LABELS, COMPARISONS — fail — because real world is quite fucking complicated

 

Indeed overthinking, over-comparing, has often lead to more harm than good,

Your judgement was too theoretical, too impractical, and therefore poor

Your dealing with a real living and breathing person, with their own quirks and oddities and foibles — what purpose does it serve to COMPARE them to someone else?

You’re having a VERY unique set of life circumstances, problems to solve, unique talents — again, WHAT IS ACHIEVED by comparing this unique configuration to someone else’s?

If anything, you only become more confused

 

And so we learn to label less, “judge” less, and compare less,

 

But this is of course stupid too

Because a lot can be understood, and categorised

And comparison itself is just a tool

If you have a RANKING of people in your life — it’s just a tool

It doesn’t matter if it “hurts someone’s feelings”,

It only matters if it’s useful to you

 

Therefore do pass a DISCRIMINATORY VALUE JUDGEMENT,

DISCRIMINATORY means it DISCRIMINATES between what you believe to be more FITTING and LESS FITTING

That’s all it is

And thus when it is possible, when it is useful: CATEGORISE things and LABEL things and COMPARE things,

With cold ruthless analysis

 

And

When it’s not – then just don’t

Not because you shouldn’t “compare” things or people or yourself,

Not because you shouldn’t judge

Not because you shouldn’t label,

But because it’s useless and stupid

And in being useless — it sets you back

And in being useless and stupid —it upsets others WITH IT’S stupidity

Truth is upsetting to some, because they would like better opinion of themselves

But lie is even more upsetting obviously — because it objectively makes them make worse decisions