What exactly IS intellectual masturbation?
 

and why do people indulge in it?

And so on.

intellectual masturbation can be

a) any kind of intellectual activity as seen by the uninitiated
b) intellectual activity for its own sake, without any regads to usefulness or communication

people with intellects of all sorts willl indulge in "intellectual masturbation" for the same reason people with gonads indulge in simple masturbation: it gives them pleasure when copulations is not available, or as a complement or supplement to copulation, or as a substitute for it, or its is a form of copulation, misunderstood.

i answer also with a question: what is intellectual copulation and how does it differ from intellectual masturbation? what is it called when the intellect comes out with a little bit of shit in it? and is a dirty sanchez possible in this context? bonus question: what about philosophical rape and its variants? discuss from an ontological perspective, and identify current critical trends.

it's a trap!

I think you just cracked one off.

Intellectual masturbartion is the equivelent of jamming. It can lead down numerous cul-de-sacs, but every now and then can culminate in a 'wow' moment when everything seems to come together - albeit for a brief second.

It's also a lot more fun than discussing the string gauges on J. Mascis' guitars.

i smell an orgy-- pervert

Oh dear, it did sort of come out sounding a bit pervy. I must admit.

It's a trap!

is that a moustache i spy over your lip or....?

edit: i am growing a moustache/beard...

Reading a book in a coffee shop when you have nowhere else to go

intellectual masturbation or not; I retain the right to talk innane philosophy with my friends or brother over a pint

it's my god given Irish right


EDIT: but I consider intellectual masturbation to be the excercise of intellect when not necessary and only for the sake of showing off one's knowledge. Like name dropping or using spcialized words (lol dem dere big wurds) in an everyday context. But it's also important not to fall into anti-intellectual thought.

intellectual masturbation it's probably another dr. house expression to cerebral hemorrhage.

i'm spent...

(ha ha, does anyone remember that "vagina power" video and going to long john silver...? oh nevermind...)

penis power ACTIVATE!

since this is the sonic youth board, i'm guessing intellectual masturbation is what happens when reading burroughs and listening to silver sessions full blast.

speaking of which, did you know that the adam's apple is man's clitoris? if you keep rubbing it rapidly, going from gentle to more aggressive in your approach, you'll eventually throw up!

i am not really sure but i guess to me its when someone uses their intellect in an unapropriate way or when two or a group of people begin a heavy weight discussion using all kinds of buzz words and such to describe something very simple just because they can. i.e a guy at work wrote a three page letter using all kinds of arguments, quoting all kinds of philosophers and went into minute detail when all it turned out was he had spilt his coffee and wanted us to pay the dry cleaning bill.

Intelectual? You mean like, whacking off to philosophers and dinosaurs?

I remember reading Plato's Phaedrus and then wankin the snake right after once.

Of course, I was thinking of chicks during the latter.

blablahblahblahblah blah. BLAH.

You guys are boring today. Someone POST.

if this forum is boring you why don't you try another one?

Because this one is the most fun. It's boring now because no one is posting.

And all my other ones are boring as hell, no one is posting anything.

is that like an "intellectual malaka" or just the vanilla kind??? :D

It surprises me greatly that a Goldsmith's student doesn't know what intellectual masturbation is. Have you had your eyes gouged out and your ears stuck in a blender Mr & Bowels?

Don't be surprised, Glice, because this thread is merely a parody of another thread from yesterday:
What exactly IS the avant-garde?

(notice the capitalized "IS")
So you see, this thread isn't "surprising" at all (T&B often posts junk) once you know the deal. I know you've been absent for awhile. It's good to see you around again.

Aren't all threads parodies of better sense? Or did I miss a memo?

Naw, you're just missing a few too many brain cells and are a bit too quick to kiss the ass of a bunch of idiots in a vainglorious attempt at humor.

humour

excuse me

(or is that "humor me")?

A fly on the wall of my days at the Conservative club.

This is an example of your legendary dry wit that is the talk of all the message boards in Christendom...?

No, it's not humor. Wish it were though.

I'm more of an intellectual rapist. I talk to people dumber than me and use my poor grasp of scientific and philosophical concepts to make myself look much more educated and sophisticated and make them feel like a simpleton.

"In Christendom"?

Man, that sure smacks of irony in such a thread.

If you count the amount of wankers who posted on this thread in a serious manner, you'd get a rough idea of the answer to the original question.

i just came back from john long silver's and to paraphrase that lady from vagina power, my testicles are full of hot sperm. who wants it? :D :p

im going to have an intellectual masturbation right here on this thread.

hmm.... virginia woolf... marie curie... oh yeah baby...

margaret mead...!!!

If you could imagine what my cheeky but lovely smile looks like, you'd also understand why i don't think that you're ever short of sperm.

ha ha ha

I never ever laughed at one of my own posts, but that took me to another internet level.

st.martin's



PS. people of the universe come, and see my degree show and you will be to gaze upon an array of appaling to mediocre art from europe's most famous art school. central saint martins college, charing cross road, london, around the 1st of june i believe.

st.martin's is not the most famous art college in europe. That's what they write on the sunday papers in england.