...that looking like something is the next best thing to being something?
My favorite example was a Civic of some kind that some shop had entirely re-bodied to try to make it look like a Skyline GT-R (it ended up looking like a MicroMachines model, but who's counting). The owner said something like "this is as close as you're gonna get to a Skyline in America."
How many cars that look like sports cars actually drive like sports cars? Of all the times you've heard people say "that's a nice car", how many were actually talking about more than the looks?
Obviously it's not just cars. One of my classmates hears "nice laptop" all the time because her laptop looks nice. The person sitting down the row has one that is very obviously smaller, lighter, and faster, and never gets any such comments.
I'm sure everyone can come up with a whole host of their own examples.
Yes, I know, we tend to judge a book by its cover. Day-to-day life would be hopelessly impractical if we didn't sometimes. But if you think about it, doesn't it seem silly? If you're going to call something "the closest thing to a Skyline in America," why wouldn't it at least be a 240SX? It's a heck of a lot closer than a Civic. If the purpose of a laptop is to be light and portable, why don't people find out how light and portable it is before deciding whether it's nice?
A friend of mine suggested that the people who don't have nice things feel ashamed, and at least want to pretend so they can retain some dignity.
My favorite example was a Civic of some kind that some shop had entirely re-bodied to try to make it look like a Skyline GT-R (it ended up looking like a MicroMachines model, but who's counting). The owner said something like "this is as close as you're gonna get to a Skyline in America."
How many cars that look like sports cars actually drive like sports cars? Of all the times you've heard people say "that's a nice car", how many were actually talking about more than the looks?
Obviously it's not just cars. One of my classmates hears "nice laptop" all the time because her laptop looks nice. The person sitting down the row has one that is very obviously smaller, lighter, and faster, and never gets any such comments.
I'm sure everyone can come up with a whole host of their own examples.
Yes, I know, we tend to judge a book by its cover. Day-to-day life would be hopelessly impractical if we didn't sometimes. But if you think about it, doesn't it seem silly? If you're going to call something "the closest thing to a Skyline in America," why wouldn't it at least be a 240SX? It's a heck of a lot closer than a Civic. If the purpose of a laptop is to be light and portable, why don't people find out how light and portable it is before deciding whether it's nice?
A friend of mine suggested that the people who don't have nice things feel ashamed, and at least want to pretend so they can retain some dignity.
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