(no subject)

[randomness]

I suspect, sometimes, that it's not that people get older and wiser, but that most get better at making the appearance of their lives conform more closely to the expectations of those around them. If we can't avoid hiding our failures, at least we become more skilled in making them look like everyone else's.

Some don't even manage that.

Comments

[dpolicar]

I'd agree that most of us get better at manipulating appearances than we do at manipulating underlying realities, yeah.

Which isn't to say that most of us don't get better at working with the underlying stuff, too.

And of course, the dividing line is blurry and fractal and often nonexistent. Interacting with other people is a real thing, and an important one, and much of it is done through our surfaces.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

Sure. Partially because there are more external incentives for manipulating the appearances.

But...more face to face, I think.