What do you just not "get"?

[aener]

Everyone has things that they actively like, and other things they actively dislike. I'm asking about the things that, for you, lie outside of that spectrum.
Things that you know other people like sometimes, but you just can't understand why.

The main one, for me, is dance. Specifically watching it. If someone enjoys actually dancing, fine. But when there's dancing on TV or going to a show... What?
I understand that there's a lot of skill involved on the dancers' part, but I can't see any way to enjoy watching people wave their arms about to music.
It's a fine line, because I CAN watch and enjoy gymnastics in the olympics etc.

Another would be poetry.
I like stories, and books, but arranging words artistically... What's the point?
I have only ever read one poem that gave me any sort of emotional response, and that's technically a song anyway.

I could make a snarky comment about streety 24"s here, but I won't

 

Note: This is all about subjectivity. I'm not saying there's no point in dancing or poetry - just that I don't understand it.
I'm interested to know what other people feel that way about, and kind of hoping some people will say things that I do "get" so I can see it from the other side.
This is not all about telling each other we're worthless. We all know it, it's just not polite to say it.

[Maintenance Justice]

Cars with loud exhausts. I mean, if your car has a tuned engine and genuinely warrants a specific exhaust for flow rates or whatever or is a sports car of enough merit to warranty a sporty exhuast then fine. I undestand some may get a kick out of a car that sounds sporty but surely the whole point of being "into" cars is for a specific look or performance, I just don't get making a car look and sound modded when it's actually just a nissan in drag. If you're driving about in a fiesta with a stock standard engine and an exhaust that sounds like a 300 decibel fart you can get in the sea.

[aener]

5 minutes ago, Maintenance Justice said:

If you're driving about in a fiesta with a stock standard engine and an exhaust that sounds like a 300 decibel fart you can get in the sea.

Best sentence I've read in a long time.

[Pete.M]

Fishing. Don't get it. Especially when it's at the side of a boring canal or whatever. 

[Ali C]

47 minutes ago, Maintenance Justice said:

Cars with loud exhausts. I mean, if your car has a tuned engine and genuinely warrants a specific exhaust for flow rates or whatever or is a sports car of enough merit to warranty a sporty exhuast then fine. I undestand some may get a kick out of a car that sounds sporty but surely the whole point of being "into" cars is for a specific look or performance, I just don't get making a car look and sound modded when it's actually just a nissan in drag. If you're driving about in a fiesta with a stock standard engine and an exhaust that sounds like a 300 decibel fart you can get in the sea.

saw this topic, instantly thought of exhausts too.

I live in Glasgow and every night I have to put up with shit sounding cars blasting up and down. The worst ones are the ones that "pop" and "bang" every time they let off the accelerator and there's one car in particular that has an insane "gurgle" that lasts until they accelerate again. They always do this at night time and this is a built up area...all I can think is that they are just horrible people.

I also don't get the intensity of some team supporters. I love watching downhill and can get quite excited but I never jump off the sofa and shout. I also ride myself and would race if there were local events but football supporters get so excited for a sport they don't even take part in. They'll go out into the street screaming if their team wins. I just don't "get" it. 

[J.KYDD]

Affect. Effect.

It's been explained to me 100 times but I still cant grasp when to use which. Maybe it's cause a really couldn't care and people are going to know what your getting at regardless 

[basstrials]

23 minutes ago, Ali C said:

saw this topic, instantly thought of exhausts too.

I live in Glasgow and every night I have to put up with shit sounding cars blasting up and down. The worst ones are the ones that "pop" and "bang" every time they let off the accelerator and there's one car in particular that has an insane "gurgle" that lasts until they accelerate again. They always do this at night time and this is a built up area...all I can think is that they are just horrible people.

I also don't get the intensity of some team supporters. I love watching downhill and can get quite excited but I never jump off the sofa and shout. I also ride myself and would race if there were local events but football supporters get so excited for a sport they don't even take part in. They'll go out into the street screaming if their team wins. I just don't "get" it. 

Same here(Bulgaria) plus bikes,too.Police do not care at all,so they drive like crazy.Night too,i just wander how this is possible in Scotland?Apparently there are people who want make themselves valuable this way everywhere.Sadly. 

 

[Joe Papasnap Maher]

All of the above!

(Apart from cheering for a football team - Sorry Ali)

 

[Duncy H]

Football for me too, coming from someone that was somewhat into it when a lot younger as I’ve got older I’ve really come to think wtf is the whole football watching lifestyle all about? Like why is it a thing to spend at least one day of your weekend swallowing copious amounts of dreadful lager to then pay a fortune for a ticket to watch some people play a game that if the results go one way or the other you somehow think you have a reason to either smash up the local place or sing and shout drinking more. These people then go back to their 9-5 jobs they appear to hate and do the same again the next weekend. It sometimes seems that they do this because everyone else does it and they’ve not stopped and questioned to think if there’s a better way to occupy their time or not.

I do actually like playing, but not competitively, there’s a tournament here in Canada every year on a tiny island, it’s 7 a side and you must have two girls on the pitch (standard for girls is way higher here) which takes that brutal edge off and it’s so much fun with everyone out to just have a good time. I’m into that more than hurling abuse at a stranger because they have a sport shirt on that is different colours to the one you’re supposed to like. 
 

Rant over.

[Matt24.]

My own brain - I consciously read books about health, eating, exercise, drinking etc yet my unconscious brain continues to disregard all information and allow me to a be larger swilling, fast food eating, occasionally riding slightly podgy man. What's all that about..

 

Also the breadth of cycling disciplines that get addicted to poorly executed bar spins and tailwhips ;-) 

[Al_Fel]

I don't get it when people get annoyed about something someone else is interested in. I really don't understand people that go out of their way to mention that they have never watched a particular show on tele for what ever reason they have.

I also don't get how if you don't agree with something mainstream you're automatically a conspiracy theorist. I feel like this has become more intentional lately.

[monkeyseemonkeydo]

So many things I honestly don't know where to start!

On the vehicle front wings on drift cars, stretched tyres, anything that makes a car actually impossible to use as a car (stupid camber, stupid stance, stupid low etc.), pimped up cars and sports cars being driven slower than my nan, motorbikes that will refuse to filter through stationary traffic on a dual carriageway (for example)...

Cyclocross.

The Royle Family.

Religion.

Flat earthers.

People who don't accept Donald Trump is a cunt.

Marmite.

The SRAM DUB BB standard.

Mushrooms.

Also most of the things already mentioned including but not limited to dancing, football, poetry, fishing, the a/effect thing...

I could go on.

[Mikee]

@monkeyseemonkeydo You leave marmite out of this. But I will expand on one of your points... Sram as a whole. Why do people buy their junk? With the exception of RockShox.

Edited November 26, 2020 by Mikee

[J.KYDD]

@monkeyseemonkeydo Marmite IS a religion.

Can I get an Amen!

[aener]

5 minutes ago, J.KYDD said:

@monkeyseemonkeydo Marmite IS a religion.

Can I get an Amen!

No.

[Herbertlemon102]

2 hours ago, J.KYDD said:

@monkeyseemonkeydo Marmite IS a religion.

Can I get an Amen!

yes.

[aener]

14 minutes ago, Herbertlemon102 said:

yes.

No!

It's grim!

[Herbertlemon102]

1 minute ago, aener said:

No!

It's grim!

its delicious.  

 

on a side note related to the topic:

anyone who openly supports Donald Trump. and there are a lot of people who do (a large part of america, for example!) . scrolling through social media and political commentaries get me really angry/depressed. i think to myself i'm a terrible person for judging these people so much, but no matter what i do, there is nothing about that lying, sex offending, racist, murdering scumbag that i believe any good person can possibly like. i try and console myself that they've been fed false information or something, but... yeah. keeps me up at night. a lot of the time. we're going to hell in a hand basket, for sure.

[Stephen Morris]

Great topic and agree with most of the above.

Dance - no amount of alcohol has made me want to gyrate to music and I really can’t see how dancing the cha cha cha has become primetime entertainment.

Star Wars - never watched it and don’t see the appeal.

Religion - Destroy all records and wipe people’s minds and all scientific discovery will eventually be rediscovered. Religion wouldn’t.

Swimming - I’ve never been able to swim and I’d love to be able to. I obsess about it. I’ve had loads of lessons, I just find it impossibly difficult.

The Kardashians - I genuinely don’t know anything about them, but I suspect I’m better off that way.

Radio/Podcasts - no interest.

Social media - Your mum’s on Facebook now and Twitter seems like such an angry, horrible place.

 

Let’s get controversial 

Bike maintenance - I take no enjoyment in fixing and maintaining my bike and I don’t understand why people do. To me it’s about as much fun as taking your Sky box apart to service it on a monthly basis.

Bike bits - 4 bolt pot discs, wheelbases, snail cams, sweep angles. I have no idea what these things are.

[monkeyseemonkeydo]

24 minutes ago, Stephen Morris said:

Swimming - I’ve never been able to swim and I’d love to be able to. I obsess about it. I’ve had loads of lessons, I just find it impossibly difficult.

I nearly added that one too. I know the theory and can make my way across a pool but it just never clicked and I tend to just sink.

Radio- no interest.

Yup though not necessarily the music parts. Stop frickin' talking and play some music!

Let’s get controversial 

Bike maintenance - I take no enjoyment in fixing and maintaining my bike and I don’t understand why people do. To me it’s about as much fun as taking your Sky box apart to service it on a monthly basis.

On that it comes down to required repairs and mods. I basically never wash my bikes, rarely lube them etc. but I'll be buggered if I'll pay someone at Halfords £15 to fix a puncture or £50 to dial in my derrailleur and lube my chain. I get satisfaction by upgrading bits and do enjoy building bikes but I know where you're coming from. Weirdly I have very little interest in working on my car but am more than happy getting properly stuck into my motorbike. 

Bike bits - 4 bolt pot discs, wheelbases, snail cams, sweep angles. I have no idea what these things are.

Definitely where half the fun is in my mind. I probably spend more time looking at bike bits, buying bike bits and messing around with the bikes than I do riding them...

 

[marg26]

Talking of controversial....

Tricks & Stunts - Honestly I've tried watching it, but I've just never managed more than 15 or 20 minutes. I'm sure it was great in it's time, and it's often touted as some sort of instructional video but it's 2020 now and I'm in my 40s and I haven't got time to sit through that low video quality and fake moustache nonsense. There are actual trials how-to's now (though not enough need more). I'd rather watch top/mainstream contemporary trials riders training sessions/vlogs any day and see what's going on now. Sorry.

 

[Stephen Morris]

14 minutes ago, marg26 said:

Talking of controversial....

Tricks & Stunts - Honestly I've tried watching it, but I've just never managed more than 15 or 20 minutes. I'm sure it was great in it's time, and it's often touted as some sort of instructional video but it's 2020 now and I'm in my 40s and I haven't got time to sit through that low video quality and fake moustache nonsense. There are actual trials how-to's now (though not enough need more). I'd rather watch top/mainstream contemporary trials riders training sessions/vlogs any day and see what's going on now. Sorry.

 

I must have been about 16 when I started watching Tricks & Stunts. Having ridden the locations and met Ashton & Hawyes a few times, I guess it just resonates with me. 

As for bike bits and maintenance, my bike doesn’t need either. I do fix my own punctures and pump the tyres up all by myself.

[Ross McArthur]

12 hours ago, Stephen Morris said:

Great topic and agree with most of the above.

You forgot this...

"I don’t understand what you’ve done and why you’ve done it... and I’ve now watched it three times.

You seem to have cut a tube apart and stuck patches inside it. How, I don’t understand?!?"

The foam stops the tube from pinching so hard between the rim and a wall. What's not to get?

[MadManMike]

"I'm A Celebrity" or any 'reality' TV shows.

They're not usually celebrities and for the most part I don't really get the whole 'celebrity' thing anyway, plus it's clearly scripted / fake and even if not, I don't understand the enjoyment of watching other people do normal things - this applies more to Big Brother I guess, as they don't tend to eat nasty insects on that show.

I get that lots of people enjoy it, but I don't get why.

The dancing shows I don't watch myself, but I understand why people do, because there's a clearly a lot of talent involved. I mean the people that can't dance stand out like a sore thumb, so I can appreciate the talent.

Oh and fake prank videos on Facebook - they usually have over 2m views, yet they're obviously fake. Mind boggling.

[monkeyseemonkeydo]

1 hour ago, MadManMike said:

Oh and fake prank videos on Facebook - they usually have over 2m views, yet they're obviously fake. Mind boggling.

These, but particularly the 'professional' ones that clearly have like several broadcast quality cameras etc. involved and you get awful canned laughter to boot.

Another politicy one to balance out the Trump hate: Joe Biden wanting to be President. Trump's an arse but an arse who has spent his life trying to be as famous as possible and literally sticking his name on anything he can. Him wanting to be president makes sense to me. Joe Biden is a multi millionaire and 77 years old. He must have grandkids and maybe great grandkids but he wants to waste some of that last years of his life (when he should've already retired like 20 years ago on a nice healthy US government pension) stressing about viruses, global financial ruin and warzones. Mental.