Sans Fig Leaf
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"Worthwhile?"
15 November, 2007
I was chatting with an
acquaintence once about an upcoming chorus concert, and he was shocked
at how many hours we practiced leading up to a concert. He understood
that you have to practice to keep skills such as singing on pitch, or
playing a piano sharp, but he didn't understand why we didn't put on a
new, and completely different, concert, say, once a month--if not more
often.
He thought that one would only need to look at a new piece of music for
a few minutes before one could perform it adequately. "Why spend all
that time getting ready for a song that will only last a few minutes?"
I was reminded of this when I overheard two discussing the screen
writer's guild strike. One said, "You mean television shows have
writers? What do they need writers for?"
As clueless as that sounds, I can imagine how someone might think that
those actors or musicians on the screen or stage are just making it up
as they go along. Musicians and actors who have done their homework
--spending cumulatively thousands of hours rehearsing--can make a
performance seem effortless.
So when I'm asked why I spend so much time preparing to run a game, or
working on a story, or planning a meal for family or friends, I try not
to give a flippant answer. Most endeavors have more going on behind the
scenes than is apparent to the casual observer. The less familiar we
are with the subject, the more likely we are to underestimate how much
support and preparation it requires. It's the "tip of the iceberg"
phenomenon.
We're also more likely to
underestimate how much work is required for an undertaking in which we
have no interest, or which we think is unimportant or undesirable. And
the more we dislike it, the more we perceive the effort as a burden.
Conversely, the more passion or enthusiasm we feel for something, the more likely we are to think whatever work is required as easy. Call it the "spoonful of sugar" effect.
All of which means that those questions about why one puts in so much effort are difficult to answer. What is important to me may be twaddle to you. No matter how passionately I describe the joys and rewards of my project, it still seems like a load of hooey to you.
The thing to remember is:
everything looks like twaddle to someone. No matter how irreplaceable,
beautiful, beneficial, or noble it may appear to you and tens of
thousands of other people, there is likely just as many others
who think it's worthless. But the reverse is also true--no matter how
worthless something appears to any number of people, there will be some
people to whom it is more precious than gold.
--Julia Child
.