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Comment by tudorachim | Hacker News Reader

No, I don't think so. I think there is entertainment, like reading a good book, or listening to good music, that is worth something because it ... helps you in some way, and entertainment like digg, which is just a complete time sink.

This essay by Neal Stephenson puts it into words better than I can: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/17/opinion/17stephenson.html

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What's a good book? Harry Potter? Shakespear? What's good music? Beethoven? T-Pain?

More importantly - who is the judge? The government? You? If so, then are you allowed to decide what is 'good' for others? Are they allowed to decide what is 'good' for you?

You see what I mean? There is no absolute when it comes to entertainment. There is no good or bad. There is just stuff that entertains, and stuff that does not.

"... What's a good book? Harry Potter? Shakespear? What's good music? Beethoven? T-Pain? ..."

    Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
    Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
    Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
    And summer's lease hath all too short a date: 
    The Sonnets, 18.

    http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext97/wssnt10.txt

Shakespeare not "Shakespear".

I thought that spelling was not standardized in his day, so that any one of a number of variations would have been acceptable?

http://shakespeareauthorship.com/name1.html

in his day, probably.

Shakespeare can hardly be classified as entertainment anymore. The english is just too old and too difficult for most people to read to be anymore than a chore.

Harry Potter is REAL present-day entertainment, and anyone who wants to get into the industry has to understand that.

"... The english is just too old and too difficult for most people to read to be anymore than a chore ..."

Good point.

Now if we are talking say "The A-Team" I'd agree. Bodie, Doyle, Tiger and jewelry man, Mr-T. I can see how some might spell Mr. Tee, Mr T or even Mr. Tea if you're a Brit. But meddling with the spelling of the greatest, most recognised writer in the history of English literature?

"... Harry Potter is REAL present-day entertainment, and anyone who wants to get into the industry has to understand that ..."

I agree J.K. Rawlings, is a modern master of story telling. But I can name plenty of classic literature novels that have gone straight to mass visual media bypassing their literary cousins. Behind each great bit of entertainment is a great script. A lot of these scripts are based on classic lit.

There are always absolutes.

For me, good entertainment is that which does something new. Something stimulating.

That was really outstanding (as Mr. Stephenson often is).

Good move substituting his argument for yours, as I didn't think you had much of a point, but now I think maybe you do. :)

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