<p>You know, in general, I try to keep an open mind about things. And I don’t mean diversity or anything, though I usually try to keep that in mind as well. My Psychology of Music class has taught me that musical preferences are usually set by ages eighteen to twenty-two, so despite the fact that I’m currently listening - nay, rocking out to a song utilizing extended vocal techniques, pan-triadicism, free atonality, and a narrator, I can dig the fact that some people just like country.</p>
<p>Not only that, but I understand that there are other disciplines out there besides music. Hell, I started college in biochemistry. I regularly read books, watch lectures, and think thoughts pertaining to fields outside my own in an attempt to keep in touch with the things that I’m still interested in. I do my best to keep myself up to date in copyrights as part of business, but also for fun. I’m interested in computers, nanotechnology, biology, psychology, all that nifty stuff.</p>
<p>One excellent source for nifty ideas in all of those fields is http://ted.org TEDTalks are short (10-20 minute) lectures on innovative ideas. I highly recommend the site to ANYONE. No matter where your interests lie, there is bound to be something there that will interest you. They even have a free podcast, so every day, I get a brand new lecture on my iPod.</p>
<p>Recently (a few hours ago) I found <ahref="http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/evelyn_glennie_shows_how_to_listen.html">a lecture</a> by Evelyn Glennie, a deaf percussionist, on how to listen to the whole body, and how that pertains to music therapy and music education. I mentioned this to an engineer acquaintance of mine as an example, since I had described TEDTalks as “lectures by various people on various good ideas.”</p>
<p>His response was along the lines of “Oh, so not really, then. Just soft, good-feeling ideas.” He often refers to me as ‘soft’, which I’ve always found vaguely insulting, but accepted as a term of endearment. It always seemed to imply that I wasn’t real, that I had no depth, and that the things I did and studied were of no use.</p>
<p>I countered with “Well, before that, I was watching <ahref="http://ted.org/index.php/talks/bill_joy_muses_on_what_s_next.html">a segment</a> on designing for the future, including venture capital for carbon nanotubes and preparing for pandemics. And before that, <ahref="http://ted.org/index.php/talks/luca_turin_on_the_science_of_scent.html">a clip</a> on how research is showing that we perceive scent based on elemental frequencies, as the presenter put it, and how they designed a substitute for coumarin that isn’t carcinogenic simply by finding a molecule that influenced scent perception in the same way. So no, not all softer, good feeling things.” Which was true enough.</p>
<p>“Oh, good!” he replied. “Substance! I like substance.”</p>
<p>I disconnected immediately. I was in no mood to explain my emotions at that moment, figuring they’d just be viewed as ‘soft, good-feeling things’.</p>
<p>Usually when I do something like that, I start feeling guilty after a while. I’m pretty good at drama, but I don’t relish the thought of invoking it. However, it’s been a few hours. I’ve taken a long bath, eaten a giant glob of peanut butter, and listened to a lot of music. And still, all I can think of are countless rebuttals to this comment. ‘Oh, sure, just dismiss all but a small section of human knowledge and experience as insubstantial.’‘Not even my dad was as insulting when I changed my major to music.’‘I personally find music to have a good deal of substance, and since I know you don’t suffer from amusia, I’m assuming you do as well. You’re not a liar, are you?’</p>
<p>Defend yourselves*, and in the process, teach me how to defend myself! I get this, though rarely this blatant, about once a week, and I need to know how to convince people that music is a legitimate, substantial endeavor worth pursuing in today’s world, because honestly? I’m getting sick of this.</p>
