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I don't want to get too specific blogging about my day job lest to Corporate Giants find reason to use it against me, but like a lot of other people I work in a cubicle. I evaluate stuff and enter information in a database with dropdown menus. Hit the little arrow and up will pop a limited amount of selections, and I pick one.
I wonder how often we design-- or choose someone else's dropdown menus as we go forth and live our own lives? Our religion, our race, our political affiliation, our musical interests, the books we read, how did you hear about us?, etc. I'm trying to do more social networking, because generally I'm not the most social person in the world. I figure it's as good a way as any to rectify that-- especially since I'm trying to promote a novel.
But I don't much care for dropdown menus. I would rather hand over my mind to the Universe with a pen, pencil, crayon, computer keyboard at hand and see what happens. I'd rather pick all of the above, or none of the above, or some of the above. I'd rather ask you to listen and decide for yourself and then prove you wrong later.
Life is full of choices, some predictible, some not. But if I must choose from a dropdown menu, I would hope that at the very least I get to update the choices often.
One dropdown I'm trying to eliminate is the one that lists all the things I have to do before I do the things I want to do. This is a big part of why I went ahead and self-published. Everyone thinks their novel/book is good, entertaining, important, etc. The difference is I'm right about it.
No Sensible People explores the contrasts and complexities of the human condition. The same people who you can count on and trust in one area of your life will stab you in the back in another. No one is absolutely good or absolutely bad. They will be who you want only until it starts interfering with who they are. So how do we coexist, help one another through the rough patches?
The answers are as vast as the Universe, and definitely don't fit in a dropdown menu.
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Comments: 28
Great observations. For those, like me, from the pre-computer era, we miss the mystery of humanity and enjoy the variety that comes of not having drop down lists.
Yeah, I know what you mean. For better and for worse, life is far too complicated to fit within neat little boxes and labels.
Drop-down haters, unite!
Life is not that simple or complicated in a way.
Lovely article, I'm glad I stopped by.
I can remember getting that revelation about people who can love you until you get to "the rough patches." I am fortunate to have family and friends who went with me through my rough patches. Though who refused (not that they could not, but would not), I simply allow them to exist where they are, but I expect nothing beyond their comfort zone.
Dropdown menus ....