Knowledge v. Enjoyment

There is a very interesting piece in today's New York Times called "Why You Can't Learn to Like It" that struck a chord with me (so to speak). The thrust of the piece is that classical music education cannot by itself assure the commercial future of the music because merely knowing about something does not lead someone to enjoy it.

I see the inverse of that argument made all the time online. I am something of a fan of lost commercial causes, at least in terms of the United States. My homeland has little use for things like soccer, road racing, rallying, or progressive rock, all of which I enjoy quite a bit. In almost every forum where these things are discussed, a popular theory is that any one of them could flourish commercially in America if only people knew more about. The idea that Americans simply don't understand Formula One and thus dismiss it is an example. It's somewhat comforting because it both explains the sport's failure in the US and builds us up as fans. It's lack of exposure, not the fact the people just don't find it exciting or interesting, that holds F1 back. Conversely, because we fans do understand it we must be a cut above the ignorant rabble.

I think understanding helps, don't get me wrong. Why an F1 race has a standing start or how the teams employ different strategies to try and maximize their chances of winning would help someone understand the race. But they could still understand it and not feel compelled to watch it. Sport, like art, comes down to a very basic gut level "like / don't like" instinct. I don't like baseball - think it's terribly dull and the Phillies always suck, so what's the point - but I understand it from playing it (poorly) as a kid and because of its constant presence in American culture.

As a soccer fan, I cannot fathom that someone who could watch a 1-0 pitchers duel with gusto could then turn around and not enjoy a 1-0 soccer match because of the lack of scoring. It must be their ignorance of the beautiful game, right? No, there's just something about the game they don't like. And that's fine.

The key for we fans of marginalized things is to not give a rat's ass what anybody else thinks, anyway. Obviously, if nobody watches F1 or soccer or whatever they will eventually wither and die. So we need to support them as much ourselves as we can. But more likely they will survive as a fringe attraction in this country, but one that can be reveled in by the fans thanks to the recent explosion of the Net and cable TV. We should accept that and move on. On a day to day level, whether anybody else in the world cares for the album I'm listening to right now (Tea in the Sahara's 1994 release Boomerang, if you're curious) doesn't make any difference to me.

You cannot teach someone to like something. If fact, trying to do so is more likely to turn off some people than interest them, as it will come off as condescending and arrogant. A better strategy would be to be open and giving of your love for whatever it is you are passionate about and be willing to share that with those that might be interested in it, too.