Escapism- how do you view it?

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of course wordly achivements are more valuable! what would be the value of theory of relativity have Einstein kept it to himself?!

whatever you think in your head, however amazing you own world might be, it's worthless if it stays in your head exclusively... right? I mean, it is an escape for you, but if it has the potential to improve the being of all, than surely, it must hold value by default...?

of course wordly achivements are more valuable! what would be the value of theory of relativity have Einstein kept it to himself?!
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It was certainly good for everyone else that Einstein told us about his ideas, but would it have been less good for the man himself had he instead merely daydreamed and escaped into the bliss of fantasy, keeping any discoveries to him self as play-things for his mind?

I imagine an escapist has much less desire for the recognition of others, so does the escapist have a poorer life if he/she stays within his/her own mind?

yeah, that's exactly what I meant- the value that escapism holds for us, individuals.

who knows how many amazing, revolutionary ideas have gone unnoticed! maybe we are supposed to at least try, and get our ideas across... being creatures who thrive in the realms of our minds, yet being ignorant of the reality...

maybe our escapism, which feels so good for us personally, being creatures buried in our own inner minds, could actually be of value for the rest of the society. which we are, however unwanted, a part of.

maybe we should be more "out there" with our ideas, however silly/meaningless they might seem at first for the general public.

maybe we are burying our valuable secrets within us, just because we lack the social contact...

As somebody who has been delighted with science-fiction since the middle thirties the field was considered escapism at that time but things like satellites, trips to the Moon and planetary exploration, even TV and cell phones and robots were considered silly fantasies. They are quite real today and form an important part of our life. Escapism explores possibilities that may become realities and exposes people to situations that might occur in the future and they help people think out consequences.

Hear, hear!

An excellent point. Now, if earlier physicists were able to work out to create pointless devices like nuclear weapons working from the insights in Einstein's famous formula E=Mc2 (superscript won't transfer here properly) why has CERN not yet created a time machine? How is the Large Hadron Collider faring by the way?

For someone to condemn escapism is a bit ridiculous. Everyone endulges in it, almost all of the time. Thinking their lives have some reason or purpose, having dreams for the future - this is all escapism, not just involving yourself in imaginary lives.

My problem at the moment is that I can't escape enough. I am trying to involve myself in the minutae of daily life - lots of sport, lots of work, lots of culture (music, art, films). All this is escapism from the essential problem of life, but I still spend too much time thinking about how futile life is. I know most people don't have this problem, therefore, even if they are firmly anchored in 'reality' and not in fantasy escapism, they are still escaping from the fundamental truths of the universe and their insignificant place within it.

Sometimes I wish, in good spirit, that some of the people who keep nagging me constantly would be a lot more into escapism, but hey, how escapist of me.

I do my best, and if that involves withdrawing into very empty worlds in every sense, than so be it.

It's what I do best.

I gather the actual point is that we should all be reading relevant, political stories with a message with the subtlety of a 2x4...

How dare you not constantly focus on the world's problems?...

I work all day solving other people's problems. My time is my time, and I enjoy escapist activities. When not camping, hiking, and panning for gold, I read science-fiction, and play video or table-top RPGs.

Escapism, in moderation, is good.

anna-banana wrote

that describes me pretty well. i engage in quite a lot of mental masturbation or daydreaming whatever you want to call it. most of the close friends i've had are the same way and we loved sharing ideas. life is so much better with friends...[sigh].. now i only have acquaintances and try hard to avoid inadvertently offending or insulting them. escapism in moderation is essential for just about everyone. if you don't have friends though it's easy to overindulge. this is the way i'm wired, it's not an addiction, it's who i am.