Sez who?

I'm currently reading Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller. It's a so-called classic written in the early 1930's and was initially banned by all English speaking countries due to its subject matter and vulgar depiction of said subject matter.

This book is supposed to be critically acclaimed and touted as a fine example of literature by many a great author and critic. Although I'm only a few pages in, I am not impressed.

I wonder how many things in life we take others' word for because we are too lazy to form an opinion for ourselves. For that matter, I wonder how much of my experience has been biased by others' opinions or offhand remarks. Take movies, for example. Critics are saying now that "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" was a terrible movie. I rather enjoyed it. It was no "Forrest Gump", but it wasn't "Mars Attacks!" either. However, when I read that review, I began to doubt myself. 'Did I really like it that much? Yeah, it really wasn't that good I suppose...'

Other things are subject to our inexperience or lack of knowledge. I'll take a plumber's opinion on which brand of toilet flap is best, simply because I don't know any better. I just have to trust that plumber's expert opinion - but he could be dead wrong. Just like some of my computer-savvy friends still tout Windows and PCs, even though Apple, Macs, and Mac OS X are far superior to anything in the PC world. But so-called "experts" in IT will still promote Windows up the wazoo.

I have a feeling that we don't really want to know how many things in our lives are dictated by a body of questionable knowledge and expertise. Kind of like why people categorize and generalize/stereotype. It's easier on the ol' noggin that way.