Dangerous Drink - Wisdom of the Vikings Part 7

Alertness

Better weight

than wisdom

a traveller cannot carry.

A clear head

is good company.

Drink is a dangerous friend.

Drinking

Ale

has too often

been praised by poets.

The longer you drink

the less sense

your mind makes of things.

This is part 7 in an ongoing series (the series starts HERE) bringing together the Hávamál (a collection of Norse wisdom poetry) and the still-evolving rules and mores of the Internet, particularly as they are developing in the realm of social media.


These two poems contain the abundantly clear (yet far to oft' ignored) advice that it is not wise to consume too much alcohol. It may well be worthwhile spending time reiterating this message (and I suspect that "don't drink and tweet" is necessary advice for many) but I want to focus instead on the principle which, I think, made this advice especially important for medieval Icelanders; advice which, I suspect, is nearly as important for those engaging in digital society. 

In the largely anarchic society of medieval Iceland hospitality and courtesy were incredibly important values. In any society where arguments can become feuds which can, in turn, become near civil wars, it is of the utmost importance not to get the ball rolling in the first place. If Sven insults Olaf, and Olaf feels the need to revenge himself on Sven such that he himself has to be put back in place by Sven and his friends, there is no easy way to stop the process once it has begun. So the easiest, and best, answer is to stop really vitriolic personal arguments before they begin.

But this dynamic is necessarily in tension with the need to establish a reputation as a good and powerful individual since being perceived to be dangerous is one of the most effective preventative actions an individual or small community can take to forestall unwanted conflict. The tension between the need to be courteous and the need to appear dangerous, leads to something of a tightrope walk wherein each word, objection, or boast has to be carefully calculated to elicit just the right response from one's company, particularly when that company is not part of your own close-knit community.

Alcohol, for all of its virtues, is not conducive to tightrope walking. I suspect that the deeper point being made in these passages is that drink is something best reserved for moments of celebration and among close friends, where it is safe to be unguarded. It would have been the height of foolishness (and too often was) for a Viking to let her guard down and start boasting and insulting around company which might take offense. 

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So, too, in the age of the internet and social media, we are well advised to remember that publicly made comments are, well, public. That unless we know that our thoughts are going to be restricted to the friends and companions who really love and understand us, we would do well not to let ourselves become "giddy" or "punch drunk" in our reactions and comments. Think to the many and increasing stories of people whose lives and livelihoods have been materially damaged as a result of their unguarded language or comments. In an environment where the crowd, rather than the state, exacts vengeance, it is important not to engage when something (drink for sure but also passion, excitement, anger etc...) might be clouding our judgement.



PART 8

Wisdom of the Vikings Part 5: How Best to Profit as a Guest

                                                                                                           Attending a Feast

I would like to feast here.

No man should call

himself clever

but manage his mind.

A sage visitor

is a silent guest.

The cautious evades evil.

Never a friend

more faithful,

nor greater wealth, than

wisdom

Seeking Knowledge

The cautious guest

who comes to the table

speaks sparingly.

Listens with ears

learns with eyes.

Such is the seeker of

 knowledge.

This is part 5 in an ongoing series (the series starts HERE) bringing together the Hávamál (a collection of Norse wisdom poetry) and the still-evolving rules and mores of the Internet, particularly as they are developing in the realm of social media.

In my last few Hávamál posts (the series starts HERE) I have been discussing the subject of hospitality and the applicability of classical Icelandic (Viking) wisdom to the anarchist/minarchist world of the internet. My wacky thesis is that there is a substantial parallel to be explored between Viking society and Internet society. I have mentioned that, in early Norse-settled Iceland, while there was a functional analog to a constitution, their society lacked any official executive arm (the Icelanders had no king) so that all enforcement of laws and collectively decided punishments was left up to local communities. I see this as functionally parallel to the environment of social media, blog com-boxes, and internet forums. Furthermore I am persuaded that online interaction has the effect of undoing some of the socialization we receive growing up in a society which is structured against the unofficial use of violence (check out the Our Computers, Our Selves Episode of Invisibilia for a cool look at some of the ways computers have affected our online interaction). Essentially I think that online interaction makes us a bit more like Vikings.

In this post I want to take a look at the two poems above as representing Viking wisdom for guests. As much as there is an etiquette for hosts, there is also a lot to be said about how to be a good guest, both in terms of ensuring a positive relationship with your host, and also in terms of getting the most out of your experience as a guest. These two poems are in that latter vein.

One of the "fundamental rules of the internet" is don't feed the trolls. Taken as a wisdom aphorism (usually true and a great rule-of-thumb but don't get all letter-of-the-law about it and watch out for exceptions) it is a really great piece of advice. In many online discussions there are those who love to derail the conversation, often by being as offensive or irrational as they can figure out how to be; it is usually wise to ignore such people. But in a viking context don't feed the trolls would mean something more like don't give undue attention to a troublemaker. What we see in the poems above focuses not on dealing with a troublesome guest but on how a guest can/should interact with the host.

"No man should call himself clever but manage his mind" and "The cautious guest who comes to the table speaks sparingly" I take to be good advice on how not to become a troll yourself. The internet is notoriously full of people who have already carved out their own space (Twitter feed, Facebook wall, blog, tumbler, or Reddit thread just to name a few). Often these folks use their spaces to present, and offer discussion on, highly controversial topics (and yeah, this blog is definitely one of those spaces). The wisdom in these two poems is not that you should never speak up or engage critically in such a space. In fact, critical engagement and rigorous debate are often precisely what the host is hoping for. But not always. Sometimes the host is blithely unaware that the people they have invited in view their proclamations, "shares, and pronouncements" as controversial - they do not want to debate and will become hostile if you contradict them however gently. Other times, the host is practically lying in wait for an unsuspecting guest to "spring the trap" with an insufficiently informed position or weak argument. Engaging with them only leads to public humiliation and a breakdown in relationship. But all three of these situations look basically the same at first blush: a controversial headline.

That is where the wisdom of the Hávamál comes in. The wise wanderer on the world wide web will

Just think, this could be you.

take time to determine her surroundings, to get a feel for the environment before jumping in with a rowdy comeback or witty retort. Check out the host's other work, read some of what they have written and look at how they interact with their guests. Do they jump down the throats of anyone who disagrees with them. Does your host's comment history indicate that they could wipe the floor with you rhetorically? Since most internet interaction is ultimately public, remember that your debate, or argument, will be taking place in a public space; even if you know the person well and have engaged with them in meat-space (in greater privacy) to your mutual benefit, they may behave quite differently online knowing that their comments are being read by their own internet followers.

Engage a space, or a host, in the wrong way and you become the troll, regardless of your own intentions. Remember the cautious (wise) guest "Listens with ears, learns with eyes. Such is the Seeker of Knowledge

Of course sometimes being seen as a troll may be the right thing to do. But even then it is better to approach the situation with your eyes open than shut. 

PART 6

Click to get the Hávamál on Amazon

Wisdom of the Vikings Part 4: Worldliness

I know you got skills girl.

Worldliness

The traveller must

train his wits.

All is easy at home.

He who knows little

is a laughing-stock

amongst men of the world

This is part 4 in an ongoing series (the series starts HERE) bringing together the Hávamál (a collection of Norse wisdom poetry) and the still-evolving rules and mores of the Internet, particularly as they are developing in the realm of social media.

While this particular bit of wisdom might seem to be a fairly prosaic platitude on prudence, I think it actually represents a particularly salient perspective on the subject. The more contemporary platitude is familiar enough: Better to  remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt has be variously attributed to Mark Twain, Abraham Lincoln and few others (quote investigator has a nice treatment here). It provides the worthwhile advice that talking too quickly can get you into trouble and that it is when we speak - or type - in haste that we are most likely to embarrass ourselves. It's certainly a helpful couple of cents for anyone getting ready to venture into the wild anarchy of online forums and contentious Facebook threads.

But in this piece from the Hávamál we tap into a piece of wisdom more precisely directed at the wild unregulated frontier environment of Vikings and, per my hypothesis, the internet. Online the great tendency and temptation is to engage with the full force of one's personality and opinion. The anonymity of the web is infamously heady and it can be tempting to show off one's erudition or unload the full weight of your opinions on some poor, unsuspecting commenter, much like a young Viking warrior eager to prove her mettle by pitting her skills against some older stranger. Worldliness reminds us that having been considered a wit among your circle of friends or a bright student in your own school is no guarantee then when you go to cross words (or axes) with strangers in a strange place, you won't end up humiliated. Thus the wise viking, like the wise internet user (anyone one want to start recommending Viking-esque titles for internet users? I sense a developing need for such a term. Put your ideas in the com-box) must train his wits and remember that what was easy at home (on his own Facebook page or Twitter feed) surrounded by friends and family (in that internet echo-chamber where we can control whom we interact with and how we are perceived) may prove woefully inadequate amongst men of the world (in the larger world of forums and com-boxes). 

Part 5 is HERE

Click to get the Hávamál on Amazon