What are the psychological roots behind the "X vs Y" arguments?

[werp]

vaguely on topic

XX + XX = XY running like hell.

[mutantdog]

Clearly there are antagonistic elements involved in these debates, there are for sure those that feel the need to put down others to validate themselves, no doubt some of these people may be so convinced of their own righteousness that they fail to see how anyone could possibly think differently to them.

On the other hand though, there can be a tendency for people to feel the need to justify themselves and their preferences to others. A lot of the decisions we make are a reflection of our own individual personalities. So when those decisions are criticised or misunderstood it is inevitable that some may feel a personal need to defend themselves or explain their reasoning. To some extent this happens frequently in everyday life, in the structured format of a forum it manifests as "x vs y" debates.

And lets not forget the trolls who just do it for lulz.

[SODDI]

Big weinar vs little weinar.

[stanlea]

You're almost there : it's all about sex. Like always.

[trimph1]

Small penii syndrome

[woggle]

no f**king point putting this here

[jancivil]

Hardware vs Software or Window vs Mac is the same as Stones vs Beatles. There is a point with some people where the thing is a jacket for a way of life, beyond actual objective points. Then you start telling stories about the other, so it's your tribe is the best.

[hibidy]

We have seen so many of these "vs" threads in the past.
It can be "Analog vs Digital", "Hardware vs Software", "Mac vs PC", "ITB vs OTB", "product X vs product Y" or anything else really. No matter what forum we are talking about, these type of threads keep popping up like an ugly zit's to teenagers face, and they also seem to be just as much wanted. Many very useful discussions have been ruined by people who lure other forum members with their out of topic arguments, which turns the original thread into another "jerk of the month" competition. A lot of bad blood in this forum is just because for some reason a person has a need to prove that something he has got is better so much better than what the other guy has.

This somehow reminds me of my own childhood because I can remember myself and some other children behave that way too, but that was when we were children. This "My dad (or daw) is better than yours" should not be part of our way to handle things as a grown ups. For sure it seems a little bit childish to me.

It also surprises me that so many people seem to loose their self control for such little things as differing opinion about a product and start to insult each others. Wouldn't it be better to try to avoid topics that make it hard for you to interact others in a peaceful manner? I am a really hot headed guy myself in "real life" and I am still having a hard time understanding why people loose their self control so easily on a internet forum. We got the privilege of having all the time in the world to think about what to write here, or what not to write, and still many of us fail to maintain their reason when they get angry.

What are the psychological roots behind of "X vs Y" arguments?
It's a really interesting question to me as it seems that the "vs" threads are often very capable of bringing out some of the worse parts in our personalities.

Sometimes a cigar, is just a cigar.

As far as worst part of our personalities, that is likely to happen regardless of "vs" threads. I mean, you ever heard of twitter? KVR is calm, cool and collected vs that.........I KNOW I DIANT! (oh yes I did )

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

"versus" seems to take people back to playgrounds, short trousers and "my dad can beat up your dad" . however, there's nothing inherently wrong in a versus thread. it is often very useful to group like products for comparison. i'm not going to buy 20 wavetable synths (i know, not the kvr way), so i would normally use versus as shorthand, in lieu of "please can you list the pro's and con's of each of these similar products, that i can decide which best suits me"

i often search google with "vs" comparisons. i am currently going through this, trying to settle on a product. nope !! have no interest in people blindly defending their own purchase, but i do want help in drilling down to the essential comparisons. the closer that comes to a list of good/bad for each synth the better. i still live in hope

[RunBeerRun]

I used to have 8 top 40 hits, then my wife left me, and I started drinking Ketchup straight from the bottle.

[werp]

I used to have 8 top 40 hits, then my wife left me, and I started drinking Ketchup straight from the bottle.

I remember your wife. Very saucy.

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

I used to have 8 top 40 hits, then my wife left me, and I started drinking Ketchup straight from the bottle.

[RunBeerRun]

lol

[cryophonik]

Now tell me what should I buy to get more girls? Spire? Hive? Sylenth1? Dune 2? Serum?

Porsche 944

944?! Pfft, everybody knows the 911 Turbo is way cooler.

[ghettosynth]

Clearly there are antagonistic elements involved in these debates, there are for sure those that feel the need to put down others to validate themselves, no doubt some of these people may be so convinced of their own righteousness that they fail to see how anyone could possibly think differently to them.

I'm sure that some of you will struggle to accept this, but, in some cases, many in fact, sometimes one side is convinced of their "righteousness" because they are simply right.