Origami and nice people?

[Friet]

Although I haven't met a lot of people who practice origami. My experiences (mainly through the internet) have given me the impression that folders are mostly really nice people. I haven't seen or spoken to a single folder who wasn't willing to help other folders or people with an interest in origami. (and yes, you guys can take this as a compliment:))

I was thinking about this today and came up with three possible reasons.

1: Origami requires a lot of patience, a chunk of intelligence and the ability to appreciate the smaller things in life, (like a nicely folded piece of paper) and people with these qualities are often the kind of people that I like.

2: There aren't many folders and not many people know about origami. So it's always nice to talk to people who share your rare hobby or are interested in it.

3: I just haven't met the bad ones

It's probably a combination of the three though...

So what's your opinion about this matter?

[Alexandre]

I completely agree with that.

[wolf]

I'll pick option 3. Maybe I should also be more obnoxious from now on...

[nat]

yes i agree, most people who fold origami does have alot of patience. And patient people are nice but i've met some people who are a bit too "proud" of themselves. They tend to get a bit bothered if you talk to them too much. Although they are willing to help you if you ask nicely (sometimes)...

[TheRealChris]

so you have never met me. I'm probably the only rude person in this whole brady-world-of-happy-folders. if I wasn't shizophrenic, I would live my life all alone

just kidding. I also met some big-headed people in origami. but these are only a few, and none of them was a really origami-celebrety, just people that thought their way of life and fold was the right and nobody else was right. the majority of folders are actually really nice people. I think that may be an effect of beeing a kind of artist. I mean, there's no real competition in origami like there is in sports, so there are no real antagonists (or even enemies). besides that, folding a piece of papier is not really like kicking a ball or boxing or running fast. so maybe we're not that much under pressure of adrenalin to be mean to each other.

I love you all guys, so let's snuggle

[Daydreamer]

I think you can say the same for a lot of groups that share a common interest. I've experienced the same in the Anime community. It seems that people who share an interest which is not widely spread get along better

[rokonacdc]

i for one am defenitely not patient, but i seem to be getting a lot more patient ever since i started origami, its kinda strange

[wolf]

It seems that people who share an interest which is not widely spread get along better

Until you find the right hot topic - big end vs small end, glue vs no glue, paper vs foil, etc, etc.

[Ondrej.Cibulka]

Although I haven't met a lot of people who practice origami. My experiences (mainly through the internet) have given me the impression that folders are mostly really nice people.

You do not know of my brother. He is really excelent folder, he can fold most complex models with no problems, but he is very unpleasant, egoistic, tactless etc., especially if you do not agree with him. And he know to be very agresiv. But he is a exception...

[Daydreamer]

Well, I would say that the relation between siblings is a topic for itself

[Anine]

Hi!

I must say, I've never met a rude or unpleasant folder in any way, and I've been to 3 BOS conventions and at Masters of Origami in Austria.
Have a nice weekend!
Anine

[kalman]

I can't help but think that one of the reasons for this niceness, besides some of the qualities of origami itself, is that the vast majority of us can't make a living from folding paper. So--mercifully for our community--a lot of the pressures for positioning and power that exist in the big bad world don't come into play for us.

What's more surprising is how little of the nasty stuff you find even among the 'professionals' in the field. People being people, you might have thought that someone without much talent who wanted to climb to the top would do things like rip off other people's models, publish them in little booklets pretending they thought they were 'traditional', and slap their own names on the diagrams in big letters claiming the revised diagrams now have a 'much improved educational value'. You might also have expected territorial types to appear--you know, the kind that uses aggressive methods and any power or position they may gain in their struggle to the top (even from doing worthwhile work) to sabotage those they've marked off on the horizon as potential threats. Typically too you’ll see them charge exorbitant prices for a tutorial or lecture or otherwise use sharp business practices. In any public forum they were invited to you'd be sure to find them touting themselves as 'origami masters'. They'd put up big billboards about their work, take care their name always showed up right next to Yoshizawa's in every forum, etc. If you called them on anything they did, they'd tell you with a straight face it was all justified for the sake of 'spreading the joy of origami' or maybe for 'advancing world peace'; that they got nothing out of it personally but all commercial profits go toward the important origami work they're doing. --And so on and so forth: the type is familiar enough in the world.

I think it's a real credit to our community, which has at most a few dozen people who can eke out a living from anything to do with origami, that you find so little of this stuff going on. For some reason I live in the hope that if this kind of self-aggrandizement and commercialism ever did rear its head, we'd see it for what it is--and know how to react.

K.

[Friet]

Whatever the reason, let's just hope our happy little world of folders stays the way it is (or improves ofcourse)

[rockmanex6]

, you might have thought that someone without much talent who wanted to climb to the top would do things like rip off other people's models, publish them in little booklets pretending they thought they were 'traditional', and slap..............

Yap Florence Tenko


Yes happy many, but sorry to say other hands I saw some. Met plus talk to few not so nice (like kamiya, Pamer ok). To hint you its some and few not, of the Big designers well they think, but I dont care this, it just Origami!! (This reason example I say he not best or dont care those model, because share and help is part Origami Ok). Haha I not understand why them dont help/share but this is way they're..

Rock

[Alexandre]

Thanks you rockmanex6