Do most people who think they sound profound come across as being cliché?

Answer 1

I'd be suspicious of any answer to this question that says 'yes' or 'no,' if that answer isn't accompanied by a good explanation of how it's known whether some speaker thinks she sounds profound.

That it is clad in cliche is no mark against a genuinely profound statement. Sometimes I recognize genuinely profound statements. E.g., I grasped IMMEDIATELY the profundity of "A rolling stone can give you a really nasty bruise," and "Boy, were we naive then."

So, what do we make of those people who mouth enormous strings of cliched profundities? I just shrug. Even the hoariest cliches work when they strike a virgin ear; and if they convey a profound thought, I'll forgive them their creaking articulation and crusty metaphor. Besides, the choice of words lay with that speaker, not with me, not in that moment.

And what do we do with those people who spit out reams of cliched, hollow inanities? We elect them to high office, more often than not.

Answer 2

I'm not sure. Perhaps. I think people that are profound don't necessarily think that they sound that way, they just are. They merely speak the truth in just the right way.

Cliches, maxims & proverbs become popular because they are basically true. Maybe hearing the same old truisms can get stale but if it's true, it's true. We like to complicate life but sometimes the answer is quite simple & is something we should know but just choose to ignore. Do they really have to keep putting warnings on cigarette packs? Apparently they do. Some people just don't get it. So you keep telling them what should be obvious & maybe eventually a couple of them catch on.

The world has been around a pretty long time. How much is there left to discover? Are there any truly original ideas? No matter who or where you are & what you think & how unique & groundbreaking you feel it is for you, no doubt someone has already felt/thought/expressed that same idea in a similar way. That shouldn't stop you from putting your idea out there. It may sound cliche to 99 people but if it is meaningful for one person it's more than worth it.

Look at love. The most profound emotion in the world & the most cliche. Everyone feels it, yet everyone has a unique experience. That's why they can continue to write novels, poems & songs on the subject, each one fresh & different.

Maybe the key is to say the same old thing in an eloquent or original way & then people think you're profound...

:)

Answer 3

I would imagine that some profundity is timeless and with anything timeless there is the chance of it becoming a cliche. Profound is not in what is said, but the impact that another's words or thoughts can have on the life experience of another. I call them 'light bulb moments'.

Answer 4

In the grand scope of human thought, just about everything is cliché. More importantly, are the correct? Better to be repetitive and right than profoundly wrong.

Answer 5

In some instances, yes. I'm especially annoyed by the countless times people abuse Descartes' "Cogito Ergo Sum" pronouncement to answer any philosophically based question. It would help if people actually learned to think for themselves or at least educate themselves so they will at least SOME idea of what they are attempting to discuss.

Answer 6

One man's epiphany is another's trite cliche.