Disappointing Evening

Don't ask. Just play a short piece on the B&O, then say "I have something else for you to hear"....

People are social and it is normal to have concern about what other people think of us. Afterall, we cannot succeed materially or emotionally without the feedback/appraisal of those around us. To say we do not care what other people think of us is really just a statement of denial.
As for the stereo system, I am happy to play something for someone if they show in interest in my system. I have no feelings about it one way or the other. Many people seem to barely notice my system and I don't bother to play it unless they ask and it happens to be on. On the other hand, on the rare occasions that I get to have a fellow audio hobbyist over to hear my system, I actually feel a little nervous. I guess because I know I am going to get a valid critique from someone with knowledge and ability to evaluate my system. I appreciate honest criticism because it is easy to get complacent or used to a certain characteristic and their fresh viewpoint can give us a direction to go for further improvement- if I feel like it is worth it, of course.

hi tonywinsc:

unless you are a mindreader, the statement "to say we do not care what other people think of us is really just a statement of denial", is a conjecture.

what evidence do you have to back up that statement ?

i take people at their word.

if someone were to say they are not concerned with what other people think, i would accept it and not assume that they were in a state of denial.

consider the concepts--other and inner directed.

the inner directed person is motivated by his own thoughts and desires and may not consider the consequeneces of others' opinions or reactions.

Everyone cares about someone which means everyone cares about what at least one person thinks about them. Sure, you may not care about what the guy passing you on the sidewalk thinks, but I can't accept that a person cares about no one in this world. We all should care about the ones around us- ergo what they think about us in some way. If a person lives as a recluse, perhaps it is more about fear of what others think rather than apathy. I'm getting out of my element here, I am engineer not a psychologist. From my perspective I can't imagine not caring about people.