I am a sucker for a countdown list. You know, the ones on the internet that are just fishing for clicks.
I am not really tempted by the quizzes to see what my perfect wine pairing would be or if they can guess what my favorite football team is, but I often find myself drawn into the lists.
And it doesn’t have to be an internet list. I spent a lot of time in high school and college debating lists and, ultimately, “the best” in a wide and ridiculous variety of things. Sports, food and all-things 80s are kind of my go to because I have broad knowledge and some deeply held, but confusing and frustrating convictions. I am also a softie for a good Christmas list.
I recently had a discussion with my eldest son about the best commercial jingle of all time. He decided it was it was the Folgers jingle. I chose, “I’d Like to Buy The World a Coke.”
This led to a debate about the best commercial of all time.
In our newsroom, there has been a great deal of discussion recently about the best movie of all time as well as the best sports movie of all time. (The Godfather and Bull Durham are the correct answer)
My friends and I debate sports, a lot, and will get deep into the minutia, like the best NBA center of the 1980’s (Patrick Ewing) or the worst quarterback to ever make a Super Bowl (Rex Grossman).
These lists can take many forms. The simple countdown to number one is a classic, but sometimes it is nice to shake things up.
Several months ago I participated in the voting for a best Christmas movie bracket. The bracket started with 32 holiday movies or specials and created a series of surprisingly difficult decisions. “Christmas Vacation,” “A Christmas Story,” “Home Alone” and “Elf” were the final four movies in the bracket, with “Christmas Vacation” taking the title. Because it was online voting, those were not my final four, but “Christmas Vacation” was my pick as a winner.
A coworker recently shared that her boyfriend and his friends had a bracket about the best dessert of all time. I am not sure how this turned out, but I have to assume that chocolate chip cookie won easily due to its simultaneous complexity and simplicity.
I also enjoy a good draft, where any number of pickers have a certain number of rounds to pick the best group from every possible choice. It is strange to think about but there are actually podcasts that make a whole production out of drafting things like the best Thanksgiving foods, phone apps, Saturday morning cartoons, ice cream flavors and summer smells.
There is also the “who would win” debates. This one seems popular with the comic book set. My boys enjoy asking Alexa and debating among themselves who would win in a fight between animals — real, extinct, dinosaurs, mythical — it doesn’t really matter.
The new twist is that artificial intelligence program Chat GPT has stared creating lists. After Chat GPT listed Hulk Hogan as the best wrestler of all time, I have started questioning the ability of artificial intelligence at all. I suppose I could have accepted the Hulkster at number one if Ric Flair had been second, but when Nature Boy showed up at four, the whole list was trash.
I think the beauty of these lists is that they are so subjective. They allow and encourage participants to bring personal memories and feelings. As we rank, we begin to examine our priorities — should the practicality and versatility of a chocolate chip cookie beat the complexity of a banana split or the novelty of a baked Alaska? Should the nostalgia and wholesome nature of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” top the humor of “Home Alone” or the classic nature of “It’s a Wonderful Life?”
I think the other thing is that we can have a civil dialogue, even a debate, without it devolving into personal attacks. Unlike politics or religion, we can debate nonsense lists for hours, learning about each other, sharing our opinions and values, in a forum that doesn’t attack the core of who someone is or feeling attacked ourselves.
I think that’s the top reason I enjoy lists.
-Mac Cordell is a reporter for the Journal-Tribune.