...visually dispiriting, characterless appliances like the Glock...the Glock's avoidable ugliness...
Once again, this goes back to the topic of opinions. With these statements, you haven't provided any concrete information that sheds any light on the use or performance of the gun in question. All you've done is made it clear that you're in the group that thinks Glocks are ugly. Nothing wrong with that, everyone is entitled to their opinion. But it's just that, an opinion.
I could take the exact opposite approach and characterize a Glock as being a revolutionary design, functioning superbly while being made of materials previously deemed unsuitable for a real combat handgun by those too short-sighted to envision what can be made to work when applied in new ways. The radically futuristic appearance is a welcome relief to those looking for a forward-thinking design who are tired of the endless parade of 1911 clones by too many manufacturers who lack the necessary creative inspiration to come up with a unique design of their own. And it's got one of the toughest protective finishes available, all in a package delivering previously unheard-of reliability in a variety of different configurations and seven different calibers. The Glock clearly is the handgun of the future and leaves all those other ancient, outdated designs in it's high-speed dust.
But if I said that, it would be my opinion, nothing more. The next guy might feel completely different about the same gun. Neither opinion would be correct, because opinions are simply personally-held beliefs, not facts. As a wise old man once said to me, "An opinion is nothing more than how a person chooses to feel." Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. No one's eye is the sole correct one, except to the person it belongs to.
I say the genius is the one who combines function and form.
Exactly my point. That's what
you say. Someone else might say something entirely different. Someone else might say that the genius is the one who disregards such superficial things as appearance and aesthetics in favor of creating something previously unseen before, a tool that does away with unnecessary extras and silly things like 'style' in order to distill the creation until what's left is nothing less than the essence of functional perfection, or as close to it as possible. A tool that the common man can afford, that can handle more abuse and keep functioning under worse conditions than just about anything else available, that can be easily used in the most stressful of circumstances, and that will instill no qualms in the user about it's reliability when it's most needed, which is the purpose of it's creation in the first place. The man (or woman) that can do this is truly a genius.
Designs say something about who the designers are.
Exactly.
Clearly, we have two different ways of agreeing on the same point. Neither viewpoint is the sole correct one, just two different opinions held by two different people. And you'll get a different point of view with every person you ask, which is what I was getting at before: debating aesthetics is pointless, because every person sees things differently. If you want to spend more for looks, style, a long pedigree, nostalgia, etc, more power to ya. Not everyone sees things the same way. What's an ugly gun to one person is a masterpiece to another.
On the other hand, give me something more concrete that can be measured, tested, and proven regardless of personal feelings, like reliability, accuracy, and durability, then we'll have a real debate going.
