Elegant Nonsense

The Washington Times ^ | July 16, 2005 | Victor Davis Hanson

[the invisib1e hand]

Some people might come to understand these things without a formal education because they are of course intelligent to begin with....but this doesn't negate the fact that people who come to understand these things BY WAY OF a formal education are intelligent to begin with as well.

nor does it mean that those without formal education lack intelligence. nor does it consider the multitudes of people who, despite having formal education, amount to nothing but well-informed puppets.

[macamadamia]

"nor does it mean that those without formal education lack intelligence"

True but then I never said such a thing.


"nor does it consider the multitudes of people who, despite having formal education, amount to nothing but well-informed puppets."


I never said anything to indicate that a formal education and a good deal of intelligence will automatically save a person from moral failure or moral bankruptcy. One can actually be smart AND immoral, smart AND foolish, smart AND blindly conformist.

[kalee]

Hollywood and celebrity ping

[the invisib1e hand]

I read this today and thought of this thread...

My name's Joe, I'm the CEO
Yeah I'm the man makes the big wheels roll
I'm the hand on the green-light switch
You get to be famous, I get to be rich

Go get me a kid with a good lookin' face
Bring me a kid can remember his place
Some hungry poet son-of-a-bitch
He gets to be famous, I get to be rich

Or bring me a girl
They're always the best
You put 'em on stage and you have 'em undress
Some angel whore who can learn a guitar lick
Hey! Now that's what I call music!

Well they'll come lookin' for money when the public gets bored
But we'll fight 'em with lawyers they could never afford
Yeah I'll make her look like a spoiled little bitch
She gets to be famous, I get to be rich

Or bring me a girl
They're always the best
You put 'em on stage and you have 'em undress
Some angel whore who can learn a guitar lick
Hey! Now that's what I call music!

So burned out Johnny thinks the books are shifty
What good's that alchy to me when he's fifty?
Well we could move catalog if he'd only die quicker
Send my regards to the gig and a case of good liquor

He gets to be famous, I get to be rich
He gets to be famous, I get to be rich

My name's Joe, I'm the CEO
I'm the man makes the big wheels roll

Joe, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

These geniuses are apparently too smart to know whose stooges they are.

[the invisib1e hand]

True but then I never said such a thing. I never said anything to indicate that a formal education and a good deal of intelligence will automatically save a person from moral failure or moral bankruptcy. One can actually be smart AND immoral, smart AND foolish, smart AND blindly conformist.

such thoughts are too lofty for me.

[dhuffman@awod.com]

Thanks. But I retired from a 'green light swithch' job - "Engineering Officer of the Watch, take the reactor critical, perform the first fifettn steps of the operating instruction. Do reposition the switch." - not rich in dollars but +4 s.d. intelligent. I ride bicycle, sail a small boat and watch the dollars and sense. A clean floor or a clean pistol are just as satisfying as ... what ever it is that 'rich' folks do. Plus I get to travel, make love, have enemies, have friends add worry about the next dollar.

What you have is not so important as what you do with what you have.

[neverdem]

ping

[Tolik]

Thanks. The VDH ping list was already pinged to this article here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1442615/posts

But the more VDH the merrier.