Journals of Lord Malinov

the poetry of madness

wisely

Against stupidity, the gods themselves contend in vain.

And so the struggle continues.  You have to be trusted by the people that you lie to.  I wish I had some friends so that I could take advantage of them.  ;)

If people knew what went on in Washington DC, they wouldn't pay their taxes.  Where would this country be without incredible excesses of denial?  Where would any human society be?  Denial is the mortar that sustains our interpersonal structures.  There are many things we simply cannot afford to think about. 

It is always difficult to persuade someone to seek mental health care because the idea of being cured typically requires abandoning our support systems.  We need help when our support systems are failing, but no matter how flimsy, they have evolved into the piece of driftwood we cling to while traversing our ocean of troubles.  You following the metaphors?  I can slow down if need be. 

Most of us survive every day by telling ourselves a litany of untruths, while ignoring truths as they smack us in the face.  But you have to let go of the driftwood if we're going to rescue you.

Always look on the bright side of life.  Nothing else makes sense.  Beware the dark side.  You'll bump into the furniture.

Against stupidity.

Ignorant people become dangerous.  Maybe we can't make them smart, but perhaps we can help them become wise. 

Watched a documentary on the OKC bombings.  You may be a redneck if you think attacking people in Oklahoma would significantly impact business-as-usual in DC.  Aside from a serious structural flaw in the building, the only conclusion I could draw was that the man was both really stupid and really insane - and unwittingly lucky in his plan for destruction.  We need to keep dangerous chemicals and weapons out of the hands of stupid people.  Any ideas? 

Smart people can be just as insane and frequently act far stupider than their intellectual abilities might suggest them capable.  Being smart requires intellectual machinery and emotional stability.  An amazlingly small number of people can even reach that state, much less work in it.  Smart people can also be self-centered and evil.  Don't turn your back on one.  They're tricky.

But for the most part, smart people can be reasonable.  Stupid and crazy people struggle to be reasonable, even for a few seconds.  They speak in a form that mimics logic, ignoring the basic rules of analysis and using some mad, mad, mad, mad, mad premises.

Academics is the process of formalizing knowledge.  The ability to get good grades requires skills in formalizing knowledge. 

Formalizing knowledge is rarely the same thing as discovering knowledge.  Academics are the librarians of our thoughts.  I worked at a library once.  I loved wandering the stacks.

I found read (and so necessarily cut) a signed and still uncut edition of the complete works of Eugene O'Neill.  I had never heard of Gene until I saw Reds.  Jack Nicholson played the playwright.  And what a playwright he was.  I loved reading and rereading Strange Interlude, imagining different production possibilities. 

My job was alphabetizing index cards, returning them to the master card catalog.  I'm sure there isn't one, anymore.  Horribly inefficient compared to what a computer can do.

I learned to program a mainframe with punchcards - never even saw a terminal until after I graduated - and was terribly disappointed by the lack of magic in programming.  Monkeys can program saith the Lisa.  I showed up for a final in one of my college computer courses.  Before the prof handed out the exam he looked at me and said "you have an A even if you don't take this exam."  I left with a smile.  School is just too easy.

Hey kids - the work they ask you to do is easy.  You're the one trying to make it hard, trying to discover the magic that isn't there.  Simple analysis is all they want - learn to think and formalize analysis.  A child could do it, once you understand once they want from you.  They'll teach you a few tricks and formalization.  If it were a video game, you'd complain it was too, too easy.

Kids who work to get good grades are fools.  There isn't anything to work at.  Concentration and focus - that is the real mental skill you need to acquire. 

School is a game but it's not meant to be.  Kids who play the game are missing the point.  It is sad.  I take points away for being an overachiever.

One of the funniest bits of my career was when I worked as a big firm attorney - untouchable in my unique abilities and experience, but like a fish out of water, drowning in over-achievers.  During my three year stint, I had to interview countless over-achievers for suitability in our department, not to mention endless lunches with summer associates.  I really hate overachievers.  They are so stupid.

Them. I don't trust them.   You know how they are.  I hate them.  They suck.  They say the most terrible things.  They should die.

M
anti-them

posted by: Malinov at 07:08 | link | comments |

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