Intellectual Morons: A Book About Junk Science

Yes Cav - and it doesn't stop back there! The Double Helix is a great book for looking at what really happens in science. Things are far more complex and less lofty than Gunga thinks!

I do like the phrase "far more complex and less lofty" bunny. Nice one.

"The third reich and the commie regime in Russia were the products of misguided "intellectuals". I mean, the common man left to his own devices does not come up with things like that."

I should enjoy watching you prove that especially ridiculous statement.

Especially in relation to the Third Reich.

Please demonstrate to me how Hitler and the men around him were intellectuals.

I shall expect something as lofty and reasoned as this:

"one of the funny things about the nazis is that their first really serious efforts in the direction of killing people involved killing commies and it's not teribly easy to fault them for that."

Perhaps a definition of intellectual might help in this endeavour - as you appear to think that "intellectual" and "moron" are synonyms?

1. a person who uses the mind creatively
(synonym) intellect
(hypernym) person, individual, someone, somebody, mortal, human, soul
(hyponym) anomalist

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adjective
1. of or relating to the intellect; "his intellectual career"
(pertainym) mind, intellect
2. of or associated with or requiring the use of the mind; "intellectual problems"; "the triumph of the rational over the animal side of man"
(synonym) rational, noetic
(similar) mental
3. appealing to or using the intellect; "satire is an intellectual weapon"; "intellectual workers engaged in creative literary or artistic or scientific labor"; "has tremendous intellectual sympathy for oppressed people"; "coldly intellectual"; "sort of the intellectual type"; "intellectual literature"
(antonym) nonintellectual
(similar) highbrow, highbrowed
(see-also) educated
(attribute) mind, intellect
4. involving intelligence rather than emotions or instinct; "a cerebral approach to the problem"; "cerebral drama"
(synonym) cerebral

Oh - it derives from "intellect"

intellect [in·tel·lect || '?nt?lekt]

n. power of knowing, mental capacity, mind, reason; highly intelligent person

Here's moron for you - as you seem to hae misunderstood it:

moron [mo·ron || 'm?r?n /'m??r?n]

n. person whose intelligence will never surpass that of an 8-12 year old child; idiot, half-wit, simpleton (Informal)

That's good too bunny. I was just going to resort to rhetoric and ask, so how many was it in the Holocaust, six million, or just a handful of Jew-commie rabble rousers...

If we actually want to be historically correct, the first thing the Nazis did was deport the intellectuals, but I really feel I'm beating a dead horse here, so I'm not quite sure why I'm bothering.

Oh - 20 million Russians alone died in WW II - some of them, of course, murdered at Stalin's orders.

Stalin may indeed have murdered more, sadly, and Mao's stupid policies murdered millions - Gunga has a point about the awfulness of ideology unwedded to compassion and reason - but this is a human, not an "intellectual" trait.

But indeed - why bother?

Reason will get nowhere with such as this.

True, sadly.

BTW - ascribing mass murder to ideology is an extraordinarily naive explanation, I believe - not that I deny that ideology can be a contributing, or enabling, factor.

Look at Iraq - both sides...

I am reading a fabulous biography of Stalin at hte moment, speaking of mass murder - very illuminating.

Absolutely correct. Black holes are an excellent example of this. They were denied long after several were pin pointed and even measured. Some "hard scientists" still won't admit it. Even though there is no other realistic explanation even suggested, that can explain the behavior of objects around them.

It wasn't a bad article, though. Some so-called "intellectuals" are just so much hot air.

Yep - just like some scientists.

I have great respect for Hawking, BTW (who is muttered about very negatively in many scientific circles as a show pony - and accused of using his entrances and exits with entourage and wheel chair effects to upstage or interrupt and derail presentations by scientific rivals!!) for folding his tents peacefully on his theories, as described in the article.

One could, of course, fiddle by denying both status as TRUE intellectuals and scientists!!!

Nothing in my life has been more entertaining, and illuminating, as attending medical conferences, speaking of intense emotionalism and human frailties like ego, jealousy and vaunting ambition.

The corollary in academe has been well, and oft, described!

I wish you'd change yer damn avatar back, Bill - it is very confusing - even with the cheese!

I think Hawking has relied too heavily on too old of data for his theories for a little too long. He's been a little more commercial than science for a few years now, but anyone disrespecting him is a fool, IMHO. His genius was in taking intimidating, complex subjects and making them easy enough for a 12 year old to understand. He may not be the top of his field anymore, but his name will be up there with the giants forever.

I'll switch the Avatar back when my protest/tribute is over. :wink: How much longer could he hold out?