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Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Advice to college students

Which professors and speakers are worth listening to?

One clue is how much organized opposition he attracts on campus. Given the liberal lockstep mentality that most professors exhibit these days, there is probably a straight line correlation between how much a professor is ostracized and what an original thinker he is.

Think of the professors who have stirred up the most organized opposition over the years. Arthur Jensen. Camille Paglia. Richard Hernstein. E. O. Wilson. All brilliant, and all worth listening to.

Think of the way Ann Coulter was prevented from speaking when she tried to speak at a Canadian university recently. Love her or hate her, she is witty. I disagree with her stance on Iraq -- she is a hawk -- but I had to laugh when I read her suggestion that all the Iraqis be converted to Christianity when the war ended.

The dirty little secret of these protesters is that they would never get so upset over something which wasn't true. If a proponent of the Flat Earth Society were to come to campus, organized protests would not ensue. Think of the way people are never "offended" by something which isn't true. (Call a brilliant fatso stupid, and it will not bother him; call him a porker, and he will bristle.)

Likewise, smug, conventional thinkers hate it when you question their knee jerk way of thinking.

So here's my advice to college students: if there is a professor on campus who is widely despised and reviled by the majority of professors (for his views, not his personal behavior), take his course. You may not agree with him, but he is at least worth listening to. Likewise, if student protesters succeed in shutting down a guest speaker, make an effort to read his books or other writings.

If, on the other hand, a professor's odious personal behavior is overlooked by the rest of the professoriat because of his politically acceptable views, avoid him. He's got nothing original to say, and you may run afoul of him personally.

A campus is supposed to be a place where civilized discourse and argument takes place among open-minded scholars. (This is only a joke because of the rigidity of the liberal mindset of the campus thought police.)

So follow the trail of the protesters -- then listen closely to whomever they're protesting.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

My advice is study math, science and engineering and then get a job doing something of real value. Except purely for entertainment value, ignore all the self important scholars and intellectuals of the squishy subjects (nice expression BTW John).
;)
G

John Craig said...

Guy -- I don't know what I'd do without you, the other commenters seem to have fallen by the wayside. Or maybe their comments got lost the way yours did. In any case, thanks for keeping me company on this boring vacation (subject of the next post). Your advice is good, by the way.

Anonymous said...

John, maybe your recent posts have had us all nodding in agreement, and thus bereft of any value added responses? Your "heroes" series also set a rather somber tone, so at least the chuckles are back with "college..scam".
G

John Craig said...

Guy -- I've given some thought to what you've said and I've concluded that you are right: my posts are so well-argued and compelling that everybody who reads them just agrees entirely and has nothing further to add.

On the other hand, I thought the college scam piece was a fairly sober analysis of the value of a college education, which can only mean that you are laughing at and not with me. (On the other hand, I thought the Putin piece was pretty funny; maybe I should have paid closer attention to that psychology of humor course I took.)

Anonymous said...

You're right John, I should not have chuckled at your sober analysis of priority life skills - my sad lack of relevant education, particularly relating to "how to fight (lethally)" has certainly held me back in life. ;)
G
PS your commentary on the pictures of Putin flexing his manboobs was also chuckle

John Craig said...

Guy -- I can't exactly laugh at Putin's moobs since I'm about ready for a training bra myself.

But now that I know that you don't know how to fight (lethally) I'll feel freer to bully you next time we meet in person.

Anonymous said...

But maybe I have properly educated friends who do... Have you met Joe Pike?
G

John Craig said...

In that case I won't. (I'm easily cowed.)

Who is Joe Pike?

Anonymous said...

Meet Joe Pike.
http://www.amazon.com/Watchman-Joe-Pike-Novel/dp/0743281632

John Craig said...

You're going to bring a fictional character to defend you? Sorry, but the bullying is back on.

Anonymous said...

Didn't you liken yourself to a chihuahua in an earlier post ;)

John Craig said...

This is what human chihuahuas do: they bark fiercely from behind the relative safety of their computer screen, then when they meet you in person, they let out a high pitched yap and run away.