"Actually, it's not an 'intellectual' thing. It's an ego thing. You don't need to be smart to have an ego."
I probably didn't state it correctly. I meant that it takes a sort of intellectual mindset to move beyond the "win the debate" method of discussion. There are some people I know who are very smart, but don't think about "stuff." In some cases, they may know more about some area like computers or nuclear fission than anyone else, but don't seem to spend any free time thinking about how life works, how people think, nor look at their own past actions with reflection.
I was not criticising intellectuals but complimenting them. I find people I regard as intellectuals are much MUCH more willing to say that they do NOT have the answers... but they have lots of questions.
BTW, I really liked your murder analogy. I am definitely going to use that one!
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Re: Some agreement, some disagreement
Date: 2006-08-14 04:16 pm (UTC)I probably didn't state it correctly. I meant that it takes a sort of intellectual mindset to move beyond the "win the debate" method of discussion. There are some people I know who are very smart, but don't think about "stuff." In some cases, they may know more about some area like computers or nuclear fission than anyone else, but don't seem to spend any free time thinking about how life works, how people think, nor look at their own past actions with reflection.
I was not criticising intellectuals but complimenting them. I find people I regard as intellectuals are much MUCH more willing to say that they do NOT have the answers... but they have lots of questions.
BTW, I really liked your murder analogy. I am definitely going to use that one!