Recent posts tagged intellectualism
2019
The Passive Type
Zen as nonintellectual, rather than anti-intellectual. But also non-passive.
2018
Nowhere Are We Commanded To Be Doormats
Kevin Drum dropped an aphorism worth repeating: "When you write, pretend you’re writing for people you respect."
Too Smart For Your Own Good
"Beginner's mind" is not something we can impose on others.
The Life Of The Mind
An influencer seems more interested in being well-known, being "influential", than in being motivated by a thirst for the truth.
The Unthinkable Lightness Of Being
On how Zen and Buddhism are not anti-intellectual, but non-intellectual. Big diff there.
Smarts For Me But Not For Thee
On very stable geniuses and the like.
2017
The Happy Life Of The Mind Dept.
"Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out."
2016
I Dunno LOL Dept.
On the freedom to say "I don't know" and not be punished for it.
Not The Smartest Guys In The Room Dept.
I don't think SF authors have an obligation to be scientific authorities, but I do think they have an obligation to be scientifically literate.
2014
The Liar In The Mirror Dept.
On the fine line between "I only believe in facts and logic" and "If I believe this, it must be logical and factual".
The Snore Of Reason Dept.
Breeding monsters, and all that.
Wise Up Dept.
On why taboos aren't just prejudices.
2013
Think, Thank, Thunk Dept.
Why artists and thinkers shouldn't consider themselves mutually exclusive entities.
With Enemies Like These, Who Needs Friends? Dept.
I'd rather have a scrupulous intellectual opponent than an ally with dodgy thinking.
