ˈSHärlətənˈSHärlətn
I was surfing Reddit earlier, as I do every afternoon, when i came across a post in Subreddit Drama linking to this comment stream found in the Physics forum. For the last ten minutes or so, I've been audibly shouting like Mordecai and Rigby from Regular show, as I read the account of physicist/mathematician/programming professional "crotchpoozie" owning the everloving shit out of wannabe string theory debunker "jeinga", high off huffing the fumes of his assumed expertise. What results is a 60+ comment string where the physicist poses questions that the debunker cannot answer, preferring instead to accuse the professional of fraud.
It's difficult to wince at how bad this physicist burns this kid, who I'm assuming is still under 21. It's soothing to read, sort of like being cursed out in a romantic-sounding foreign language. The physicist speaks to the child as would a teacher redirecting a rebellious student, so convinced of his own ability that he assumes his academic musings to be superior to that of his instructor.
"Sometimes I get the impression this whole website is made up of tech support staff pretending to be Stephen Hawking" -- cabal1What I most enjoy about this largely one-sided exchange is how cathartic it feels for me, witnessing an educated individual phrase my frustrations against his ignorant assailant with such eloquence, it makes me dizzy, a little bit! I'm nearing my bachelors in Bio, which ain't shit, I know that, but it's that right there, isn't it? I KNOW THAT. I don't operate under the unwarranted assumption of possessing some talent that is realistically foreign in access at best within my current abilities.
"when you claim others don't know the history, how and why different things were needed in order to reduce to known theory in various limits, you cannot even begin to grasp how and why it fits together.
Yet you think you have an opinion formed by reading other people's opinions while ignoring those opinions you don't like.
In short, your "knowledge" is born of profound ignorance in the subject. Yet you rage on like an angry, rude, ignorant prick, one whose blind and self-deluded attitude will close off opportunities and end their career, leaving them to sit at home and rant and rage against life."
Seeking submission within an oppositional discussion is most certainly bullshit, and it's bullying, without a doubt, even if reality supports the same side as I do.
It's the winning over another at that point, isn't it? It's their defeat, not mutual understanding, that you want, right? Isn't that a bit vengeful and emotional for casual discussion, especially over the internet, where we have the lowest conversational accountability and thus are more inclined to turn trading shots into a slaughterhouse?
Were the recipient of this academic's wrath to show even a shred of intellectual humility, I would defend him. Were he to show even the smallest glimmer of educational desire or academic interest, I would think of his behalf. But what do you say on behalf of a man who digs his own grave out of pride and spite? Abstractly speaking, at that! It's the arrogance that warrants this sort of vicious, surgically logical response, isn't it? It's his "I'm right, you're wrong, accept it" attitude that seems so irresistibly crushable, like those crispy autumn leaves you make it a point to step on because you can feel a crunch that good in your teeth.
They kids call stupidity on a level this blatant "trolling", that the instigator is having an intentional go at a forum, whose members are easy to pick an online fight with. I want to believe in the argument's organic nature, but it's difficult to tell anymore, with Poe's Law in effect and all (simply put, without environmental cues, extreme views can't be accurately discerned as either serious or sarcastic). The initial reaction to all new information, to anything encountered, fathomed, imagined or observed, is skepticism, remember that.
I feel invalidated when those with less expertise or information than I do refuse to alter their views, it enrages me almost, until I realize that self-regulation is one of the many facets of a mature individual. The physicist mentions the Dunning-Kruger effect, and it sums up my seething annoyance with these phonies. According to the study, the inadequate individual exhibits the following behavioral traits:
Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species celebrated its 154th anniversary this week. The aforementioned effect reminded me of a quote of his that showed up alongside a picture the other day on my Facebook feed:
- tend to overestimate their own level of skill;
- fail to recognize genuine skill in others;
- fail to recognize the extremity of their inadequacy;
"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, and not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science"Why act like an expert, why assume intellectual authority over others? Are you that set on arguing the affirmative for your ego? Are you that driven by intellectual insecurity to overcompensate in front of casual acquaintances and complete strangers? Reminds me of the contemporary atheist, pro-science because they've read Richard Dawkins and the exposure to evolutionary theory was personally revolutionary, some definitive refutation of religious doctrine. They understand none of it.
"Know what all the great men of science did that you seem hell bent against? They all learned as much current theory as possible, and mastered it. Newton, Einstein, Feynman - all masters of current theory. Bohr, Galileo, Maxwell, Dirac, Gell-Mann - all masters of theory and technique. All are known as being encyclopedic - you are stunting your growth with your childish attitude."Popsci isn't an advanced degree, yet here they are, former theological book club members transferring to the meeting across the hall. It's the same smug superiority, skewing the underlying philosophical message of inquiry and understanding. I'm an atheist, but I bet you millions I can explain every biological concept I've been taught within Christian parameters and convince even the most indoctrinated or euphoric individual alike. They've substituted their own institutions and implemented their own oppressive regime of intellectual authority. Revolution is a circlejerk.
There is no authority outside of intrinsic limitation or idealistic assumption, there is no arrogance in an education, there is no substitute for experience, or disrespect for those in pursuit or possession of it. A man with a PhD in physics knows a little more than the average schmuck that wanders up to an internut forum with his pseudoacademic feelings of competence.
"Let me guess, some pop science book told you the above which you now parrot without any understanding, right? How exactly did you, with your vastly narrow view and no knowledge, arrive at that, except to read it from somewhere you clearly do not understand?"Reputation is an extension of integrity. it's how you present yourself in public and around others in social settings. When we speak without thinking, we risk coming off as liars, and a reputation like that can discredit a fella indefinitely. We can achieve a sense of community with our peers without puffing out our chests anytime a discussion wanders outside our area of expertise.
Even nonscientists understand. Take this exchange in the SRD comments:"Know something else almost every single physicist that amounted to anything had? A PhD. Knowledge. Skills. And talent. You claim talent, yet think the rest is unnecessary. Grad school is filled with smart people thinking they don't need knowledge, and they all fail out. It's so common it's a joke. Good luck on your intellectually adrift journey.You're so far out of your league, yet so sure of your intellect, that it's sad. You will fail to become a physicist (or scientist of any kind) of any note with this attitude."
"I have no shame in admitting that I know next to nothing about physics.Why is out so hard for some people to acknowledge their own limitations?"
"Massive egos large enough to eclipse the sun."Stop spewing hatred and ignorance. Accept your intellectual limits as you encounter them. Challenge them privately, versus a public environment. Avoid embarrassment and annoying your peers. Inspire and educate, or stop talking. You're like bullfrogs with nothing to bang, or screaming birds with no opponent to fight. The noise you're making is unwarranted, and is reserved for specific credentials and circumstances.
No u. Pls go.
