Smart People and Bad Ideas.
Scott Berkun, pundit, software project management specialist and all-around wiz-kid of leadership and communication, has written a little essay called "Why smart people defend bad ideas" over at his website.
It's a good article that I skimmed through this morning. It doesn't just cover why those of us with intellectual power abuse it, but also how to defuse such situations and how to bring the discussion back to a point on your own turf where the idea can be isolated from its proponent and even talked down.
It's a good little article, and if you find yourself often arguing with intelligent people about genuinely bad ideas, I recommend a glance over it.
The information would have been a lot more useful to me three years ago. Now, since I rarely engage in debate on any topic, it serves little purpose. These days it appears I prefer to merely hear the other person's point of view and then nod and smile and file their thoughts away for future reference.
Some other unrelated links and news.
First, Blue, over at DeepBlueSee, has posted an awesome entry about the effects of summer and other things. It's insightful, smart, and hits home for me, and not just because Blue is my little brother. Many blog entries by college students are just snapshots. This one is a photograph.
Second, Incidents and Accidents, one of my favorite melodramatic "life hurts" blogs, has updated again, and today's "Arrivederci ... magari" update is outstanding.
And for local news: Another installment in the Pellicio fiction serial is coming soon. Maybe later today. If you're into seduction, betrayal, mentorship and--oh yes, blood drinking lords of the night--it might be right up your alley. Heads up: I take it back. I won't be able to post the second Pellicio update for another week or so. Sorry. It's a work in progress and it needs more editing.
It's a good article that I skimmed through this morning. It doesn't just cover why those of us with intellectual power abuse it, but also how to defuse such situations and how to bring the discussion back to a point on your own turf where the idea can be isolated from its proponent and even talked down.
It's a good little article, and if you find yourself often arguing with intelligent people about genuinely bad ideas, I recommend a glance over it.
The information would have been a lot more useful to me three years ago. Now, since I rarely engage in debate on any topic, it serves little purpose. These days it appears I prefer to merely hear the other person's point of view and then nod and smile and file their thoughts away for future reference.
Some other unrelated links and news.
First, Blue, over at DeepBlueSee, has posted an awesome entry about the effects of summer and other things. It's insightful, smart, and hits home for me, and not just because Blue is my little brother. Many blog entries by college students are just snapshots. This one is a photograph.
Second, Incidents and Accidents, one of my favorite melodramatic "life hurts" blogs, has updated again, and today's "Arrivederci ... magari" update is outstanding.
And for local news: Another installment in the Pellicio fiction serial is coming soon. Maybe later today. If you're into seduction, betrayal, mentorship and--oh yes, blood drinking lords of the night--it might be right up your alley. Heads up: I take it back. I won't be able to post the second Pellicio update for another week or so. Sorry. It's a work in progress and it needs more editing.
Sunday, May 29, 2005
posted at 12:45 PM
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