RE: this is a tragic situation now the comedy

I have no idea. You manage to actually get my point and miss my point at
the same time. When you say:
>>as if all humanities work like abridges are meaningful.
That's actually my point. The value of humanities work is not immediately,
physically apparent. It's not like the Verazzano Bridge gracefully spanning
the Hudson. The value of engineering is regularly apparent. So even a
dummy can see the value of engineering.
Jim

You missed what I was saying. Not all humanities work has a valid point. A
bridge does because you drive over it but is there good and bad humanities
work? Yes. But who knows how to tell them apart? Not even many humanities
workers know and even if one were to become educated in the field there is
still no way of knowing so how can you apply stupid in the sense of the
context of your original statement? If a stupid person does not see the
point of humanities work that fact that he does not see it says nothing, so
what smart people often don't see the point of much of humanities work.
Daniel

To your average person walking about, now -- I'm not talking about the
especially stupid -- the value of engineering is even more apparent. I
would say that because of the nature of humanities work, the value of
humanities work is not readily apparent. By "humanities work," of course,
I'm not talking about the actual reading of literature or appreciation of
art or theater of music. The average person probably has different levels
of appreciation for all these things. They still may not see the immediate
value of scholarly study of these works. I don't think that makes anyone
stupid, but I do think they probably haven't spent much time thinking about
the issue, either, or getting many opinions beyond the regular media trash
you very well represented in a previous post.
Jim

Trash? This is an honest examining of the subject how? No direction
leaning slant here?
Daniel

Well, I've seen that too -- in all fields, no more or less in academia than
anywhere else. I've talked to some pretty arrogant engineers, and being a
former construction worker I know just how arrogant these guys can be about
their designs...never mind that I'm actually in a building that has 9.5' of
floor to floor-above space, an 8' ceiling, and they're trying to put 3' of
ductwork in what's left over. If it doesn't work, it must be -my- fault :).
Jim

Yes but it is obvious when this arrogant engineer is being unreasonable and
you the craftsman can point this out with simple arithmetic. There are
precious few examples of a non-expert correcting an expert in humanities.
That is the problem Jim. That is how elite humanities academic types play
the shell game, it all becomes rhetorical three card Monty.
Daniel

We've all seen (and you know this too, you said so) similarly arrogant
doctors and lawyers.
Jim

Yes, and there are ways to check them when their opinion of themselves
exceed their abilities, even by a non-lawyer or physician.
Daniel

So this returns to my so-what question. So, some academics are just as
arrogant about their knowledge as other knowledge people are. You know how
it goes...knowledge puffs up.
Ok, that's true. So what? :).
Jim

So what? This is your field of chosen profession and you say so what? What
system do you propose as check and balance? You want academic freedom with
no response from anyone outside your world? Tough Luck Maynard.
Daniel
-
* Unsubscribing? Mail majordomo@roughdraft.org with the message
* UNSUBSCRIBE BANANAFISH
Received on Mon Sep 29 18:31:03 2003