cdshaw@cs.UAlberta.CA (Chris Shaw) (06/07/90)
In article <blahblah> sandee@fsu.scri.fsu.edu.UUCP (Daan Sandee) writes: >In article <blahblah> gillies@p.cs.uiuc.edu writes: > >> What are the answers to these questions? > >> 1. Who is Adam Smith? > >> Don W. Gillies, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Illinois > >This query proves to this European once more the quality of American >education. In Europe, people who don't know who Adam Smith was (not is), >wouldn't be allowed near a computer, let alone be employed at a University. > >Daan Sandee sandee@scri1.scri.fsu.edu Which just goes to show the low value of intellectual smugness. I hear this kind of nonsense from my European ralatives all the time: "The Americans are such unlearned bastards. If I had them in my house, I'd teach them a thing or two about culture". The obvious answer to such a jibe is to acknowledge the truth that Americans do (in general) place less value on polish and an intellectual veneer. The obvious reason being that such polish is of no substantial value, and can easily be used to disguise gross shallowness in content. Social polish is a method of class dictinction and social exclusion. Frankly, I'm more interested in a computer researcher's ideas and results that whether she can read the Iliad in Greek. Remember, the more you try to keep those who are "uncultured" "low born" "of inferior race/breeding/upbringing" out of the mainstream of society, the more likely such pig-ignorant snobbery will cost you due to the suppression of good talent. Plus its bad manners. -- Chris Shaw University of Alberta cdshaw@cs.UAlberta.ca Now with new, minty Internet flavour! CatchPhrase: Bogus as HELL !