Can you guys please point me to some threads where a lot of people have written in disagreeing with what Cecil has said? For example, the Monty Hall question?
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_189.html
Thanks for your time.
you can have a look at the comments on cecil’s columns forum of this message board.
What a terrific place for this thread! Let’s scoot it on over there, shall we?
Here, dippy, let me help you out: (BTW, some of these may be hard to read, as the board software was changed and the quote instructions, etc., are visible instead of appearing as quotes.)
Dippymonger gets to start a second “Cecil is an idiot” thread???
I don’t think so. Arnold, please move this thread to THE PIT.
Please, please, please, please, please…
Thanks Coosa, at least SOMEONE had a constructive answer.
whitetho, I hear what you’re saying, one might get the impression that dippymonger’s sole purpose in this forum is to carry out some personal vendetta against Cecil Adams. Most of dippymonger’s posts here seem to consist of “Cecil Adams is wrong” or “Cecil Adams is a liar”, bolstering the accusations with objections lifted from other posters, which might explain the “fishing expedition” in this thread.
On the other hand, I don’t see dippymonger’s threads as being so disruptive that they need to be moved to another forum. Dissent and skepticism seem to me to be an integral part of the Cecil Adams philosophy, though one might hope that the arguments would be phrased in a less confrontational matter.
It’s usually jealousy. Bright guy, maybe head of his class, never met anyone smarter than himself, and can’t stand it that there’s someone who IS smarter. And the smarter person has a worshipful gang of followers who love him, even though he’s … well, I was gonna say a nerd, but let me amend that to socially inept. Er, maybe to reclusive. And has a newspaper column and several books to his credit. As I say, jealousy, some people just can’t handle that.
Gee, C.K., I’ve been kind of assuming it’s an ex-wife.
Funny, CK, I’ve been at the head of my class for most of my schooling years, but I actively enjoy being in the company of those smarter than I… That’s one of the reasons I frequent this site. I guess everyone’s going to react differently, though.
Always the issue of Cecil’s intelligence, oy vay!
Y’know, I’ve never really thought of Cecil in terms of his intelligence. A lot of the questions in the column seek answwers to obscure information, not necessarily stuff that’s hard to comprehend. Unlike vos Savant et al, whose columns seem intent on proving just how clever they are, I’ve always felt that SD is more of an information clearinghouse.
Smartest person? Who Knows? But you can at least make a case for excellent research and good memory.
What’s with the obsession with intelligence?
Intelligence: If you don’t have it, you get screwed by those who do. Smart or not, humans are humans. We like to step on people on the way up. And if a guy gets stepped on once, he gets stepped on over and over again. Look at any underclass in a segregated society. Through fiat or economics, they are kept ignorant and, in many cases, unlettered. This develops the thing all monarchs adore and all freedom-lovers abhorr: A culture of failure. If being ‘better than yo daddy’ makes you ‘uppity’ and forgetful of your roots (statements as true for white poor as they are for black poor, urban and rural) you have a reason not to try. Those people are easy to dominate yet hard to lead, especially down roads that call for personal freedom and personal responsibility.