In Response
Jun. 17th, 2005 07:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mishalakThings Everyone Should Understand
Knowledge is power, like pretty much all of those short trite statements, is about as solid an assumption as a loaf of Wonder Bread. Knowledge of what? How used? Bah. <waves hand dismissively> Only lovers of Mensa Brand Simulated Intelligence Product should subscribe to such a belief. Facts and figures aren't power and being able to rattle them off to seem intelligent is nothing more than a mental parlor trick more worthy of trained parrots than humans.
Secondly sometimes it doesn't matter how hard a person tries, works, follows dreams with a star in one's pocket, sometimes the odds are just too long. Sometimes people fail not for any reason, but just for bad luck. But anyone who blames bad luck for all failures suffered should be viewed with suspicion. And even more skepticism should be applied when someone says that the system is rigged against the brilliant/wonderful things that could otherwise have been done. Also the very mega sucessful are, in addition to working hard, either lucky or had some sort of starting advantage they don't advertize. It isn't hard work alone.
Lastly the people you know are just as fallible as the vast abstract numbers that run the systems and institutions. This cuts both ways. Personal loyalty isn't inherently better than the law and vice versa.
Knowledge is power, like pretty much all of those short trite statements, is about as solid an assumption as a loaf of Wonder Bread. Knowledge of what? How used? Bah. <waves hand dismissively> Only lovers of Mensa Brand Simulated Intelligence Product should subscribe to such a belief. Facts and figures aren't power and being able to rattle them off to seem intelligent is nothing more than a mental parlor trick more worthy of trained parrots than humans.
Secondly sometimes it doesn't matter how hard a person tries, works, follows dreams with a star in one's pocket, sometimes the odds are just too long. Sometimes people fail not for any reason, but just for bad luck. But anyone who blames bad luck for all failures suffered should be viewed with suspicion. And even more skepticism should be applied when someone says that the system is rigged against the brilliant/wonderful things that could otherwise have been done. Also the very mega sucessful are, in addition to working hard, either lucky or had some sort of starting advantage they don't advertize. It isn't hard work alone.
Lastly the people you know are just as fallible as the vast abstract numbers that run the systems and institutions. This cuts both ways. Personal loyalty isn't inherently better than the law and vice versa.