Michael R. Bernstein

Comment Threads

• JohnS commented on A fistful of tropes
  "Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice. One may protest against evil; it can be exposed and, if need be, prevented by use of force. Evil always carries within itself the germ of its own subversion in that it leaves behind in human beings at least a sense of unease. Against stupidity we are defenseless. Neither protests nor the use of force accomplish anything here; reasons fall on deaf ears; facts that contradict one’s prejudgment simply need not be believed - in such moments the stupid person even becomes critical – and when facts are irrefutable...
• Pigeon commented on A fistful of tropes
  ...though it has to be said that Friedrich Schiller put it much more neatly :)...
• ilya187 commented on A fistful of tropes
  Friedrich Schiller's quote merely says that stupidity is impervious. He did not indicate just how dangerous it is. Dietrich Bonhoeffer made that point very clear....
• Greg Tingey commented on A fistful of tropes
  Ilya & others ... Asimov - wrote a whole novel on this { "The Gods Themselves" } From a Schilller quote, which translate as: *Against stupidity, the Gods themselves, contend in vain"...
• Heteromeles commented on A fistful of tropes
  RE: Trumpian bench trial for civil fraud. When I first posted, I was listening to some news report that went on at length how unusual it was that the judge ruled from the bench blah blah blah. I wasn't paying much attention and assumed the reported knew what they were talking about, because it was a big station that normally fact checked. When the station later corrected the report with a lawyer interview, I did a head slap because I've been involved in civil environmental suits on the plaintiff's side, and I needed to correct my account here. So yes,...