Highly educated AND bat-shit crazy?!
October 15, 2010 9:17 AM Subscribe
Please name very highly educated people who are also bat-shit crazy, angry most of the time and need to yell to get their point/teaching/ideology across.
Rephrasing the question:
Rephrasing the question:
“The less people know, the more they yell.” — Seth GodinPlease prove Seth Godin wrong by naming people who know a lot, but still need to yell.
This post was deleted for the following reason: This is kind of oddly specific-yet-vague and it's not clear what problem you're trying to solve here. -- cortex
Bill O'Reilly
posted by chicago2penn at 9:23 AM on October 15, 2010
posted by chicago2penn at 9:23 AM on October 15, 2010
Your question as phrased is really restrictive. I can think of some very bright, well-educated and angry, sometimes yelly people, but once you bring batshit crazy into it, it gets really hard to meet your criteria.
If you're looking to disprove Godin's statement, why bring crazy, being angry most of the time, and the need to yell into it?
posted by maudlin at 9:24 AM on October 15, 2010
If you're looking to disprove Godin's statement, why bring crazy, being angry most of the time, and the need to yell into it?
posted by maudlin at 9:24 AM on October 15, 2010
Define "highly educated."
I'd argue that many humanities professors fit your criteria.
posted by dfriedman at 9:25 AM on October 15, 2010
I'd argue that many humanities professors fit your criteria.
posted by dfriedman at 9:25 AM on October 15, 2010
Orly Taitz was created in a lab to answer this question:
She is a dentist and a lawyer (non accredited school perhaps, but admitted to the bar in CA), speaks 5 languages, second degree black belt in Taekwondo, obviously crazy.
posted by 2bucksplus at 9:25 AM on October 15, 2010
She is a dentist and a lawyer (non accredited school perhaps, but admitted to the bar in CA), speaks 5 languages, second degree black belt in Taekwondo, obviously crazy.
posted by 2bucksplus at 9:25 AM on October 15, 2010
I think this is best represented by a sine wave.
First peak: people who are dumb and angry/crazy (sometimes crazy enough to think that they're actually smart)
First trough: people who are dumb but at least know to keep out of it
Second peak: people who are smart but aren't quite the best, so feel they need to yell and carry on to get their point across (inferiority complex)
Second trough: the truly badass smart people who know they don't have to say anything
I know people in my own life who fall into all four categories.
posted by phunniemee at 9:32 AM on October 15, 2010
First peak: people who are dumb and angry/crazy (sometimes crazy enough to think that they're actually smart)
First trough: people who are dumb but at least know to keep out of it
Second peak: people who are smart but aren't quite the best, so feel they need to yell and carry on to get their point across (inferiority complex)
Second trough: the truly badass smart people who know they don't have to say anything
I know people in my own life who fall into all four categories.
posted by phunniemee at 9:32 AM on October 15, 2010
“The less people know, the more they yell.”
I dunno... I think it's more "The more people think they know without really knowing much at all, the more they yell..."
It's like they can't figure out why no one is listening to their "wisdom" so they just try speaking LOUDER, and get angrier as even more tune them out.
I've known the type, but can't really think of anyone famous with the above supposition as their MO. Usually pundits and other people in the TV personality set come to mind, but as that's technically what they're being paid to do, I'm not sure if that qualifies.
That being said, and it is his schtick... but Lewis Black comes to mind to provide an answer to your question.
posted by Debaser626 at 9:33 AM on October 15, 2010
I dunno... I think it's more "The more people think they know without really knowing much at all, the more they yell..."
It's like they can't figure out why no one is listening to their "wisdom" so they just try speaking LOUDER, and get angrier as even more tune them out.
I've known the type, but can't really think of anyone famous with the above supposition as their MO. Usually pundits and other people in the TV personality set come to mind, but as that's technically what they're being paid to do, I'm not sure if that qualifies.
That being said, and it is his schtick... but Lewis Black comes to mind to provide an answer to your question.
posted by Debaser626 at 9:33 AM on October 15, 2010
Newt Gingrich has a PhD in history, but with the nonsense he babbles all the time it appears he's either forgotten or repressed everything he's ever learned.
posted by Aizkolari at 9:36 AM on October 15, 2010
posted by Aizkolari at 9:36 AM on October 15, 2010
Are you aiming at people who know a lot, or who actually get their informed point across (in whatever form)?
Bill O'Reilly is a really interesting example. I think he's very savvy in getting what he wants across, and in forwarding an agenda, but oddly enough that's the same quality that makes him NOT batshit crazy: he knows what he's doing and does everything he can to preserve that. But he doesn't really need to get his point across -- his audience, for the most part, already knows it.
(To be clear: I think that his points are beyond ludicrous, as are his methods, but he is damn committed to his role and the ways in which he can inhabit it.)
Rahm Emanuel is probably the prime example of a guy who uses both anger and information to get shit DONE.
Klaus Kinski? (I forget if Werner Herzog yells a lot, but I think Kinski did enough for the both of them and then some.)
posted by Madamina at 9:43 AM on October 15, 2010
Bill O'Reilly is a really interesting example. I think he's very savvy in getting what he wants across, and in forwarding an agenda, but oddly enough that's the same quality that makes him NOT batshit crazy: he knows what he's doing and does everything he can to preserve that. But he doesn't really need to get his point across -- his audience, for the most part, already knows it.
(To be clear: I think that his points are beyond ludicrous, as are his methods, but he is damn committed to his role and the ways in which he can inhabit it.)
Rahm Emanuel is probably the prime example of a guy who uses both anger and information to get shit DONE.
Klaus Kinski? (I forget if Werner Herzog yells a lot, but I think Kinski did enough for the both of them and then some.)
posted by Madamina at 9:43 AM on October 15, 2010
I had a college professor who met all of these criteria, except that during his lectures he actually murmured most of the time, but yelled at least a few times every lecture, and always at moments where yelling didn't make any sense. Sometimes I wondered if the yelling was the manifestation of his frustration at his own inability to articulate the genius thinking inside his head. (Some days, I think he just wanted to be retired already.)
posted by AugieAugustus at 9:44 AM on October 15, 2010
posted by AugieAugustus at 9:44 AM on October 15, 2010
Bill O'Reilly has a B.A. in history and an M.A. in Broadcast Journalism. He's not highly educated.
posted by Tooty McTootsalot at 9:48 AM on October 15, 2010
posted by Tooty McTootsalot at 9:48 AM on October 15, 2010
Oh never mind, he does have a second master's from Harvard.
posted by Tooty McTootsalot at 9:50 AM on October 15, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Tooty McTootsalot at 9:50 AM on October 15, 2010 [1 favorite]
Bobby Fischer, is someone who was highly educated in one specific area, and crazy in just about the rest of his life. While he may not be quite what you are looking for, I'd guess that a similar pattern applies to many of the people who fit your criteria: just because you are brilliant and knowledgeable about one thing doesn't mean you know anything else.
posted by alexallain at 9:53 AM on October 15, 2010
posted by alexallain at 9:53 AM on October 15, 2010
Lots of ambitious, legitimately brilliant (not batshit-crazy) people have serious temper problems. They will be frustrated to the point of yelling when others fail to live up to their big expectations, especially others they are in charge of. One person who comes to mind is someone I work for who is one of the most famous people in his field and has done TED talks and the like.
posted by naju at 9:58 AM on October 15, 2010
posted by naju at 9:58 AM on October 15, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by millipede at 9:20 AM on October 15, 2010 [3 favorites]