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Government
Anthony Fauci, the 'Learned Ignoramus'
2020-04-18
This is why, in our system, the specialists, including military specialists, advise their elected masters, leaving the final balancing of various needs to the generalists.
[Mises] As the COVID-19 shutdown across the US continues, one cannot but help see the importance of specialization and the division of labor time and time again, as many Americans deal with true shortages of goods for the first time in their lives. Specialization has allowed us to enjoy a much more prosperous life than we would were we all to do everything ourselves. However, as with everything in this imperfect world, specialization comes with certain tradeoffs that are important to understand. As the unemployment numbers continue to rise by millions more every week, as meager savings are eliminated, and as our highly organized society slides into chaos it is important to understand the way in which an unbalanced intellectual specialization has contributed to bringing about the current crisis.

In his 1930 book The Revolt of the Masses, Spanish philosopher José Ortega y Gasset addresses what he considers to be a strange byproduct of the prevalence of specialization in everything, specifically the intellectual sphere. "Previously," he writes, "men could be divided simply into the learned and the ignorant, those more or less the one, and those more or less the other." Now, however, a new kind of person has emerged, "an extraordinarily strange kind of man," who cannot be called "learned for he is formally ignorant of all that does not enter into his specialty," yet at the same time cannot be considered "ignorant because he is ’a scientist’ who ’knows’ very well his own tiny portion of the universe." Thus, Ortega y Gasset says that the only fitting name for such a person is a "learned ignoramus."

There can be no doubt that numerous learned ignoramuses can be found in all parts of society, but most importantly they are very clearly involved in the response to the COVID-19 virus, as sweeping calls for months of lockdown make clear.
Posted by:Clem

#7  Used this line yesterday, our academics in the age of specialization learn more and more about less and less till they know everything about nothing.

The stove pipe factory has been the bane of existence for anyone charged with seeing the systemic picture for a long time.
Posted by: AlanC   2020-04-18 08:56  

#6  My nation of fans has demanded that I respond to an unnamed individual’s request for a prediction. So, at alarmingly great personal sacrifice, I hereby present my prediction, submitted for your approval – with no apologies to Rod Serling – in the form of a screenplay snippet.

(A traffic island in a sun baked southwestern US metropolis. A raggedy mendicant taps on car windows while the drivers wait for the traffic light to change.)

Mendicant – “Where do you think you are going? To work? Don’t you know there’s a virus? Where is your mask? You should go home now…”

(Drivers ignore this, it’s been going on since 2020, it’s now 2025.)

(In an ongoing initiation for new officers, Cpl. Maria Murcek approaches the “at risk citizen” and makes contact.)

Cpl. Murcek – “Um, you know, it’s almost lunch time. Do you want to come over to the Resource Center for a nice baloney sandwich and some milk? Sit in the air conditioning? It’s 104 F here right now and it’s only going to get hotter…”

Mendicant – “What’s wrong with you? Where’s your mask? Don’t you know about the virus? Why aren’t you at home? You are committing a crime against humanity. St. Fauci will get you for this!”

Cpl. Murcek – “I’m a bad person. I don’t have a picture of St. Fauci in my apartment. But I’m worried about you. Let’s go have some nice lunch in the AC at the Resource Center.”

Mendicant – “Only I can save the world! Me and St. Fauci. Why are you trying to stop me?”

Cpl. Murcek – “Look it’s hot out here. Do you want a baloney sandwich and milk or the Taser? Your choice, not mine.”

Mendicant – “The math! Don’t you understand the math? The magic numbers are the only thing. Nothing else matters…”

Cpl. Murcek – “We are running out of time. If numbers matter, you need to consider this number. In 30 seconds I’m going to Taser you if you don’t come with me off this traffic island. My supervisor says I don’t have all day for this. It’s a test for me. I’m not going to fail. So let’s work together here…”
Mendicant – “Where’s your mask? Why aren’t you at home? You are committing a crime against humanity…”

(Cpl. Murcek rolls her eyes and unholsters her Taser)

Cpl. Murcek – “Last chance. Baloney sammich and milk or the Taser?”

Mendicant – “Scarf woman will get you for this…”

(Cpl. Murcek triggers her Taser, thumbs the wheel up to Maximum.)

(Mendicant flops on the ground and foams at the mouth, passing drivers give thumbs up)

(Cpl. Murcek internal monologue: “Ok, this sucks, but I’m the rookie, this is what rookies get. This time next year I’ll be explaining how this works. Hopefully this old fuck will be institutionalized by then…”
Posted by: M. Murcek   2020-04-18 08:24  

#5  ..well, that escalated soon enough.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2020-04-18 07:01  

#4  Oh, the "I don't have standing" deflection. Common, that's not a smart guy play.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2020-04-18 04:20  

#3  You're starving Murcek?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2020-04-18 04:02  

#2  Because "broke but alive" is a state of satori.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2020-04-18 03:20  

#1  Fancy an economist talking about stupidity & ignorance.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2020-04-18 03:10  

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