Prof. Ceiling Cat coins a new aphorism
Dr. Jerry Coyne in this post at Why Evolution is True on the religious views of author Dan Brown has coined a new aphorism that resonated with me:
Sometimes I think I could make a good living by just parroting the warm, comfortable bromides of people like Brown. It still amazes me, though, even after all these years, that smart people can say such dumb things. I’d paraphrase Steven Weinberg by saying, “With or without religion, smart people will say smart things and dumb people will say dumb things. But for a smart person to say a dumb thing—that takes religion.”
Obviously you can substitute other terms, such as “political ideology”, for “religion” in that quote. But the core of the observation is still true. Any blindly held ideology makes otherwise intelligent people do or say stupid things.