“There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.” -- Renowned science fiction author and biochemist Isaac Asimov (1/2/1920 - 4/6/1992), from Newsweek, January 21, 1980. His observation is still valid today.
He was a prolific writer, authoring such classics as the Foundation series, the Galactic Empire series and the Robot series. Indeed, the Oxford English Dictionary credits Asimov with creating the term "robotics."
(photo: Alex Gotfryd / CORBIS/ Corbis via Getty Images)
To the discerning reader the *Foundation* series, *Galactic Empire* and the *Robot* series are the same series
ReplyDeleteJust from what I have seen of YouTube Trailers *I will not watch* the NetFlix series
OMG, I just looked up this quote on Wednesday. And this one from Carl Sagan, "The dumbing down of American is most evident in the slow decay of substantive content in the enormously influential media, the 30 second sound bites (now down to 10 seconds or less), lowest common denominator programming, credulous presentations on pseudoscience and superstition, but especially a kind of celebration of ignorance”
ReplyDeleteIt is all the fault of music videos / early MTV. They learned to flip the video feed every two or three seconds to hold your attention. It is rotting our brains and souls.
DeleteIt also comes from "You gotta respect their beliefs". As comedian Patton Oswalt said, you have to acknowledge their beliefs, but you also have to reserve the right to say, "That's f-ing stupid."
ReplyDelete