Scott Berkun

Why smart people defend bad ideas: the mailbag

To my delight, every now and then the fine folks at slashdot or lifehacker mention an essay of mine, and waves of people swing by, read something, and send feedback mail through the contact form.

I respond to as much of the interesting and thoughtful as I can – but it’s the internet, and some of it’s creepy, incomprehensible or just plain bizarre. I don’t fully know how to respond to many of these little notes I receive.
So for fun, here’s some highlights from the mailbag for the popular essay Why smart people defend bad ideas:

“You sir, are clearly a case of bad person defending a bad idea. You should practice what you preach before preaching to the choir.”

“THIS IS AMAZING. So MANY CLEVEr Things. SO NOW CAN YOU TELL ME HOW TO DECIDE WHAT TO DO WITH MY PARENTS?”

“I liked the essay but smart people are just better, right? So why shouldn’t they just defend whatever they think is best?”

“…loved this. Really loved it. Made me want to get a shotgun and shoot all the asshats.”

“Hey. If you’re so smart why don’t you know that spark plugs can’t cause fires? eh? Tell me that tough guy. You suck rat ass. I want the 5 minutes it took to read your turd back.”

“I printed this in big font and slid it under the doors of the executive floor. But it had no effect. What do I do now you think? Bigger fonts?”

“Perhaps you can help with this. I’m dating two girls at the same time, and keep thinking I want one, but then the other… well I don’t know how to LOGICALLY choose. Write an essay on this! yes!”

“How much can I pay you to stand in my boss’s office with a megaphone and read this essay every time he opens his mouth?”