Know It Alls

One of my several pet peeves is people who think they know far more than they do. I encountered one last month.

I'm on a committee at UM, for reasons I really can't explain. I was originally asked to be on it by my friend Ross, in the 90s, and enjoyed meeting with a few fellow alums to tell a UM College what we thought they ought to do to improve.

Over the years, and now about 6 Deans later, the Committee has morphed into one where I am by far the poorest member, and we meet twice a year and don't really do anything except listen to the Dean tell us how great everything is.  I think inertia prevents me from quitting, as well as the desire to at least have one thing to talk about when my friends in academia complain about the absurdity of their many committees...

Anyway, we were waiting for the meeting to begin, and one member was holding forth. She's apparently a big shot real estate macher in NYC -- about 70 -- and she was talking about Amazon's threat to back out of its plan to build a headquarters in the City. "Never going to happen," she said about the pullout. "I have inside contacts, and they're going full steam ahead."

Another committee member, an Indian fellow who was also from NYC and manages a hedge fun, said he wasn't so sure...it sounded to him like indeed Bezos might well wish to avoid the ultra lefty politics of NYC.  "No," said the woman "Amazon is coming to NYC. I guarantee it."

Well, of course, the very next day, Amazon indeed announced they were NOT building a headquarters in NYC.  I laughed to myself. So much for the know it all...

I have always, since college, been very careful about declaring what I know, and what I assume. I had several professors who drummed that into me -- nothing worse than  a fool who gets exposed as a bullshit artist.

So many people these days just make stuff up. When you take the time to really question them, you easily expose them and their lack of true knowledge.

An acquaintance from the neighborhood recently told me something that may have been the stupidest thing I ever heard -- about a situation he was in regarding his marriage. The details aren't important, but he essentially said that a cute, harmless Spaniel was the equivalent of a man eating lion. 

When I got home, and processed what had been said, I actually laughed out loud. It's rare that I get to laugh when I'm alone. But the sheer absurdity of what this person said caused that.

As far as I know, my former professor Harry P Schultz is still alive -- nearing or at 100 years old. He taught us that we are ALL students in the study of human nature.

I honor Professor Schultz by trying to learn more each day...