Thursday, November 20, 2008

Erudition

ERUDITION, n. Dust shaken out of a book into an empty skull.
So wide his erudition's mighty span,
He knew Creation's origin and plan
And only came by accident to grief —
He thought, poor man, 'twas right to be a thief.
—Romach Pute
2008 Update: Dour folly.

16 comments:

TLP said...

Erudition: foreign to me.

Ariel the Thief said...

Erudition, the opposite of experience?

LOL @Birce's definition.

Unknown said...

i'm bone-weary but i still came here. isn't that a folly?

sweatin: hot in here

Anonymous said...

I want to personally congratulate both you and Bierce on your excellent definitions!

Anonymous said...

Erudition: Dr. Jim here, you'd better check my blog today, it is (almost) on point;
[Noun 1. erudition - profound scholarly knowledge
..encyclopaedism, encyclopedism, eruditeness, learnedness, learning, scholarship
..education - knowledge acquired by learning and instruction; "it was clear that he had a very broad education"
..letters - scholarly attainment; "he is a man of letters"]
..
BTW, all of my working life has been in education except one year of operating a degreasing machine in a factory.
..

Jamie Dawn said...

Erudition reminds me of something one of Taylor's buddies said which I found to be quite funny. He claims that he could have been a genius if he'd wanted to be one, but he decided not to be. He did not want to be far above his peers and not fit in, so he did not cultivate his genius potential. I had no idea being genius was a choice, but apparently it is.
My darling daughter arrives home tonight, and I am thrilled!! She has been practicing erudition for ten weeks now, and she is looking forward to vegging out for awhile. Her brain is very tired.
Have a good day, Mr. Douglas. Do not even think of eating at Chandra's until you, Jason, Tay, and I dine there in January. We shall kill the fatted calf and indulge in pad thai to our heart's content.
Selah.

Anonymous said...

JD, Taylor's buddy is a genius. Clearly he read Bierce's definition of physician ("One upon whom we set our hopes when ill and our dogs when well") and correctly applied the concept to the scholar.

ERUDITION, n. Spitball target.

Anonymous said...

must be speaking of holders of the beloved MBA,though only a piece of paper,as are 401 statements,stacked neatly next to rolled sheets in bathroom ,it(mba) seems to speak volumes,for some..none for others....why is it,that when all the planning and scamming is over and done,the mushroom cloud disbursing,these are the same clowns red and blue blazing,securing a place in the que,to begin the next fleecing...fool us once,twice,oh the folly....Peace&Prosperity Always...

Anonymous said...

ps-have pencils and cups available at wholesale prices,also available are google maps showing high pedestrian traffic corners for great sales opportunity...secure your future corner now(sorry to go on and on,but must utilize all media to promote new business)........Peace

Tom & Icy said...

Wonder if that is like quasi-erudition.

Anonymous said...

Doesn't take much learning to realize that trying to top those above me would be quite the folly.

Doug The Una said...

TLP, it's supposed to foreign, I think.

Usually, Ariel. Not that I've ever seen actual erudition, but that would be my opinion.

Nah, K. Always glad to see you.

Well, thank you Ms. Strator. I assume this will be reflected on our evaluations.

Jim, I suppose that's what qualifies you to teach.

Amen, JD. Funny story, too.

Amoeba, ptui.

Bear, that's excellent advice. I'm going into the beggar supply business.

A lot like it, Icy.

You bet, Actonbell. They have video games there now.

The kind that brings down human pyramids, Sauerkraut.

Anonymous said...

no advise there,just a rant and rave...as for the pencil sales,would prefer to use the word entrepreneur...Peace

Doug The Una said...

Right, the entrepreneur supply business, with a specialty in cups, pencils and dark glasses.

Anonymous said...

dark glasses optional...better sales with eye contact...Have a starter kit,ready to ship your way....Peace

Cooper said...

brings up visions of old
professors dressed in clothing which smells of book dust, if book dust has such a smell. Not that I ever had a professor like that, but they are popular on television.

Love both definitions.