"It may be expecting too much to..." - Quote by Thomas Sowell
It may be expecting too much to expect most intellectuals to have common sense, when their whole life is based on their being uncommon -- that is, saying things that are different from what everyone else is saying. There is only so much genuine originality in anyone. After that, being uncommon means indulging in pointless eccentricities or clever attempts to mock or shock.
More by Thomas Sowell
“The most politically painless way to hand out goodies, without taking responsibility for their costs, is to pass a law saying that somebody else must provide those goodies at their expense, while the politicians take credit for generosity and compassion.”
“The least productive people are usually the ones who are most in favor of holding meetings.”
“There are only two ways of telling the complete truth - anonymously and posthumously.”
More on Intellectuals
“The intellectual is different from the ordinary man, but only in certain sections of his personality, and even then not all the time.”
“Intellectuals may like to think of themselves as people who "speak truth to power" but too often they are people who speak lies to gain power.”
“Nothing could be more jolting and discordant with the vision of today's intellectuals than the fact that it was businessmen, devout religious leaders and Western imperialists who together destroyed slavery around the world. And if it doesn't fit their vision, it is the same to them as if it never happened.”