"Better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt"
— Mark Twain
I respectfully disagree, Mr. Twain.
Some have said I'm too outspoken on social media. That sometimes I need to stop and think before I drop a literal essay that few are likely to read and even fewer will appreciate. That not only are such posts presumptuous and annoying, but could very well come back to haunt me in the future when imprudent posts resurface and someone might take it the wrong way.
I have to admit, when I look back on my old postings, a lot of the stuff I posted hasn't aged well. I've changed my mind a great deal, my opinions have evolved, and I've learned how to articulate my points more succinctly (yea, believe it or not this is the least wordy version of me).
But I don't regret posting them, because, occasionally, I'll see a post from a while back that still resonates with me and I wouldn't change a word. There's a few diamonds in the rough and those bright spots, to me, at least, validate my whole approach of sporadically dropping my broad thoughts and opinions on an an immutable platform.
And, really, that's how it's always been concerning the production of intellectual currency. When it comes to almost all the people we think of as the most brilliant, innovative, and prophetic thinkers of all time, ninety percent of what they said was complete non sequitur nonsense or worse from our perspective. If you dig through the weeds of everyone from Aristotle to Isaac Newton, they spent most of their lives thinking and saying idiotic things. Even some of their more brilliant contributions haven't aged all that well. If you want a good laugh, read an unfiltered version of Aristotle's work on ethics. Next time an apple falls off the counter, pick it up and contemplate the fact that Isaac Newton dedicated most of his life to dead-end alchemy projects.
Of course, these great thinkers said and did some truly profound and brilliant things, too. We are right to quote them and celebrate their legacy today, even if we're often celebrating caricatures of the real people built around a highly cherry-picked selection of their best work.
But the point is, the reason we celebrate them at all is exactly because they didn't filter themselves. Ninety percent of what Aristotle said was complete gibberish, but we remember the ten percent of brilliant things he said because, well, he was willing to throw his ideas out there to begin with.
Shoot, even Mark Twain didn't take his own advice, fortunately. Children still read some of his great classics, but it would be difficult to ponder through the majority of the prolific author's work. Most of it wasn't all that great.
There are some exceptions. A few of history's great minds appear to have simply held their tongue for eighty straight years before dropping one profound truth-bomb on the world and dying. Then there are some people who should have quit while they were ahead. Martin Luther and George Lucas come to mind.
But most great thinkers are remembered because they cast a wide net. Because they threw all their ideas out there and human beings, selective creatures that we are, filtered the rocks and kept the gold nuggets.
So I'll continue to post my thoughts. When I finally get something like job security, I'll look back through all these posts and refine some of the better ones. I apologize in advance for the idiotic stuff I'll say. But, very occasionally, you might be rewarded when I stumble upon a truly exceptional idea.
(Honestly, get over yourself. Is your sense of self-importance really so exaggerated that you think ANYTHING you'll say or do on the internet will ever make a difference? Are you really so arrogant as to compare yourself to Aristotle? "Intellectual currency"? Give me a break. You're a troll with a big mouth and no filter. Nothing more. Please stop polluting my feed with your ridiculous, long posts and focus on cat videos like a normal person. Sheesh!)
Ok some of that is fair. But, honestly, I don't even feel all that guilty comparing myself to Aristotle after reading some of his less polished work. Same goes for most of the people we remember as great intellects. I daresay if any of you want to feel a little smarter, google "dumb things said by smart people" or something to that effect.
A very few intellectual contributions are, at once, timeless and universally applicable. But the vast majority of ideas must be grounded in the historical contexts and sociopolitical realities of the people who thought them.
We're no different. We're also products of our time and place and, consequently, most of our ideas will come across as bizarre or completely nonsensical to future generations. Heck, some of our thoughts might be outdated by next Thursday. So what? Future generations will largely ignore the outdated stuff and retain the few manifestations of wisdom that the great minds of our generation impart to them.
But if you're too worried about being thought a fool, you'll miss your opportunity to bestow your valuable wisdom upon those who could benefit from it.
And that's the greatest tragedy.
It's tragic enough to speculate on the many brilliant people in history who were unable to verbalize their potential contributions due to their social status, lack of educational access, or disconnection from a large community. But, arguably, even more tragic is the lost contributions of those who HAD both intelligent minds and the means to be heard, but who chose, instead, to cloister themselves and their thoughts due to misguided insecurities.
I may be a rambling fool. But at least future generations will be able to gain something from me, whether it be a life-changing outlook or simply a good laugh at how silly people thought way back in 2021. I can live with it either way.