Intellectual Honesty

My brother-in-law was a true intellectual. Having served as a past dean of the faculty at Cornell University, he was a truly humble man. He was always more interested in what he could learn from others than in telling others how much he knew. This always felt to me like a point of separation between a true intellectual from a pseudo intellectual. You’ve no doubt heard the expression, “Remain quiet and people may think you ignorant, or speak up and remove all doubt.”

My father used to advise me, “Know what you know and know what you think and don’t confuse the two.

My brother-in-law, once asked...

 

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