[unimaginative2]

Re: Globe Editorial: More flip-flops from Harper.

I'm not suggesting that Stephen Harper is dumb (I don't think that he is), but a master's degree is certainly no guarantee of intelligence. Moreover, this endless fuss about Harper as this new kind of intellectual prime minister because of his education seems a little odd to me. Every one of our postwar prime ministers has had a graduate or professional degree. I certainly think Mackenzie King, the chair of Harvard's Economics department, and Pierre Trudeau made rather more impressive intellectuals. For that matter, I would also say that Bill Graham, with his doctorate of laws from the University of Paris, deserves more of a fuss than Harper.

 

[afransen TO]

Re: Globe Editorial: More flip-flops from Harper.

There aren't many outright stupid people with masters degrees.

 

[ganjavih]

Re: Globe Editorial: More flip-flops from Harper.

I may not agree with Harper's ideas but I don't think he's dumb... certainly not like Stockwell Day-dumb. I think Stockwell dropped out of U of Victoria before completing his degree. It may sound like snobbery, but I like the idea of our PM at least completing undergrad.

 

[fiendishlibrarian]

Re: Globe Editorial: More flip-flops from Harper.

There aren't many outright stupid people with masters degrees.

Work in an academic library for awhile, and you'll change your tune in no time.

 

[EnviroTO]

Re: Globe Editorial: More flip-flops from Harper.

Book smarts is what is required to get a masters degree (or any degree really) and that knowledge is all focused on one area. Some people with masters degrees will be well rounded enough that in dealing with them they seem genuinely smart but there are also those not so well rounded individuals and you would swear that if a slow moving steamroller was heading towards where they were seated they wouldn't know how to handle the situation because it wasn't laid out for them in a book. Instead they would panick, ask others their opinion, try to decide whether or not they should move or yell, take their belongings with them or not... and then would be flattened by a steamroller moving 5 km/h. A lot of people don't have the organizational skills and ability to conceptualize the big picture enough to put their book smarts to use.

In the case of Harper he seems smart in a calculating way (he knows how to get support) but not in a big picture way (not knowing what kind of country he wants and what the actual steps to getting there are).

 

[afransen TO]

Re: Globe Editorial: More flip-flops from Harper.

Maybe I'm biased... I'm in math... most people in math with masters degrees are brilliant. I guess one person who was not so brilliant (more like different) was a woman who was having a hard time printing her assignment because she only knew how to print documents in unix (not linux) and not windows. I was flabberghasted.

I don't know. I stand by my statement. Obviously there are some less than bright individuals with masters degrees, esp. in programs with lower standards.

 

[bizorky]

Re: Globe Editorial: More flip-flops from Harper.

^Maybe because it is somewhat tougher to bullshit in mathematics or the sciences.