To Chrises etc.,
I get so annoyed at the amount of discouragement that seems to go on in
Universities, especially as students come to decide what they can do if
they go on to postgrad. It always reminds me of the translator's intro. to
Spinoza's Political Works, where he notes that he was told that he couldn't
do his doctorate on Spinoza because everything that was worth writing on
Spinoza has beyond doubt already been written.
It seems that anyone who tries to initiate a project which is perhaps a
little more challenging than your average university fair always gets a
pretty negative or less that encouraging response. One finds that one must
confront the creature of habit. As Beckett so nicely explains:
"The creature of habit turns aside from the object that cannot be made to
correspond with one or other of his intellectual prejudices, that resists
the propositions of his team of syntheses, organized by Habit on
labour-saving principles."
So few, it seems, are prepared the spare the effort to educate!
For what it's worth,
Steve
ps Paul Bains: AM Dib seems to have kindly reposted some of your pearls of
wisdom. Unless there's anything else you can remember, I think that's the
bulk of it. Got any stuff for me to read - I seem to be a blank lately -
any hints for inspiration?
I get so annoyed at the amount of discouragement that seems to go on in
Universities, especially as students come to decide what they can do if
they go on to postgrad. It always reminds me of the translator's intro. to
Spinoza's Political Works, where he notes that he was told that he couldn't
do his doctorate on Spinoza because everything that was worth writing on
Spinoza has beyond doubt already been written.
It seems that anyone who tries to initiate a project which is perhaps a
little more challenging than your average university fair always gets a
pretty negative or less that encouraging response. One finds that one must
confront the creature of habit. As Beckett so nicely explains:
"The creature of habit turns aside from the object that cannot be made to
correspond with one or other of his intellectual prejudices, that resists
the propositions of his team of syntheses, organized by Habit on
labour-saving principles."
So few, it seems, are prepared the spare the effort to educate!
For what it's worth,
Steve
ps Paul Bains: AM Dib seems to have kindly reposted some of your pearls of
wisdom. Unless there's anything else you can remember, I think that's the
bulk of it. Got any stuff for me to read - I seem to be a blank lately -
any hints for inspiration?