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Men may face felony charges toppling Goblin Valley ...

Asher Kelman

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Michael Nagel said:
Two things are infinite: the universe and the human stupidity.

Albert Einstein
Click to expand...

Michael,

The Boy Scouts is a much admired worldwide organization. On the face of it, it's a great idea and expose young folk to nature, the outdoors, socializing and interdependence.

It's origins are misunderstood or ignored. It started as a contingent of black native African teenage boys who served the British Army to be scouts and allow British soldiers to focus on soldiering! Well, when they were attacked by the long suffering Dutch colonists, they abandoned the young boys and just withdrew, leaving the undefended boys to their fate!

Worse, there's evidence of exploiting the boys sexually and that's directed to Lord Baden Powell himself. True or not, the organization has a long history of cover ups of sexual abuse of boys, mysogeny and homophobia. The organization is full of itself as a back bone of an imagined moral helpful society, but I don't think they are grounded in any real understanding of social responsibility.

This latest episode is yet another example of their ineptitude at best and callous disregard at the worst, but no surprise.

Still, there are thousands of boyscout groups which are safe and wonderful places for young boys to have fun and learn. They just need to pick their leaders more wisely.

Asher
 
M

Michael Nagel

Well-known member
Asher,

I do not know why you insist that much on the Boy Scout thing. I was simply referring to human stupidity, regardless of any other factors.

I remember a different version of the quote from Albert Einstein saying that he was not sure about the inifnity of the universe but could assert it for human stupidity.

Best regards,
Michael
 
Doug Kerr

Doug Kerr

Well-known member
Albert Einstein's remark is most often cited as:

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.​

But there is some question that it is properly attributed to Einstein.

One credible-looking discussion of the matter asserts that Frederick S. Perls, in his Ego, Hunger, and Aggression: a Revision of Freud’s Theory and Method, says:

"As modern times promote hasty eating to a large extent, it is not surprising to learn that a great astronomer said: “Two things are infinite, as far as we know – the universe and human stupidity.” To-day we know that this statement is not quite correct. Einstein has proved that the universe is limited."​

Later, Perls, in Gestalt Therapy Verbatim, says:

"As Albert Einstein once said to me: 'Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity.' But what is much more widespread than the actual stupidity is the playing stupid, turning off your ear, not listening, not seeing."​

But in Perls' In and Out the Garbage Pail, he says:

"I spent one afternoon with Albert Einstein: unpretentiousness, warmth, some false political predictions. I soon lost my self-consciousness, a rare treat for me at that time. I still love to quote a statement of his: 'Two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I am not yet completely sure about the universe.' "​

Sadly, Perls does not favor us with any further developments of what Einstein really said, or where, or to whom.

Reference:

http://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/05/04/universe-einstein/

Best regards,

Doug
 
Chris Calohan

Chris Calohan

Well-known member
Perhaps not so erudite nor universally limiting but my mama (and mama's are great sources of wisdom) always said...

"Ignorance can be cured through education; stupidity is most often a terminal condition of man."

I think my mama and Einstein would have enjoyed a nice cuppa tea.

Personally, I'd like to take both of them back to that site and make them put the rock back without tools. I think a 100,000 years might do the trick.
 
fahim mohammed

fahim mohammed

Well-known member
Einstein's quotation/s and work notwithstanding, it is sobering to think that there once was a time when the greatest minds on this earth thought that this ' world ' of ours was the center of the universe.

How stupid of them!!
 
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