David Foster: I think we need to rethink the way in which the term intellectual is used. Many if not most of the people who like to refer to themselves as intellectuals seem to be using the term primarily as a claim to a status position rather than as a description of actual intellectual interests or activities. The medieval usage of the term clerks, referring to those who read and write for a living, whether priests or scribes, would seem overdue for a revival. I also observe that self-described...
Isegoria: I also discussed LEGO last year: Lego Thinks Beyond the Brick. It looks like the New York Times story I cited ignored McKinsey’s bad advice and emphasized LEGO’s comeback under their guidance.
David Foster: LEGO has also had some manufacturing issues, which have been covered by the guys at the Evolving Excellence blog. Bizarrely, they decided to outsource plastics molding — something in which they had long experience — while keeping electronics manufacturing in-house. And the company to which they outsourced the plastics work (injection molding) was itself primarily an electronics firm!
Ross: So you did! I must have fallen and hit my head. No other good reason to miss a posting on Isegoria. (I think I caught it, initially, over at LRC, Lew Rockwell’s blog. ) It merits repetition — the Gatto stuff on ruling elites, but on social engineering and “snobbery” found in his Underground History of American Education is vein-poppingly superb. Every minute spent reading it is a minute well spent. Sadly, I think Ol’ John is sick these days. I hope I am wrong about...
Ross: I’ve noticed over the years that LEGO has rended from “fairly affordable” and “open ended” to “pricey” and “brittle”. For example, instead of a pile of bricklets I could build “just about anything” with for, say, $10.95, I now tend to see “models” I can build only one thing with (e.g. The Death Star!) for $350.00. Cool, perhaps, but makes for a brittle play experience. However, for me, that was irrelevant to the revival...
Isegoria: I’m not surprised by the growth in adult-oriented kits for grown men, but I am surprised at the paucity of girl-friendly sets — at least past the Duplo stage, which does include lots of animals and ordinary people.
Isegoria: That Levi’s Go Forth spot strikes me as the blue-state counterpart to the Jeep builders spot. You don’t have to be rabidly left- or right-wing to enjoy one or the other, but one celebrates diversity and shirtless youths, while the other celebrates grown men building things.
Isegoria: Tatyana, I wouldn’t grant my suggestion the title of correction until we find out if it is in fact correct. Yuet might be pronounced as Yvette, or close to it. The u, v, and w sounds are all related.
Isegoria: Ross, I mentioned that Angelo Codevilla essay a few days ago — with a hat tip to David Foster. Apparently I’ve only mentioned John Taylor Gatto once before.