This is the kind of crap I expect from mal-educated halfwits of the Millenial generation, who cannot bear to hear a contrary word to their varied and sundry shibboleths. What ego is so fragile and sheltered that it cannot bear a new thought, and takes the gift of a book as an insult?

I find myself shaking my head at this bit of un-wisdom. Even if a work is full of bullshit and bad information, it can serve as a shadow in service of highlighting enlightenment.

I didn’t gift or loan him my copy though. I rarely do that. Just because I don’t as a rule give away books, though I should. But this has the side effect that if he goes ahead and looks for it and orders it, he must be interested and had the chance to make that choice. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Intellectual autonomy of my colleague, yeah.

I may suggest that someone should look into something, but I won’t get that pushy about it. Only certain types of ignorance are curable, and those are very easily cured.

Also, there are some seriously ignorant and stupid books out there, pushed by seriously ignorant and stupid people. My answer to that is to promote empiricism and critical thinking, as they apply to the matter at hand. I start with a phrase such as: “you do know that’s been exposed as a hoax, right?”

I mean, if one actually thinks a book is crap and wasted time, then absolutely. The physical reverence due a book as object or as vehicle of information is suspended. Toss or burn as permitted by local ordinances. But the rest of the argument seems a bit OTT, if not indeed patronizing.

People who get books at thrift shops are used to worse than what I get rid of.