Author: Dann Corbit
Date: 12:09:03 01/27/00
Go up one level in this thread
Chris W. has informed Johnathon well and accurately that he is picked on. Anyone who denies this is living with their head in the sand. I see it. You see it. We all see it. So the question is "Why?" Why do people pick on Chris? There seems to be no shortage of bodies to pick on. Why aren't they singled out instead of Chris? I have *personally* picked on Chris. I admit my guilt, and state further that it does not really accomplish anything useful. Q: Is it professional jealousy? It seems that many of those who pick on Chris are very successful chess programmers. At least as successful as Chris, if not more so. There are other chess programmers who are successful and yet they don't get picked on. It seems to me that (at least for most posters) it is not professional jealousy. Q: Is it that we are unable to refute his brilliant arguements? There can be no denying that Chris is very intelligent -- far above average. He is effective in making his points although he sometimes uses ridicule (but don't we all?) I am neither a chess nor programming genius, but I see arguments on both sides as being about equal. The intelligent searchers seem to do about as well as the fast searchers. We can also argue from the standpoint of art -- but art is very personal. One man likes Botticelli's "Birth of Venus" and another likes Rembrandt's "Sunflowers" best. Which is better? There is no answer except on a personal level. It seems to me that (at least for most posters) it is not his brilliant arguements. What it boils down to (in my view) is his personal attacks and the company he keeps. Now, all of us *do* make personal attacks -- let's be honest. The problem is that Chris is so darn *good* at it. His sarcasm is biting. His derision can be positively monumental. He does not attack people a lot. But when he does, it is always a real stinger. Eventually either one of our friends or even ourselves feel the brunt of it. At that point, Chris generally gets put on the mental "dookie" list. If this tendency could be curbed (or even if he could change them to lame, ineffective personal attacks like the ones that _we_ do), I think everyone would be much more receptive to CW. Because Chris has been much of an outcast, he has tended to associate himself with other outcasts (I once made a comment about his "strange bedfellows" over on r.g.c.c). Those [nameless but well-known] outcasts are (similarly) outcast for some reason. I think (also) that we probably blame Chris more than the other outcasts because he has the mental tools to overcome any such difficulty. Some of the others seem genuinely dull-witted and were not gifted with the same abilities. Now, in the case of his company, I think (quite frankly) it's none of our business. He may like someone that I consider a whinging twit, but I am sure that the reciprocal occurs also (in fact, he may consider *me* to be a whinging twit -- as I certainly am at times). So what are we left with? Jumping down people's throats with both boots on, kicking as he goes. Maybe if he at least took the boots off, we could accept him with open arms. He has the full capability to make exactly the same points but without injuring the feelings of others.
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