May 14, 2003
From the desk of Jane Galt:I thought this was amusing, but I also thought it was obvious that it was a joke. Well, Jacob Levy clearly thinks that people might think it wasn't a joke. If you thought it wasn't a joke, you need to put the stereotype detector up a little higher.
Posted by Jane Galt at May 14, 2003 11:49 AM | TrackBack | Technorati inbound linksJacob Levy needs to rent a sense of humor. Just so he can see what it's like.
All this is a moot point.
{donning Comic Book Guy costume}
The Simpsons do in fact have neighbors on the left side of their house but they only make it into 2 episodes(speaking roles outside of being in the background). The neighbors are Ruth Powers (who re-enacted Thelma and Louise with Marge) and her daughter Laura (who Bart gets a crush on). Laura only appears in one episode but Ruth makes cameos as a background character numerous times.
I will now leave in order to find a life ;-)
Worst reading comprehension ever!
From Jonah's note:"As we know, the Simpsons' other neighbor has made appearances (please no more email on that). "
Sorry about that.
No kidding. Rather obviously a joke. I mean, there wasn't even a sentence from Jonah ranting about the evils of academe or anything. Surely, we don't have to resort to using emoticons even in prose now?
*I* know it's a joke. It seems likely to me that Goldberg thinks it's a joke-- though I'm really not sure. But the web is what it is. Some undergrad trying to decide where to fo to grad school is going to do a web search for "University of Chicago political science" and up will pop this very deadpan and specific-sounding post. And, of course, *academia* is what it is. It does *not* seem implausible to me that someone somewhere in the academy could get away with this; it's very hard to satirize or parody some of the lit-crit stuff because it's more absurd than the satirist's imagination. So, no, I don't think it's so obviously a joke that every relevant reader will see through it.
Since it's not "I'm thinking about writing a paper on" but "I have an approved MA thesis proposal from a specific department," it antagonized me.
I dunno, Jacob -- I was an English major, and even picking the sleepiest, LSD-addled advisor in the department, I'm not sure I could get that second paragraph approved.
Of course, there's a strong possibility I might get nothing stronger than an "edit for tone" before it passed. . .
Darn. I thoroughly enjoyed Jacob T. Levy's "The Ethicist Who Isn't" in Reason. Oh, feet of clay, feet of clay.
Actually, if you're standing on the Simpson's doorstep, the Flanders' house IS on the left. If you are looking at the Simpson's house, the Flanders' house is STILL on the left (Stage Left). So, clearly, I'm terribly clever and deserve a cookie. (But will probably recieve a beating, as usual).
Colin MacDougall
Anyone who says that abstract isn't a joke is clearly joking.
Disaffected Youth #1: Here comes the cannonball guy. He's cool.
Disaffected Youth #2: Dude, are you being sarcastic?
Disaffected Youth #1: I don't even know anymore.
Come on now, there's no question this is a joke: "Rather, I will only write my thesis statement clearly; the rest of the essay will be an incoherent jumble of words that will surely make William Strunk rise from his grave to commit mass carnage ala Night of the Living Dead."
Academics may _do_ that frequently, but if they _admitted_ that was what they were doing they'd very shortly find out the politicians and businessmen controlling their budgets were not amused. I can only assume that Levy's eyes glazed over before he reached the incriminating sentences.
To start with, Ubermenschen is a plural.
Picky, picky.
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