Broback's Blog

My friend Steve finds a good quote from Einstein. I’ve been cataloging many of the professor’s statements over the years, as they are useful when illustrating the profound limitations of “book smarts” — but had not run across this one. It’s a keeper:

“Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen.”

My specific response is — “it’s true, many don’t outgrow the authoritarian collectivist visions of the freshman reading room” — But most do. This data from blog.okcupid.com:

How peoples attiudes evolve over time:

How that maps to party affiliation:

Bottom line, despite the tendency of many (a few of them are good friends of mine) to stay firmly rooted in the youthful utopian beliefs that characterize many left-leaning policies, most people get “mugged by reality” and migrate to what Sowell and Pinker call the “Tragic Vision.” Others just call these positions “realism.”

I feel fortunate that my professors helped me migrate early.

More specifics on Einsten to come!