Quickies: Say What? Dept.

     Though hard to believe, nevertheless it is the case – really! I’ve seen it close up! – that someone “dressed in a little brief authority” can be both:

• Exceedingly stupid;
• And unable to perceive his own stupidity, much less plumb its depth.

     The recent World Economic Form in Davos, a yearly gathering of would-be dictators whose self-awareness has been chemically suppressed if not surgically removed, is a fertile source for the emissions of such persons. These can be priceless – especially when they’re standing before a microphone straining to say something profound. Let the following serve as an example:

     An Internet of Women! What a marvelous idea! A single command-and-control system uniting all women everywhere, such that directives could be sent out, whether to an individual woman or “broadcast” to the female population of the world, swiftly effectuating whatever changes in mood, direction, or behavior the presumably male sender might desire! Do you suppose there’d be a smartphone app for that? I know what I’d do with it.

     I provided the link so you, Gentle Reader, can personally verify the truth of the utterly unbelievable thing I’m about to tell you. Braced? Open-topped containers of digitally-incompatible liquids well away from your keyboard? All right, here it is:

The WEF’s website featured the above as one of the best quotes from this year’s forum – in a session on “The Global Economic Outlook.”

     No doubt Madame Lagarde meant something other than my interpretation above, but she’s far too stupid to grasp what she really said. Then again, the International Monetary Fund has long been a pasture for the stupid-but-politically-connected who can’t be allowed some other, more visible and influential place in society, so perhaps this was to be expected.