kelley wrote:
> no one blames the power of automobilie companies on the ignorance
> of consumers in the same sort of way.
As a matter of fact back in the '70s Bill Mauldin drew a whole series of cartoons in effect blaming consumers for the "gas guzzlers" of the day. And of course TV viewers are regularly blamed for the real and supposed defects of TV. And my whole profession is built on the assumption that 95% of the human species are defective because they don't read the books we tell them to.
And I believe your whole argument that 'geeks' fit a pattern followed by other professions is strengthened by noting that this blaming of consumers is a regular part of professional life. The original professionals were the clergy -- and who do you suppose they blamed when their parishoners went to hell?
Carrol