"Noam Chomsky, lately getting more attention for his political views that for what initially distinguished him as a genius - his linguistic theories, said something that I heard a couple of weeks ago. Rather than misquote him, let me try to paraphrase it. Someone had made a remark about the ignorance and stupidity of average Americans. How Americans didn't know geography or history, hadn't read anything more than magazines and comic books, and couldn't do even the most basic math without reaching for a calculator. Chomsky's got a rep, especially in recent nationalistic times, of being "anti-American", but he was quick to contradict this person. Listen to any sports talk show across the radio dial, Chomsky said. Forget about what they're talking about, just listen to the precision with which people in conversation can rattle off numbers and statistics, batting averages and offensive rebounds, almost as if they're talking in some sort of code. Listen to the amount of memory, organization, and retention that goes into this, and then consider how often the guy calling into the sports show is your perfect stereotype of the dumb American with no education."
--CGE
On Fri, 24 Oct 2003, Seth Ackerman wrote:
>
> Chomsky is a pretty big sports fan, too. He goes to a lot of Celtics
> games. He also has a pretty depthy knowledge of old-time baseball and
> college football. He also drinks beer. He was drinking a Sam Adams
> when I was with him at some hotel bar last year. I think his
> 'critique' of sports is more a critique of the blind cultishness of
> team loyalty.
>