oh! I'll say. This is exactly right -- at least at the outset of being and event! i mean, he *wants* to achieve this effect. but there is something about badiou that is... effed up. he is irritating for one. he sets up his grand insights and you get to it and you're like, 'um, oh? really? ok. wow. impressive."
put it this way, there is something about badiou that reminds me of that kid in class. the one that raises his hand. when you are a new teacher, you are ever so grateful *someone* has something to say, rather than you always having to say somethinog.
so you await the insight. then, after a lot of blah blah blah blah, you realize: you have no idea why the kid is saying any of this stuff. it's like he's taken some marginal part of what you said and run off with it, fabricating an entire world upon it and you can tell that the kid thinks it's all connected but it is increasingly clear that there is no connection at all. interesting stuff. but what can you do with it but say, "that's nice. anyone else?"
and you spend the rest of the semester trying to pretend that you don't see the kid raising his hand to make a comment on what you're saying beause you know you'll be standing there listening to this structure fabricated of words and ideas that are all quite well and good but what the fuck it has to do with anything such as, say, politics... or love... or how the sciences should proceed (e.g., what does this meaning for knowledge, knowing, how we know now that we know what we know....)
beatsdachittouttame.
:)