two questions

[soulfilms]

firstly:

what defines an intellectual? what are the boundaries which say one person is an intellectual and the other is a (let's say) pretty smart person?

secondly:

an old teacher put this to me once. the way dictatorships (extremists) get into power is that they appeal to those by their simple ideologies and whilst the academics, intellectuals, smart ones, are discussing it and deconstructing it and citically thinking about it, the extremists have built and gained momentum and the support of a greater number of people, making the extremist set to take over the leadership of a country. what thinks you?

[SHATOUSHKA]

the second Q--

i think it has a lot to do with 'knowing your victim'.
the mass public is ready and willing to submit
themselves, their livelihood and openly subject
themselves as expendible... as long as someone
shows the ability to manipulate them.
it kinda reminds me of my good buddy, david blane.

trick me, fool me, play unto me...
but make sure whatever you do, i'll be amazed
by your charm, your wit, and the power of
prestidigitation. in the meantime, chuckle to
yourself because you have, once again, found
the right tune to play on your pipe to get
me to BEG you for it. make me walk away in awe,
wondering how you did it, but at the same
time, humble me that i may feel i could never
be so smart and quick and clever as you.

wait... we were talking about something else...

[doodoo]

On the first one (and only on that)

A pretty smart person may be one who can solve difficult equations using Lorentz's transformations. The intellectual is Lorentz himself. How about that?

Let's put it another way:
Intellectuals can spend their entire life seeking and revealing secrets, while smart people use these secrets to make their own life better.