So Smart, He’s Dumb
link Extra hot sauce: Harvard Biz profs $4 food fight.
On a slow news day, we find this little gem. It’s not as if Harvard graduates don’t already convey the perception of insular, entitled and arrogant jerks already, but along comes this story which pretty much seals the deal.
This associate professor, Ben Edelman found it sufficiently galling that a Chinese restaurant overcharged him 4 bucks on his take out order that he decides to make a federal case out of it; or at least a State case by invoking Massachusetts law upon the restaurant’s owner. It should be noted that this guy is supposed to be a negotiation guru teaching at Old Crimson. Even more arrogantly, he offers that for a measly ransom of triple the 4 dollar overcharge, he can be persuaded to look the other way.
First thing to note for everyone out there; no Asian person would eat out of a bunch of cardboard boxes. The fact that he is too lazy to actually sit down in a restaurant and eat like a civilized person already says a lot about his likely wanting social skills. The only thing that can be legitimately eaten from boxes is pizza. Despite the portrayal in TV and movies, eating Chinese food from boxes is déclassé in the worst way.
Secondly, Edelman probably suffers from small member syndrome or was perhaps beaten by his older siblings. He feels the need to flex his “obviously” superior position in society to essentially bully the regular folk to remind them of their status. There’s a very popular description for people like this. It starts with a “d” and ends in “bag”. In a recent book, The Seven Deadly Virtues, the author Andrew Ferguson writes that:
” certain forms of ignorance are available exclusively to intellectuals who know so much that they have forgotten how much they don’t know ”
This description seems apt for Edelman who, while possibly is adept at teaching negotiation, is most certainly a boor in real life and not really that good at it himself. I’m sure his classes will be the hot ticket on campus now. Amusingly, this follows right on the heels of the outing of his kindred spirit over at MIT, the now infamous Jonathan Gruber. He of course publicly stated that the American voters were “too stupid” to understand the Obamacare construct.
Thirdly, since Edelman offers to be mollified by payment by the restaurant of an amount triple the offending error, I would think that opens him up for a charge of extortion. Perhaps some of his Harvard Law buddies can make an example out of him.