Creative Thinking - Academics with a Great Sense of Play

The best thinkers have a great sense of play.  Many second rate "players" take a perverse delight in “celebrating” the creative writing habits of their students. Most often, it takes the form of excerpts from student papers.

The following essay is hilarious and I recommend it highly, especially if you have had a bad day and need a laugh. http://www.wilsonquarterly.com/essays/history-past-life-reeked-joy

Here are a few excerpts ... note that there is more than a grain of truth in what is written:

Theologically, Luthar was into reorientation mutation.
Orthodox priests became government antennae.
The French revolution was accomplished before it happened.

Many (most?) second rate academics take themselves too seriously. For example, have many twirps have you had to suffer during your university studies?

When I was in my first year of university, some academic wonks decided that it would be a good idea to expose all “unwashed” first year students to a course entitled “Modes of Reasoning” ... the thinking was that this course would be useful in arranging the neurons of students such that, one day, they might approximate the functionality of the professoriate.

The mandatory course was ghastly. It was delivered in a huge lecture hall and since it was decided that all first-year students would take the course at the same time, the lecture was piped into two other lecture halls. The lecturer was ill-prepared. His “superior” attitude didn't cut it with the audience (many of them took to inhaling some weed to endure later lectures). The content, as presented, was totally irrelevant and totally boring.

Things progressed to the point were there was an open revolt and people walked out after a confrontation. The course was never again on the syllabus and I imagine that everyone passed even if they did not attend more than three of the lectures .... I should know ... I was one of them.  During the "revolt" the lecturer opined that he was "delivering pearls before swine" ... he was laughed off the lectern ... a triumphal result of peer review. 

This said, university life can be wonderful. Many academics (usually the best of 'em) have a wonderful sense of play. Nowhere is this better illustrated than in Improbable Research http://www.improbable.com/

Among other things, Improbable Research hosts the Ig Nobel Prizes. Here are a few of my favourites:

Ig Nobel Prize Winner Dr. Elena Bodnar demonstrates her invention - a brassiere that can quickly convert into a pair of protective face masks. patent

Photo credit: Alexey Eliseev, 2009Ig Nobel Ceremony

I never used to worry about getting a colonoscopy ... but now I'm terrified ... no onion soup or bean burritos for me the day before:

2012 MEDICINE PRIZE: Emmanuel Ben-Soussan and Michel Antonietti [FRANCE] for advising doctors who perform colonoscopies how to minimize the chance that their patients will explode.
http://io9.com/5945354/how-to-keep-colonoscopy-patients-from-exploding-and-other-winners-from-the-2012-ig-nobel-awards


The "sense of play" is essential for the advancement of ideas.  While the results can sometimes be deadly serious, the process allows people to explore ideas thoroughly without the usual strictures of peer review (which often is corrupted by the self interests of reviewers) and "self editing".   It is to be celebrated.  There is a paucity of this in the financial press and in financial writings - an indication, perhaps, of the state of economics and related "disciplines".