Posts Tagged ‘George Lamb’

Intellectual arrogance

Friday, July 11th, 2008 | Distractions, Thoughts

The idea of intellectual arrogance is something that gets thrown around a lot in theological debates. Recently though I’ve really noticed in branching into other areas of discourse. There is something nice about being humble enough to admit when you’re wrong but some people will insist to the end of the Earth that they are right.

This came up recently when it was pointed out to me by 6Music’s George Lamb that nobody knows the difference between a sheep and a goat.

For example, sheep have wool. But if you shave a sheep it doesn’t. Goats have horns. But then again sheep can have horns. They have an almost idential facial and body structure, at least close enough that you couldn’t tell if it was simply a different species of sheep or goat or whether it was indeed actually a whole different type of animal. The more you think about it, the more you realise that you cannot infact tell the difference between a sheep and a goat.

Having raised the issue with several people since however I’ve found that most people simply outright refuse to consider the possibility that they can’t tell the difference. Arguments like “well I could just tell” get thrown around a lot – anyone for a “well I just know god is there” argument?

Really, I don’t see what the big deal is about the fact you can’t tell the difference between a sheep and a goat. It doesn’t make you any less of a person because nobody can tell the difference. That’s just facts, animal facts.