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November 11, 2005

 Razib and Derb

Michael Blowhard writes:

Dear Blowhards --

GNXP's Razib interviews John Derbyshire. An excellent chat: Let's hear it for entrepreneurial blogging. Scatter-brained, impressionistic me especially appreciated Derb's comment that "Having a well-thought-out world-view can make a person narrow and arrogant."

Best,

Michael

posted by Michael at November 11, 2005




Comments

I knew you'd have to link this, Michael. It occurred to me after reading it that you and Derb share some important characteristics: a taste for 'ad-hocism', as expressed in the above Derb quote; a willingness to blurt out emotional truths, and damn the consequences; a deep erudition masked by folksy humility. Needless to say, I think those are good things.

Posted by: Robert on November 11, 2005 03:51 AM

I spend a lot of time over at the comments sections at Sepia Mutiny, where razib leaves a fair number of comments. It is a genuine pleasure to 'argue' things with him. It is also a genuine pleasure to read this interview. I find John Derbyshire maddening, sometimes agree, sometimes don't, but he's damned interesting. And that's no small thing.

Posted by: MD on November 11, 2005 12:09 PM

Robert -- I'm taking that as a compliment whether you mean it as one or not. Are you a Derb fan yourself?

MD -- I should really spend more time at Sepia Mutiny. And "interesting" can be good, no? I also think something that doesn't get said enough about Derbyshire is what a good writer he is. I confess that I'm often not that interested in his subject matter but I read him with pleasure anyway, because I love that lowkey, half-ironic, informal yet superclear voice and style of his. I think Robert got it right when he referred to Derb's "ad hocism." Derb makes ad hocism look really good.

Posted by: Michael Blowhard on November 12, 2005 01:34 AM

Oh yeah, it's a compliment. And I know you're a gnxp habitue, which is probably why I thought of you when I read it. I don't always agree with Derbyshire, but I appreciate his willingness to belch forth opinions that are self-evidently genuine regardless of their potential to offend. The guy does no posturing as far as I can see, and that's refreshing.

Posted by: robert on November 13, 2005 05:00 PM


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