As a bit of a side note, I was interested to read this: "he’s far from the only person who is a bright star in one field who comes to think that every thought they have is gold. He mentions Ben Carson; I might add Jonas Salk, Henry Ford, or P.G. Wodehouse."
Would love to know when P.G. Wodehouse thought every thought he had was gold? Wodehouse always struck me as a chap who made it public knowledge that he wasn't that special at anything, even writing (which he of course was brilliant at): "I just sit at my typewriter and curse a bit."
"But he wasn’t really naive. I think he was simply unequipped to make the right judgment. He was profoundly selfish. All he wanted to do was write his books and not be bothered...
But the fact was that Wodehouse had no curiosity, no interest. Utterly selfish, utterly a creature of his own world. He was by every account—and this should be emphasized—a nice man. But, as history has a tendency to lay bare, being a nice man and being a good man are not necessarily the same thing."
When I wrote my comment I was pondering if his war time actions where the reason for your comment and it turns out that hunch was correct.
Indeed, this was a dark period in the history of Wodehouse. I have previously read the article you linked and I thank you for reminding me of it. Where we differ is in the final analysis. I’ve never come away with the view that he thought himself an expert on all things (if I understood you correctly). My view is that he was rather simple and one dimensional. A phenomenal writer, but lost in his own world and oblivious to anything around him other than his writing.
In the interview, Robert McCrum even states that, “he never flashed his character around the place” and “He lives in the world of his imagination. He has no practical knowledge. He relies on his wife to do all the day-to-day stuff. It’s almost as though if he can get himself dressed and get to his desk, he’s happy.”
None of this is to excuse what he did. I thoroughly agree that we should always differentiate between the work and the worker. It’s just that my conclusion is that the worker was a fool.
In my 2022 model 3 there is a purely mechanical lever on both the front doors to open them from the inside. Granted, one has to know where it its, but it is an easy 2-finger lift and works without any power.
Indeed; I drive the same make and model and have tested these myself. The issue is that there is only such a lever for the front doors; passengers in the *rear* have no manual release.
As a bit of a side note, I was interested to read this: "he’s far from the only person who is a bright star in one field who comes to think that every thought they have is gold. He mentions Ben Carson; I might add Jonas Salk, Henry Ford, or P.G. Wodehouse."
Would love to know when P.G. Wodehouse thought every thought he had was gold? Wodehouse always struck me as a chap who made it public knowledge that he wasn't that special at anything, even writing (which he of course was brilliant at): "I just sit at my typewriter and curse a bit."
I adore Wodehouse's books, but it's a case where we must adore the work and overlook the worker. This particular reference was to his wartime broadcasts. More than you might want to know here—https://southwestreview.com/a-grave-moral-mistake-the-tragedy-of-p-g-wodehouses-berlin-broadcasts/ . Note that the linked piece ends with this, from a *friendly* biographer:
"But he wasn’t really naive. I think he was simply unequipped to make the right judgment. He was profoundly selfish. All he wanted to do was write his books and not be bothered...
But the fact was that Wodehouse had no curiosity, no interest. Utterly selfish, utterly a creature of his own world. He was by every account—and this should be emphasized—a nice man. But, as history has a tendency to lay bare, being a nice man and being a good man are not necessarily the same thing."
When I wrote my comment I was pondering if his war time actions where the reason for your comment and it turns out that hunch was correct.
Indeed, this was a dark period in the history of Wodehouse. I have previously read the article you linked and I thank you for reminding me of it. Where we differ is in the final analysis. I’ve never come away with the view that he thought himself an expert on all things (if I understood you correctly). My view is that he was rather simple and one dimensional. A phenomenal writer, but lost in his own world and oblivious to anything around him other than his writing.
In the interview, Robert McCrum even states that, “he never flashed his character around the place” and “He lives in the world of his imagination. He has no practical knowledge. He relies on his wife to do all the day-to-day stuff. It’s almost as though if he can get himself dressed and get to his desk, he’s happy.”
None of this is to excuse what he did. I thoroughly agree that we should always differentiate between the work and the worker. It’s just that my conclusion is that the worker was a fool.
In my 2022 model 3 there is a purely mechanical lever on both the front doors to open them from the inside. Granted, one has to know where it its, but it is an easy 2-finger lift and works without any power.
Indeed; I drive the same make and model and have tested these myself. The issue is that there is only such a lever for the front doors; passengers in the *rear* have no manual release.
Thanks for the info!, i guess i’ll put a window breaking tool in a couple of doors of my model 3!
Thanks for letting me know that we can get out of our car if it catches on fire. 🔥😳🔥