If Nerds Were Like Athletes

It seems like I might just be babbling to myself when I write this (for few if any agree) but how on earth is reading political philosophy text books and watching history documentaries any substitute whatsoever for reading actual great books?  Not only is doing this like the flag football of academia, it's also like saying that you'd rather play on the middle school team than play varsity. If athletes were to take this approach to sports, they'd be called nerds too.

If you really want to bulk up intellectually and be a real man than stop eating doughnuts and consuming bogus protein bars, and instead, eat right and conquer the weight bench. Give up on all the bias news, 30 min. TV programs, collage text books, presidential speeches, and whatever else you can think of. Just as 6 week programs won't whip you into shape, reading Uncle Tom's Cabin will not equip your mind to handle racism, slavery, egalitarianism, the human spirit, and organized religion as will reading Locke's Two Treatises on Government. Percy Jackson cannot compete with Prometheus Bound. The New York Times is feeble and pathetic compared to Tacitus… and he's been dead over 1500 years! Is Oprah Winfrey the indispensable authority on spirituality? Or is Jesus Christ?

Depending on the day, I moan or laugh when I see someone pretending they are smart. It's just like seeing the guy in high school who, while he has showy muscles, he's a weakling who can't play sports or hold a physically intensive job. He can wear Nike but he can't muster the discipline to go to work everyday.  

Smartness is not knowing about Logarithms alone; it is reading the works of Henry Brigs, and upping his logarithmic theories to a new level. Smartness is not reading economic news alone; it is reading the works of Adam Smith and pitting them against Marx. Smartness is not knowing how to debate; it is reading Roberts Rules of Order.

Ultimately, reading the non-fiction classics, is the academic equivalent to playing in the NFL.