Sunday, September 17, 2006

Just when they had him in the crushing grip of reason....

Here's a good illustration of why I tend to find discussion with Libertarians so maddening.

Basically, it seems that Germany has a law that makes homeschooling illegal. Setting aside the merits of that policy, Alan took exception to someone's rhetoric in discussing a legal case that arose from that German policy. Hitler outlawed homeschooling in his regime, and then the post-WWII German government also decided to outlaw homeschooling, so some Libertarians are calling the current German ban on homeschooling "Hitler's ban on homeschooling". Alan points out that Hitler also had the Autobahn built, but nobody calls that road "Hitler's highway", and he also points out that Germans are quite capable of discussing the current homeschooling policy without bringing Hitler into it.

The logical train seems to go like this:

1. I like trains to operate in tight accordance with their schedules.
2. Mussolini made the trains run on time.
3. Therefore, I like Mussolini.


Or, "It should make you uncomfortable to prefer your trains to being on time because Mussolini made the trains run on time."

And yet, nowhere does Alan either endorse or condemn the German homeschooling ban, and nothing he writes can even be reasonably construed as doing so. He's only talking about the rhetorical device of plugging Hitler into a discussion, and yet here come the misreadings, goofy accusations, and that favorite insult of Libertarians everywhere, calling Alan a "statist".

I love it when they drag "statist" out of the arsenal -- it reminds me of when I was debating the Objectivist loon over that the FSM boards, and he solemnly intoned: "You, sir, are a Subjectivist!" Heck, it reminds me of that scene at the bus stop in ET: The Extra-terrestrial, when Elliot gets into a verbal fight with an older kid, and they trade barbs back and forth: "You're so immature!" "And you're such a sinus supremus!" "Zero charisma!" "Sinus supremus!" "Zero charisma!" "Sinus supremus!"

It's all very odd, coming from folks whose flagship magazine is called "Reason".

(BTW, can anyone tell me what the hell a "sinus supremus" is? Seriously, I've always wondered. "Zero charisma" I get, having been a D&D player back in the day, but I've never been able to figure out "sinus supremus". It seems to imply very large sinuses, but that can't be it. Hell, if that were the case, there are plenty of mornings when I'd give my right arm to be a sinus supremus.)

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm going to guess that it means "big nose" in Latin.

And thanks for this post. Sometimes I think it's me, but this confirms that it's not.

Anonymous said...

sinus is 'indentation; hollow; bay'
supremus is 'highest'

So, 'highest indentation', whatever that means. It was probably, as Alan suggested, supposed to be dog Latin for 'big-nose'.

Anonymous said...

I haven't seen ET in years, but I'd swear he said "penis breath."

Kelly Sedinger said...

That was earlier in the movie; Elliot's brother is making fun of him because Elliot saw "something" in the shed and in the cornpatch, and the brother says, "Maybe it was an elf or a leprechaun!" to which Elliot shouts, "It was nothing like that, penis-breath!"

Crushed Moth said...

Could it be Sine or Sina (meaning "without") Supremus?

paige said...

i always thought it was sino supremist

Anonymous said...

I just watched the movie and was wondering what sinus supremus was so I googled it...and that is how I got to this page...I would think not the intention of jaquandor.

Anonymous said...

I just found this page from a google search trying to find out what the hell it meant as well! Maybe we should club together and send a letter to Spielberg...

Anonymous said...

zero charisma!

Unknown said...

"Sinus," meaning, hollow or empty space. "Supremus," highest or top most. The two together loosely mean, "big nothing," or "supreme nothing." I think the child actor misread "sinus" and pronounced the word phonetically, hence "sin-us." That's my take on it anyway.

Interesting said...

Its spelled "sine supremus" & it means supreme nothing.