Everyone is wrong

I had an Art History professor last year who was really passionate about his work. He didn't muddy up his profession either, not a drop of art critique bled into his classes. He could not stress enough that the class was about identifying a period of work and understanding the progression of these periods throughout history, not about opinions on quality of the works.

He gave me an appreciation for how movements in art came to pass... and a deep cutting hatred for 'amateurs' who invent absurd personal meanings behind pieces of art.

He once told a story about a sort of tour he was giving in the Art Museum to a class he was teaching, describing a piece and giving a brief history, after which a friend of a class member who was tagging along said something to the effect of "Well, that's your opinion... I think he was trying to say blah blah blah..."

How arrogant is that? To look in the face of a professional and minimize his expertise to down a matter of opinion?

Professor Seymour was pissed off to no end about this, and that's why I liked him so much. This guy shows up and, even though everything he said amounted to idiotic blubbering, insulted not only my Professor, but his entire profession.

Just because you have a thought it doesn't mean that its correct. Just because you talk doesn't mean you're worth listening to. Just because you're alive doesn't mean you're important, intelligent, or that your opinion is in any way relevant. You can't look a man in the face and level your thoughts with his unless you've got ground to stand on.

Why do I gripe about the sort of things that will never change about humanity? I make my cynical outlook available for someone else to agree with and in turn also become a grumpy bastard.

Oh well.