Stopping illegal immigration would mean that wages would have to rise to a level where Americans would want the jobs currently taken by illegal aliens.
Thomas SowellRead
Some of the biggest cases of mistaken identity are among intellectuals who have trouble remembering that they are not God.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of humility and recognizing one's limitations, particularly among intellectuals.
Thomas Sowell's quote suggests that some intellectuals may mistakenly consider themselves infallible or omnipotent, akin to a deity. This underscores the idea that even those with significant knowledge should remain grounded and aware of their human limitations, avoiding arrogance and overconfidence in their understanding of the world.
In practice
This quote can be used in a lecture on the importance of humility in academia.
Stopping illegal immigration would mean that wages would have to rise to a level where Americans would want the jobs currently taken by illegal aliens.
Blacks were not enslaved because they were black but because they were available. Slavery has existed in the world for thousands of years. Whites enslaved other whites in Europe for centuries before the first black was brought to the Western hemisphere. Asians enslaved Europeans. Asians enslaved other Asians. Africans enslaved other Africans, and indeed even today in North Africa, blacks continue to enslave blacks.
One of the reasons for conspiracy theories is an assumption that people in high places always know what they are doing. When they do something that makes no sense, devious reasons are imagined by conspiracy theorists, when in fact it may be due to plain old ignorance and incompetence.
You will never understand bureaucracies until you understand that for bureaucrats procedure is everything and outcomes are nothing.
The real problem, both in discussions of mass shootings and in discussions of gun control, is that too many people are too committed to a vision to allow mere facts to interfere with their beliefs, and the sense of superiority that those beliefs give them.
Why is history important? Without history, many people have no idea how many of today's half-baked ideas have been tried, again and again - and have repeatedly led to disaster. Most of these ideas are not new. They are just being recycled with re-treaded rhetoric.
Believing is a fine thing, but placing those beliefs into execution is a test of strength. Many are those who talk like the roar of the sea, gut their lives are shallow and stagnant, like the rotting marshes. Many are those who lift their heads above the mountain tops, but their spirits remain dormant in the obscurity of the caverns.
The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.
The fact that some geniuses were laughed at does not imply that all who are laughed at are geniuses.
It was my delusion and naivety that brought me here.
Failure is information-we label it failure, but it's more like, 'This didn't work, I'm a problem solver, and I'll try something else.'
To me, constructive criticism is when people take ownership of their ideas. That's why I don't listen to anything that's anonymous. But it's hard; when there's something hurtful out there, I still want to read it over and over and memorize it and explain my point of view to the person.
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