by Clint Hall » Wed Jun 09, 2010 11:22 pm
Yes, Dave, I read it. I read everything Gopnic writes for the New Yorker. I'm a Gopnic fan. As I recall, most of the postings on our thread about the article in question were critical, not just mine. For instance we had trouble with Gopnic's implication that because many people when blindfolded can't even tell the difference between red wine and white that means wine criticism is a lot of hokum and the public is making too much of a big deal about wine. But while it's true that blindfolded people often can't tell the difference, I think that doesn't support his conclusion (even though you and I know some wine criticism is hokum and sometimes we do make too much of wine). We respond to various cues, not just taste and smell, and one cue is often necessary to the understanding of others. A psychologist could do a better job of explaining this than I am, or just about any Japanese, given the traditional Japanese appreciation of the relative importance of the appearance of food and drink.
Dave, maybe now that I've responded to your question maybe you could return the favor and respond to mine. I recently told my enthusiatically Christian daughter she might like to read read the atheist Gopnic's recent excellent article on the historical Jesus, but now neither of us can find it, and a few copies of recent New Yorkers in my house are missing. Can you put your finger on the edition and give me the date. Shouldn't take you longer than it took me to write this post.
