Stephen Fry Page 9

Nah, his cock probably was quite clever, that's where most men keep their brains, right? :)

You go girl! :|

Quote: Tim Walker @ September 13 2009, 6:02 PM BST

There is a difference between having a brilliant brain and a brilliant mind. (In my view, Stephen has a brilliant brain and a very good mind.) IQ tests just basically quantify a person's ability to process, store and retrieve information. It's equivalent to a test of your computer's processing ability, storage capacity and RAM performance. The higher the score the more brilliant the brain. A exceptionally high IQ does not by definition make you a genius, but it does make your brain a very efficient computer.

A brilliant mind, however, I would suggest is more about the ability to deal with more abstract concepts and deeper philisophical and emotional information. A lot of scientists and mathematicians have brilliant brains but poor minds (they often lack basic common sense or good social comprehension, for example). Whereas great writers, artists, songwriters etc tend to have good (or merely adequate) brains, but brilliant minds. Hope this makes some sort of sense. (In fact, Mr Fry makes the distinction himself between a brilliant brain and a brilliant mind somewhere in his novel The Liar, IIRC.) :)

I think I know what you're getting at here Tim. The left brain/right brain differences. The left brain is the logical, analytical side and the right brain is the creative, intuitive side that deals with empathy/social skills, etc.

Quote: zooo @ September 13 2009, 6:41 PM BST

Nah, his cock probably was quite clever, that's where most men keep their brains, right? :)

:D

I was going to ask where women kept their brains, but then realised...

(Tim Walker has cut off the rest of this sentence for reasons of decorum and diplomacy)

Sort-of, though I'm not a neurologist, who could probably explain it much better. Imagine if someone had a brilliant brain but a terrible mind - to me that would be someone who could recall all the works of Shakespeare in detail, yet not really have any insight into what the text meant. Most people with brilliant brains have good minds, of course. IQ though, is essentially a test of how fast and efficiently someone's brain is "wired". It can be improved through "brain exercises" to a degree, but mostly it will be determined during gestation and the first few months of life as to how quickly it can process information, as this is when the essential mapping and development of brain cells is fixed. (Central nervous system cells being repairable to some degree, but not replaceable, as they don't undergo new cell formation or division.)

Quote: Renegade Carpark @ September 13 2009, 6:48 PM BST

:D

I was going to ask where women kept their brains, but then realised...

(Tim Walker has cut off the rest of this sentence for reasons of decorum and diplomacy)

:D

Quote: Tim Walker @ September 13 2009, 6:49 PM BST

Sort-of, though I'm not a neurologist, who could probably explain it much better. Imagine if someone had a brilliant brain but a terrible mind - to me that would be someone who could recall all the works of Shakespeare in detail, yet not really have any insight into what the text meant. Most people with brilliant brains have good minds, of course. IQ though, is essentially a test of how fast and efficiently someone's brain is "wired". It can be improves through "brain exercises" to a degree, but mostly it will be determined during gestation and the first few months of life as to how fast quickly it can process information, as this is when the essential mapping and development of brain cells is fixed.

:D

But enough about Aaron. ;)

Quote: Godot Taxis @ September 13 2009, 2:36 PM BST

a columnist? Like Richard Littlejohn and Melanie Phillips?

Don't forget Gary Bushell.

Quote: Lee Henman @ September 12 2009, 7:02 PM BST

What a load of old f**king shit that article is. Typical vinegar-soaked British hack trying to knock a big star down a peg for no other reason than he's a big star.

Is he a great comic actor? Yes. Is he more intelligent and erudite than most of the population? Yes, he is. Is he funny? Of course. Is he a genuinely nice guy? I've never known anybody who's met him to have a bad word to say about him. Does he Twitter too much? Probably. But if you don't like it, then unsubscribe.

Well put Lee

Or more likely they are just getting staff to write contrary articles even if they don't have well argued validity or even any basis in reality.

Next week in the Daily Hack: Julie Burchill on bringing back apartheid, 'Beatles were a third rate beat group', Robert Elms argues and Darwin was a liar, we were descended from Smurfs says Melanie Phillips.

Quote: youngian @ September 14 2009, 1:27 PM BST

we were descended from Smurfs says Melanie Phillips.

Laughing out loud Laughing out loud

Quote: youngian @ September 14 2009, 1:27 PM BST

Robert Elms

Vacuous prick.Angry

Quote: Tim Walker @ September 14 2009, 1:36 PM BST

Vacuous prick.Angry

The serialisation of Robert Elms' book on radio4 was the single most tedious piece of airtime I've ever heard. It was all about what sort of clothes he was wearing as a teenager. Why would anyone want to know about that?

I think one of the reasons Stephen Fry is idolised so much is that he himself is an idolised version of times gone by. A link to the past, a chocolate box lid image of a quaint Dorset village with the Mega-Tesco Photoshopped out.

To many, he represents everything that is good about the English gentleman - witty, erudite, intelligent, civilised, cultured, etc.

To keep with the architecture theme, he is the cathedral in the modern town centre. Though he is set upon on all sides by crass American imports and monuments to chaviness, his stout, resolute and grand facade still continues to dominate the surrounding area.

We live in an age where instant celebrity is handed out to the untalented, the uneducated and the undeserving. And though thankfully, this fame is short lived and easily disposable, the true masters of the craft soldier on uneffected by the whims, fancies and fads of the current generation.

Apologies for being so wordy, but I caught Jonathan Meades last night on BBC Four and he is the shizzle.

NAME DROP ALERT!

I've met him.
And he's witty,incredibly clever and exellent company.
None of it's an act - he really is that nice.

Laurie's a grumpy git, though.

Quote: Lazzard @ September 14 2009, 3:28 PM BST

NAME DROP ALERT!

Laurie's a grumpy git, though.

He's getting a bit odd, I heard him on a phone interview groaning and moaning about how many episodes of House he has to do every year, how home sick he was and on and on.
Is he trying bail out Lehmans or something?

I honestly think it's a sad day for journalism when a pathetic excuse for a journalist has nothing interesting or informative to write about than a critical article of a celebrity's tweets. It's the most lazy handed form of journalism about (scouring the internet for a story) and it stinks of celebrity wank obsession rather than on concentrating on important things.

Newspapers are awash with shite like this but this article is the one of the worst I've ever seen. This journalist needs to get a grip.