(EL) wrote in message . com...
(Randy Poe) wrote in message . com...


I was going to apologize for this post last night, but EL
ticked me off and I decided to leave it after all.

But it's still bothering me. I'm bowing out of this
discussion but I do want to apologize for this
one post. It was mean-spirited and, as EL said
elsewhere, condescending.

I stand by everything else in this thread, without
apology.

- Randy

[EL]
Randy, I am sure that you are a good mathematician.
It is really nice to see your human side in cyberspace.
I am not me anymore when I begin to enjoy flame wars.
To get something enjoyably intellectual out of me the secret is called
respect.
So rather than convincing yourself that I am in anyway your
subordinate or student whom you attempt to educate try to consider me
as a mere equal of yours and give me the respect you expect me to give
you.

No, you are asking me to give you MORE than the respect
you give me. What you give me is a blatant misuse of
terminology and then call me a lunatic for trying to
correct your usage. If you don't know a term, fine.
Nobody knows everything. If you don't know it and
want to make up your own meaning, and then start
swearing at people attempting to tell you the correct
term, not fine. That's willful, arrogant ignorance.

Ignorance doesn't bother me. I live by the saying that
a person's wisdom is defined by their knowledge of their
own ignorance. I've spent my whole life trying to map
out the black holes in my knowledge, the places where
I know I don't know what I'm talking about.

But ignorance + arrogance gets to me. If you're familiar
with Spaceman or Henri Wilson, you know what I'm talking
about.

If an expression was not clear or a semantic being under debate then a
polite inquiry should do miracles.
I still justify your condescending behaviour and find excuses for you
because I am quite aware of Usenet being obviously littered by
crackpots, psychotics and assholes.
I only hope that you realise sooner than later that I do not belong in
that lot.

I don't have a clear picture yet. You said enough, and
said it condescendingly enough (yes, condescendingly)
and foul-mouthed enough that you reached my patience
limits, the limits in my willingness to explain
anything.

Perhaps later. For the next few weeks, I'll just lurk
and shake my head in certain threads.

- Randy