Spring Break
Bong hits introduce idea of intellectual honesty
Sanjai Tripathi
Issue date: 2/11/09 Section: Forum
When all the news this year seems to range from bad to horrifying - ongoing wars, failing banks, liquidating companies, disappearing jobs, upcoming depression, overwhelming debt, Australia on fire - it feels good to see a news report that isn't so bad.
With that in mind, I think the country was primed and ready to embrace the recent story, with photo, of Olympic superhero and abdominal exemplar Michael Phelps taking a bong hit at a college party.
I couldn't care less about Michael Phelps and his endorsement contracts per se. What I find interesting is the treatment that the topic of pot smoking generally receives in our society, the messages a college age person tends to receive about it and how they illustrate a concept called intellectual honesty.
Intellectual honesty is a difficult concept to define. It's like porn: I can't define it exactly, but I know it when I see it.
Being honest simply means telling the truth. Being intellectually honest is something deeper. Not only do you tell the truth, but you also make sure not to leave anything out, and the conclusion you present to someone is as complete as possible, with any caveats you may have.
Confused? It's understandable. I think discussing how people talk about pot will help illustrate the concept.
If you are in the 18 to 25 age range, you may be getting some conflicting messages about pot from two distinct sides. The first is the "Just Say No" side, which seems to have the simple mission of trying to scare you enough that you just never try pot.
This group purchases those public service announcements that show you how smoking pot makes you a jerk and a loser or turns you into a deflated balloon or means you support terrorists and gangs.
In all honesty, this side has gotten better over the years. It has come a long way from the days of "Reefer Madness," the low-budget, 1936 self-spoofing movie about a group of teenagers who smoked pot and then started acting like schizophrenics on meth.
With that in mind, I think the country was primed and ready to embrace the recent story, with photo, of Olympic superhero and abdominal exemplar Michael Phelps taking a bong hit at a college party.
I couldn't care less about Michael Phelps and his endorsement contracts per se. What I find interesting is the treatment that the topic of pot smoking generally receives in our society, the messages a college age person tends to receive about it and how they illustrate a concept called intellectual honesty.
Intellectual honesty is a difficult concept to define. It's like porn: I can't define it exactly, but I know it when I see it.
Being honest simply means telling the truth. Being intellectually honest is something deeper. Not only do you tell the truth, but you also make sure not to leave anything out, and the conclusion you present to someone is as complete as possible, with any caveats you may have.
Confused? It's understandable. I think discussing how people talk about pot will help illustrate the concept.
If you are in the 18 to 25 age range, you may be getting some conflicting messages about pot from two distinct sides. The first is the "Just Say No" side, which seems to have the simple mission of trying to scare you enough that you just never try pot.
This group purchases those public service announcements that show you how smoking pot makes you a jerk and a loser or turns you into a deflated balloon or means you support terrorists and gangs.
In all honesty, this side has gotten better over the years. It has come a long way from the days of "Reefer Madness," the low-budget, 1936 self-spoofing movie about a group of teenagers who smoked pot and then started acting like schizophrenics on meth.
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