Rusty LUVS Chomsky?

For a second, I thought that Dr. Rusty was spending too much time with his head on the interior of the microwave, tin hat firmly in place, when I saw this headline: "A note to fellow academic bloggers: follow Chomsky's lead."

But he's actually got something useful to say in a heartfelt sort of way, kind of like the "Issues" section of the program where Sideshow Bob would explore the tender psyche of Springfield's youth. Here's the punch:

I don't post on my academic area of expertise for the very same reason Chomsky does not lecture outside of MIT on his: I know the difference between peer reviewed theories put under academic scrutiny and theories about world politics driven by my ideology. Hopefully, the latter--my opinions about the war on terror--are accurate. What they definitely are not, though, are rigorously thought out analysis in the same manner as my academic work is. None of my posts--as far as I can tell--has ever produced a hypothesis that any one -- as far as I can tell -- has tested.

So, to fellow bloggers in academia remember what your blog is and what it is not. It is a place to post random thoughts and observations. It is a place to stroke your own ego. It is a place to editorialize. It is a place to say inane, meaningless, and occasionally offensive things. It is a place where on a rare occasion you might just get an important point across. However, it is not a place to further your academic career nor is it a place that your credentials have any meaning.

Blogs are the great levellers of our day. Whether auto-mechanic or nuclear physicist, the opinions of both are of equal importance in the blogosphere. Blogs have made Chomskys of us all. And that, believe it or not, is a good thing.

I would concur wholeheartedly, with the one nit to pick that you forgot the most pleasurable element of blogging: stuffing the weak into lockers.

SOOPER SEKRIT NOTE TO RUSTY: Hang in there buddy, and if you need any help I know a place where I can get my hands on a few severed horseheads.

SOOPER SEKRIT NOTE TO JAY ENNN: That goes for you too---if you need the horseheads, you know who to call. Capiche?