The Learned Pig: JAMES BOND HAS RETURNED

17 November 2006

JAMES BOND HAS RETURNED

You know his name.
You know his number.

Only 007 can make a hand of poker as thrilling as unarmed combat, death-defying chases, and rapturous sex. Only Bond - James Bond - can deliver all of that in one movie and still have time for a vodka martini.

Go see Daniel Craig give Bond back his true self. The stakes are high, and he delivers. Considerably.

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Why the learned pig?

In early 19th-century America, a certain traveling show featured a remarkable pig that, on command, could spell out letters to form words. This "pig of knowledge", or "learned pig", baffled superstitious mobs, and excited frenzied accusations of witchcraft. In response, the pig's trainer published a pamphlet that sought to dispel the rumors by detailing his methods of instruction, and demonstrating that this apparent miracle could be accounted for through reason and observation alone.

Tacitus once wrote, "everything unknown passes for something splendid." Humans by nature desire to know, and when they encounter something seemingly inexplicable, they tend to fill in the holes with religion, superstition, or inane anti-intellectualism that dismisses the need for knowledge altogether. But these are cowardly subsitutes for reason and observation. The learned pig reminds us that if we wish to be wise, "observe; for observation is the source of wisdom."