The Learned Pig: Elitist

11 June 2008

Elitist

Elitist: noun.
1. Someone who has the audacity not to be ashamed of using and understanding big words.
2. Someone who refuses to act uneducated and excuse stupidity in order to pander to the uneducated and the stupid.
3. A derogatory label, used spitefully by those who do not read books against those who do; often a last-resort insult used by conservatives when resentful or jealous of an opponent's superior knowledge and abilities.
4. See Obama, Barack.

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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."