OT: Troll vs. Crank
Date: 16 Jun 2006 10:54:32 -0700
Message-ID: <1150480472.643099.135200_at_f6g2000cwb.googlegroups.com>
Sometimes our vocabulary limits our understanding.
(The "Sapir-Whorf hypothesis".) I think this has been
happening to me lately.
Most people are familiar with what a "troll" is.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_troll
To me, the defining characteristic of a troll is that he speaks not in good faith. That is, he doesn't believe his own arguments; they are made simply for provocation.
But until lately, I haven't really had a concept, or a term, to
describe
someone who *does* believe his own posts, but whose posts are
nonetheless of no redeeming value. (I am unclear how this hole
in my understanding has persisted for so long--an excess of
faith in human nature, perhaps. I am also beginning to believe
I posess a certain gullibility.)
Trolls seem to get all the press, and all the attention. But
it strikes me that cranks are actually distinctly more numerous.
(Real trolls are relatively rare in this newsgroup; we generally
have several cranks at any given moment.)
HTH Marshall Received on Fri Jun 16 2006 - 19:54:32 CEST