Posted by andreas from p3EE3C6AA.dip.t-dialin.net (62.227.198.170) on Sunday, November 24, 2002 at 9:54AM :
NO joke.
----------------
Toronto Star
Nov. 23, 2002. 12:46 AM
`Moron' is a matter of looks vs. intellect
The great moron caper seems to be as much about the messenger as the message.
The dictionary says moron is derived from the Greek word moros, which means foolish or stupid. A moron is someone who has the "mental age of between 8 and 12 ... a very stupid person."
But the experts on stupidity (or so they claim) suggest Françoise Ducros may be correct in her assessment of U.S. President George W. Bush.
"Technically, a moron is someone who is stupid but looks normal," said Albert Nerenberg, a Toronto-based film director who is completing a television documentary titled Stupidity.
"Much has been said recently about Bush arriving at a point where he looks presidential," said Nerenberg. "What's intriguing about morons is that they can pass as just about anyone, but inside they're still morons."
The term "moron" was added to the U.S. version of the IQ test to screen out people who looked intelligent but weren't.
A moron was considered to have an IQ between 50 and 75.
Certainly Bush is no Dan Quayle. The former vice-president was known for numerous intellectual gaffes, including a remark he made while in Latin America about wishing he could "speak Latin'' so he could communicate with people in the country he was visiting.
But Bush hasn't escaped ridicule about his alleged intellectual shortcomings. Even before he was sworn in as president, late-night comedians in the U.S. regularly dined out on jokes about his intelligence.
Still, some U.S. commentators, especially of the right-wing persuasion, are blowing a fuse over the PM aide's remark.
It's all proof that Canadians are "the spoiled brats of the new world order," fumed Pat Buchanan, failed presidential candidate and regular Canada-basher.
STAFF, CANADIAN PRESS
-- andreas
-- signature .