Ben Carson: Bungling Surgeon

You really are the best.

Instead of acknowledging any responses to the dribble drivel you post, you just continue to plow on, posting non sequiturs.

It's funny. African-American kids have looked up to Dr. Carson for nearly 20 years. He was a hero and inspiration to a generation of African-American doctors.

White, conservative Christians have admired Ben Carson for just as long. His prominence was such, that he was the featured speaker at the National Prayer Breakfast in 1997.

But, white liberals are, apparently, mostly unfamiliar with him, and so they think he's a nobody, that appeared out of nowhere.

I'm sorry you have a gap in your knowledge a mile wide, but but that's due to your lack of intellectual curiosity, not the lack of prominence enjoyed by Ben Carson.

 

Seriously ...dribble? Yeesh.

 

Dribble, drivel, whatever.

I had an image of him drooling in my mind. Must have effected affected impacted my word choice

 

Many times with nonfiction, it's a small handful of political organizations/special interests/churches buying the books in bulk and then giving them away. Why would anyone care what Ben Carson thought about the world in 2014 enough to drop big coin on his book? What was he polling at the time? In the single digits - if that?

Right now, Carson's book has a 5-star rating on Amazon. 87% of respondents gave it 5 stars.

To Kill A Mockingbird is lagging behind, at 4 1/2 stars. (Not that it's anywhere near my favorite book but it's a beloved book).

The whole thing is a shill.

I'd love to see someone tear through about ten of these kinds of books - from the whole political spectrum - and just reel at the bullshit within them. The first Obama book, I have to admit, wasn't half bad.

Hilary's most recent book was terrible.

 

Drop big coin? For real? Most of his books are about $10. That's big coin?

 

There's a big difference between "genius" and "technical expertise." That Carson is a great neurosurgeon means he has a great memory, a great work ethic, and a steady hand. Nothing more. Nobody would be surprised if they heard some of this stuff coming from a great auto mechanic or a great offensive coordinator. I'm not sure there is a huge difference in the necessary characteristics, though.

 

Really, what you are seeing out of Carson is what you often see out of athletes and coaches, which is a person himself equating his own technical expertise with true genius. Except, most people who make the mistake are able to coast blissfully through life without anybody ever calling them out on their bullshit. Carson has a whole country doing it.

 

I think Carson has gone most of his life not being called out on bullshit. We agree there.

I do not equate him to an athlete or an auto mechanic. There is generally much more at stake in what Carson does.

 

It's big coin if some mega-Church is buying thousands of copies for its members.

Is there any evidence this was the case with Carson's book? If there was, the Times wouldn't include it on its list.

They excluded Ted Cruz's book from the list, even though Amazon and others said there was not evidence of bulb purchases:

Amazon: 'No evidence' of bulk sales for Cruz book

 

There is a hugely popular alternate pop culture that evangelicals follow. I remember reading about it when Michele Bachmann was surging. It doesn't surprise me that they would have lifted "Dr. Carson's" books to such sales heights.

 

You guys are funny.

I'm not supporting Ben Carson for President, and don't even think he's qualified.

But, to dismiss him as some "technician" is absurd. On a "technical" level, he did things only a handful of people on the planet were capable of. But, this isn't like tearing down, and rebuilding a clock. People don't have an affinity for brain surgery. You learn that, and you spend years learning it, and you have to be really smart to learn it.

We were told for years that Bill & Hillary Clinton were so fucking smart, and part of the evidence was that they went to Yale Law School.

Well, what did they learn there? What are their "technical" skills? Were either considered great lawyers?

Ben Carson got his undergrad at Yale, his MD at Michigan, but yeah, he's just got some technical skills -- no different than a plumber, electrician, or espresso repair guy.

Any dummy could just decide to be a neurosurgeon if he chose. You don't have to be smart to do that. Stoney, and Alma, and Jay just all had different interests and talents. Their technical skills were just greater in writing than neurosurgery, but they're every bit as smart as Ben Carson.

 

Exactly. And, the books might be talked about in mega churches, but I don't think the Churches buy the books for their members.

Christian themed movies have done gangbusters too that shocked the movie industry, and part of their marketing plan was to target conservative christians, including holding screenings for church members prior to the official release to build word of mouth.

And, the thing is, people like Devil would never know who some of the authors are who appeal to this audience. (The movies have sometimes topped the box office, so they ended up getting some notice, even though they weren't widely anticipated.)

We think of people like Lena Dunham as being super famous because white liberal, including those at the the New York Times love her, and the President's daughter interned for her. But, she doesn't have broad fame. Most christians in fly over country couldn't pick her out of a lineup, and neither could most African-Americans.

White conservative Christians have been admirers of Ben Carson for a long time, and unlike a lot of others in his category -- like Michelle Bachmann -- he was also admired in the African-American community.