Next Time You See An "EXPERT" On TV . . .

[movie zombie]

makes no difference to me. he broke no law, didn't ask for a handout from congress. its the gingrich types that cheat on their wives time and again that bug me.

MoZo

 

[MAC-W]

<snip>

3) Pretend you're on a blind date with this guy, and you end up back at his apartment. What do you think when you see these things on his walls?[/b]

I'd think they were shrimps LOL. Dont look anything like vaginas/vulvas except in a representational sense.

Would I want them on the wall of my house? No, but my taste in art is different and the fact that he chooses to have them on his apartment walls doesnt change his professional ability or credability.

Each to their own in their private life and tastes, as long as its legal.

 

[MAC-W]

I can't for the life of me figure out what a person's taste in contemporary art has to do with his professional credibility. Based on this logic, one should routinely ask their doctor or lawyer for photos of their living rooms to ensure they're not displaying any "objectionable" artwork. I prefer to judge my "experts" based on their credentials and their body of work, not on what they do in their free time or what artwork they like.

+1

 

[MAC-W]

I do expect privacy from my guests, in that I expect them not to post mocking pictures of my things online without permission.

1- I would have no problem with him teaching a child of mine, specially at college level, where the students are adults.
2- Whether it is art or not is irrelevant to the question. Very few of my decorations are art but I like them on my walls.
3- I would think him crass and rather vulgar in his private space and I would not date him again. I would not lose respect for his intellectual and academic capacities.

Well said Lady D

 

[ksinger]

I do expect privacy from my guests, in that I expect them not to post mocking pictures of my things online without permission.

1- I would have no problem with him teaching a child of mine, specially at college level, where the students are adults.
2- Whether it is art or not is irrelevant to the question. Very few of my decorations are art but I like them on my walls.
3- I would think him crass and rather vulgar in his private space and I would not date him again. I would not lose respect for his intellectual and academic capacities.

Well said Lady D

I would probably lean this way too. It is part of the definition of "tolerate" that doesn't have to agree or approve, but tolerates. HOWEVER, we (meaning a substantial portion of the population) should not get our knickers out of joint - and we DO, at least judging by the number of "outrage" threads here, and general outrage in society - when the public sphere of life begins to reflect the crassness and vulgarity that we all seem so laissez-faire about when in the context of private life. Professional qualifications aside, I find it hard to believe that this man is not crass and vulgar to some degree in public too.

And yes, that young lady was crass to post the pictures. But Roubini, being a public person all his life, has surely got to understand exactly what that entails, fair or not. Public figures have a microscope on them, and people WILL judge you on such things, like it or not. If he thought something like that would never get out at some point, he was an arrogant fool.

 

[zipzapgirl]

Full disclosure: I'm currently studying at NYU.

Just to set a few things straight...

1) Roubini is still a professor at NYU. Do a search for graduate faculty and you'll see he's still on there.
2) Roubini would be considered an expert in Economics by any standard. He studied at Harvard and Cambridge. He has worked for the International monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the Federal reserve and the Bank of Israel. He was on the Coucil of Economic Advisors during the Clinton Administration. He is a tenured professor at a Top 25 Business school (NYU Stern) and has written multiple books.

While I agree that one should *always* question the credentials of any expert, I don't think this particular person is your best example. One could definitely argue that he is "flashy" for an economics professor, preferring interviews and shorter, popular audience publications over hard research. On the other hand, this seems to work out well for him and for NYU at the moment, as they are both getting a lot of press after his dire predictions came true. One could also say that he lives an excessive lifestyle or has questionable decorating taste, but this does not to me negate his intellectual ability or his academic/expert credentials.

I agree with a lot of people who questioned the news media and their use of 30 second sound bytes and 3 minute expert guest spots. That's why I get my news from newspaper and study the topics in the Economist. If you want something different that what is on offer on a 24 hour news channel or the evening news, go out there and get it because it is definitely available.

**rant over**

 

[zhuzhu]

Thank you Zipzapgirl for clearing up the doubts stirred up on his credential.

I am getting very tired of people judging others by a tiny bit piece of media soundbite.

Don't judge a book by its cover- or the advertisement of the book cover, people!

 

[Italiahaircolor]

1) NYU dismissed him as a professor. If this guy was your son or daughter's professor, what would you think?

Depends on why he was dismissed. Living in NYC, a student will probably see and hear a lot worse than arts and crafts vaginas. Now, if he was doing something morally corrupt or bankrupt, that's different. The world is full of different tastes, as far as what is/isn't acceptable...I'm certainly in no position to judge.

2) I think there is a fine line between art and craft with shock value. The artist who makes these things, also does castings of male genitalia and sells them. Is it art? There are bakeries that make cakes with genitalia on them. Are they art? What, if anything separates the two?

Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas has nude marble statues of men all over the place...is that art? I don't know. I have never walked past one in horror and shock nor I've never stood around and admired the naked statue. I guess the same goes for the casts. I wouldn't buy one and if I saw one in someones home I wouldn't pose smiling beside it...but that's me, again, if someone loves that I'm in no position to judge.

3) Pretend you're on a blind date with this guy, and you end up back at his apartment. What do you think when you see these things on his walls

That, to me, is where it gets personal. I'd be uncomfortable. I'm not one to judge someones taste, but if I was "seeing someone" with that sort of affinity for the private parts I'd probably excuse myself any further romantic hanging outs. I wouldn't want that in my home. It's not my taste.