
There is a fine line between stupid and clever - DanBC
http://timharford.com/2018/11/there-is-a-fine-line-between-stupid-and-clever/
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kazinator
> _As a wise man once said, it’s such a fine line between stupid and clever._

That man was not terribly wise, actually: he was the David St. Hubbins
character in the 1984 rock and roll satire film _This Is Spinal Tap_.

The quip is intended by the screenwriters to be comically idiotic, and not to
portray St. Hubbins as a wise man, because in fact there is a big difference
between stupid and clever that is not subtle at all.

It also satirizes such a belief, which permeates popular culture: the belief
that something that is, on the whole, banal or stupid can be propelled to
excellence on account of some rescuing subtlety. Basically the bulk of the
content doesn't matter: whether you're clever or stupid rests in some tiny,
subjective detail. Layers of pretense are heaped upon garbage based on this
principle.

~~~
JadeNB
> > As a wise man once said, it’s such a fine line between stupid and clever.

> That man was not terribly wise, actually: he was the David St. Hubbins
> character in the 1984 rock and roll satire film This Is Spinal Tap.

I think that the idiom "as a wise man once said" is not meant to be read so
literally. I've always taken it more to mean essentially "here's a quote with
which I agree."

