The Surd and The Sure

An ignorant person is one who lacks knowledge but has the ability to learn, and thus, acquire knowledge. A stupid person is one who is unable to learn in order to overcome their ignorance. And then, of course, there are idiots: they are mentally handicapped because they have allowed themselves to be “educated” without ever having made the effort to train their mind, thus they are filled with “facts,” some surd⁠¹ and some sure, and incoherent “theories” based upon both. Thus, they twitter like idiots.

A dog who can learn some stuff, even if they are only “tricks,” but who has a good heart and is a friend to Man, can be a bodhisattva. That dog will certainly have a more positive effect on the world than the twittering idiot.

¹ Surd: (adjective) lacking sense, irrational. From Latin, surdus — “deaf, silent, stupid.”