David Suzuki

[Oddmott]

Credentials don't mean much if you know what you are talking about or if you have friends in high places.

A man goes to Harvard to study English and write novels.
He loved science and math but did not do well in either and his grades were in the bottom percentile in his class.
Early on at college he spent time watching tv, shooting pool and smoking grass (occasionally).lol
Later in life he concentrated on politics and reached the vice-presidency of the US.

After politics, became a self appointed environmental expert, wrote a book and won the Nobel peace prize.
Where were Al Gore's credentials????

The big falsehood in your comment is that Gore never once appointed himself as an environmental expert. He has always been, and claimed to be, an environmental reform advocate.

The distinction is important.

[JBen]

What?.. The school of hard knocks/experience, instead of those that have spent 6-7-8-9 years obtaining their knowledge at university. To get their PhD's they spend years going over reports and data. I guess you listen to the people in jail, rather than the judge... B. Izumi is paid by sponsors, his view is tainted. Just being an 'outdoors man' does not make you knowledgeable on all the ramifications of any policy. Formal education = credentials and they do count, as they should. I want the most informed people ,making the decisions that affect all of us. Go have your taxes done by the guy in grade 13 who was good at math, ya I thought not.

Kinda like the credentials of our current premier lol

LOl Beat me to it. Ms Wynne, Mr McGuinty prove beyond any shadow of a doubt that pedigrees don't mean a lot.

Give me real world experience, common sense and intelligence and that person has just as much value (inn this case their opinion) as some person who can wave a piece of paper as though it counts for much.

If "credentials" of that sort really accounted for much.
Common criminals and gutter rats wouldn't fleece high brows of their savings so often.
Organised crime wouldn't be besting the bestest brightest pedigreed minds so often.
And Bin Laden or ISIS wouldn't have given the FBI/CIA and more fits for years.

Always makes me chuckle when anyone thinks a piece of paper means the holder is more knowledgeable, more intelligent, more capable, more qualified, whatever than someone who has real world experience and intelligence. Of coarse that's often a very bad mistake when you underestimate/devalue someone simply because he or she isn't as pedigreed as you/someone else.
When the real world says otherwise......all......the.....time.

[Oddmott]

If "credentials" of that sort really accounted for much.
Common criminals and gutter rats wouldn't fleece high brows of their savings so often
Organised crime wouldn't be besting the bestest brightest pedigreed minds so often
And Bin Laden wouldn't have given the FBI/CIA and more fits for years.

Yeah, let's just ignore completely the fact that organized crime relies almost entirely on ivy league educated business experts and legal experts. High School dropouts are not the ones laundering billions, or protecting bosses from the law.

Or let's ignore that Osama Bin Laden was university educated, earning several degrees, at King Abdulaziz University (Ivy League private, built by mid-1900s BILLIONAIRES for their kids) and is considered to have had a genius level IQ (proposed to have been somewhere between 135-150).

It's also important to realize that the watered-down degrees that've been pumped out of Canadian Universities and public U.S. Colleges over the last 30 years have soured our respect for academia. Most other developed nations haven't let their systems slip to the same level.

SOME degrees definitely speak volumes as to the holders' level of expertise and knowledge.

[JBen]

M you have "no clue".
I know you well enough to know that kids I grew up would take you nine ways to sunday.

For the record M, I don't have my grade 12.....but do have an "IQ" over 160. Am I unqualified on many topics?

A piece of paper doesn't mean everything, if you want to devalue or underestimate someone, simply because....do so at your peril.

The Beasely are obviously smart, knowledgeable, capable, have real world experience.
From a start up garage magazine... and today are.....highly regarded, successful.
What have you done? Whats that piece of paper done...

They may not have "Dr bugs" credentials.....they have an opinion that I'll listen to.

[Oddmott]

M you have "no clue".
I know you well enough to know that kids I grew up would take you nine ways to sunday.

For the record M, I don't have my grade 12.....but do have an "IQ" over 160.
A piece of paper doesn't mean everything, if you want to devalue or underestimate someone, simply because....do so at your peril.

The Beasely are obviously smart, knowledgeable, capable.
The start a garage magazine and today are.....highly regarded, successful.
What have you done?

I've done plenty to be proud of. You don't actually know me at all. lol
Don't know why you feel the need to turn to personal attacks - all the time.

I was simply pointing out that your provided examples, are completely invalid/untrue.

Not claiming that smart folks without degrees don't exist. We've all known plenty.

For the record, an IQ over 160 means you're more intelligent than Stephen Hawking. It would place you in the top 50 (identified) most intelligent people of all time. It's a big claim to make.

Without even trying, you would have fallen into some world bending, significantly impactful role, university educated or not... because actual geniuses cannot help but perform at an extremely high level. You wouldn't work in the world of finance - you would dominate the world of finance. Like Paul Allen, IQ 163.

[JBen]

Its not "personal", but unless I'm mistaken aren't you the one discrediting the Beasleys, simply because?

To devalue someone or their opinion simply because they don't have "credentials"...No body says you have to agree with them, or think they are right and "Dr Suzuki" wrong.

Then when given "real" world examples where those without often...
Tell me M, how many bikers say from Hells Angels graduated from Yale?

Rather than accept the point/illustrating I guess I might ask you why you felt...you could or shoot the "point" down.
you wont

[Oddmott]

What have you done? Whats that piece of paper done...

They may not have "Dr bugs" credentials.....they have an opinion that I'll listen to.

Just another example of your aptitude to lash out, without considering first that you don't know what you're talking about.

You don't know me. I don't have that piece of paper you seem to hate so much. I am not university educated, was never interested in it. I have no patience for discussion of theory for hours on end, or to spend more than a year of my life perfecting an annotated bibliography for a thesis nobody cares about.

I'm a big proponent of hands-on, self-taught, hard-won success. That doesn't mean i'm silly enough to look down on those who have worked through it.

I didn't insult the Beasleys or their accomplishments. I like what they've done in the industry and applaud their ability to do okay in a tough TV market.

But I'm also not going to knock a guy who gained his knowledge and degree at a time when neither were easy to come by, and then went on to build a 10x more storied and impressive broadcasting career through the school of hard knocks than the Beasleys could ever hope to achieve.

[JBen]

Its not "personal", but unless I'm mistaken aren't you the one discrediting the Beasleys opinion on the matter, simply because?...

To devalue someone or their opinion simply because they don't have "credentials"...No body says you have to agree with them, or think they are right and "Dr Suzuki" wrong. But if there's a "wrong" or disservice here.

Then when given "real" world examples where those without often...
Tell me M, how many bikers say from Hells Angels graduated from Yale? Do you think they know a thing or two about running a business? About organization and many other things?

Rather than accept the point/illustrating I guess I might ask you why you felt...you could or shoot the "point" down.

you won't

There are all kinds of pedigreed people who aren't and there are all kinds of "gutter rats" who do. The greater disservice is discounting the Beasleys, simply because.........

If you want to call it "lashing" out, fine. Im good with that...Next time, when someone makes a "point"..which was what?
That there are all kinds of people with and without. If you don't like "organized" crime for the illustration.
Consider many biker gangs. yeah Bin Laden was highly educated.
Are they all?

[Oddmott]

Rather than accept the point/illustrating I guess I might ask you why you felt...you could or shoot the "point" down.
you wont

I wasn't arguing your point - i agree with it - i simply pointed out that the examples you provided specifically, were false.

Biker gangs aren't controlling anything in organized crime. They are the marionettes of those that control organized crime.

[JBen]

Or use me as an example which is why I went "personal". I don't have a pedigree...Does that make me unqualified or that depending on the subject matter my opinion is any less valuable on many topics? I beg to differ....So would it hold true that the Beasley's aren't?

See my point now?

Oh and on "Biker gangs"...
/beg to differ