[quote=@Penny]
Victor Davis Hansen's book on Greek Warfare is excellent, its a shame the rest of his work is such hackery :(
[/quote]
*Rubs hands together* Ooo, I'll give it a look (despite my status). I've not heard of him, though I have heard of the book, [i]Carnage and Culture[/i]. I never actually read it though. Why would he be a hack, elsewhere? 

[quote]I like to think this is a result of faux intellect, sort of gathering all the trappings without integrating them or introspecting upon them. The more or learn about any given field the more conscious I am of the vistas I haven't yet glimpsed.[/quote]

I suppose it's the difference between knowledge and intellect. Certainly an intelligent person would pursue knowledge, but that doesn't necessarily mean a person who knows much information is intelligent, or intuitive, or emotionally mature enough not to be an asshole.