In article <JcOd****FTsqsnbvVnZ2dnUVZ_o7inZ2d@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>,
"Tony" <tony@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> >
> > My take on this, Tony, is that Stilgar is ****trayed a hugely
impressive
> > "normal" person, in that he seems a couple of standard deviations
above
> > the mean in intelligence, insightfulness, fairness, leader****p skills,
> > maybe physical prowess--normal attributes. The second paragraph you
> > cite contrasts him with Alia, a person whose "supernormal" attributes
> > separate her from those who have not reaped the changes produced by
> > surviving the spice trance. I think that showing Stilgar as a
primative
> > in comparison to Alia, in respect to their aptitudes and attitudes
> > regarding prescience, is a clever way of driving home this qualitative
> > difference. Consequently, it speaks to me more of Alia than of
Stilgar.
> >
>
> So you're saying that the apparent contradiction present in my two
quotes is
> a matter of perspective. In other words, Stilgar's abilities are a
couple
> of standard deviations above the norm, and his abilities are relatively
> uniform, i.e., his wisdom about marriage is on par with his wisdom about
> religion.
Don't know if his abilities are relatively uniform--everyone has their
strengths and weaknesses--but use of the word "relatively" probably
makes this relatively true. :)
The concept of wisdom about religion is rather complex, being as how
religion often (usually?) is associated with superstition, and
superstition might be the antithesis of wisdom, in a certain sense.
Well, actually it's more the antithesis of logic. But nonetheless it
competes with wisdom, and tends to crowd it out.
So, what's your take on the original question, Tony? How impressed with
Stilgar did FH intend for us to be?
Em
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