edshots

can be a dangerous thing. I had an interview the other day with somebody that thought that by over rationalizing and thinking about things that it made it better. The fact is that it just made him look more foolish than he probably would have otherwise. He tried to convince me of facts that I knew were different and quoted sections of law that didn't exist. For example, the law does not give parents permission to use corporal punishment. There is only a defense against an assault charge by staing that the physical punishment was reasonable and in the interests of child discipline (that's not the exact wording-I don't have the crimes code in front of me at the moment-but it gets the general point). That's why I often point out to parents that if they did the same thing to me as they did their child I could have them arrested. I would have had a lot more respect for the guy if he had owned up to what he didn't know and proceeded from there.

Of course too much thinking an be just as bad. One of my favorite scenes in the Winnie-the-Pooh series is a conversation between Pooh and Piglet:
"Rabbit's clever," said Pooh thoughtfully.
"Yes, " said Piglet, "Rabbit's clever."
"And he has brain."
"Yes," said Piglet, "Rabbit has Brain."
There was a long silence.
"I suppose," said Pooh, "that's why he never understands anything."

Well said, Pooh. Sometimes too much Brain is just as dangerous, if not more so, than too little.