Imposter Phenomenon

The following is taken from Wikipedia.org (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_Syndrome):

The Impostor Syndrome, or Impostor Phenomenon, sometimes called Fraud Syndrome, is not an officially recognized psychological disorder, but has been the subject of a number of books and articles by psychologists and educators. Individuals experiencing this syndrome seem unable to internalize their accomplishments. Regardless of what level of success they may have achieved in their chosen field of work or study, or what external proof they may have of their competence, they remain convinced internally that they do not deserve the success they have achieved and are really frauds. Proofs of success are dismissed as luck, timing, or otherwise having deceived others into thinking they were more intelligent and competent than they believe themselves to be. This syndrome is thought to be particularly common among women, particularly women who are successful in careers typically associated with men, and among academics.

Imposter Phenomenon was first introduced in the late 70s, but it has gradually been growing in prominence. Now take a look at the first sentence and the last: "...is not an officially reocognized psychological disorder..." and "...particularly common...among academics." And that pretty much sums it up. I'll wait a few seconds while you catch your breath from laughing so hard.

Now regardless of what I say, all the PC liberal academics will blast me for being insensitive, unprofessional, etc. - whatever...I don't write for their benefit...I write to expose their fraud.

Now for the rest of us uneducated people - you know, the great unwashed... we experience pedestrian emotions like doubt or insecurity about our actions and accomplishments. But for the educated elite, they don't have these kinds of things...they have "syndromes." And of course, what baffles them so much is that they should even be experiencing this, because after all, they are the educated elite. So that is my first point: how academics do everything they can to distance themselves from being a regular human being.

But my second point is more pertinent: If an academic feels like a fraud...good, because they are frauds. Hey, sorry to break it to you, but the first step for an alcoholic is to admit they are an alcoholic. As Chomsky has articulated so well, there are two kinds of indoctrination - one for the masses (about 80%) where they need to be pre-occupied with trivial matters so they don't have the audacity of trying to actually participate in the democratic process, but the more crucial indoctrination is with the educated class (about 20%) who basically kiss power and privilege's ass even when they think they are being critical.

For all you academics out there, I recommend you watch David Lean's classic Bridge on the River Kwai - a fascinating metaphor...officer class (read: educated class) represented through the character of Nicholson insist that they do not do any physical labor - they lead, that is their job. They are obstinate about this, until they get their way. Then they want to show off how brilliant they are - leave a legacy for generations to come. All the while, the bridge (read: academia, power and privilege) really needs to be blown up. At least for Nicholson, he finally understood this...I doubt most academics could ever reach this level of understanding.