So do I. I was there then. Bought the T-shirt.
Participated fully in the
discussion over those couple of
days.
I think at first we all thought
Gene Quinn was engaging
us "honestly", as you put it, but he didn't seem to get
what
we were all telling him.
With so many software engineers participating
in the
thread (including myself), among the comments there was some
pure gold,
positions so well and clearly articulated that no
intelligent person could fail
to see the logic in them. Yet
somehow Gene Quinn always seemed to miss the
point.
In the end I concluded his motive was less than honest. I
concluded that rather than seeking enlightenment, he was
surveying the
landscape that he might develop arguments to
the contrary, like he was scouting
out the "enemy camp" to
better prepare his attacks.
It wasn't long
after that that the first article stating
his position on software patents
appeared on his blog. Of
course it was stilted logic, that glossed over and
failed to
address the heart of comments from our side.
In the end, I
and others who participated in that attempt
to help Gene Quinn achieve a fuller
appreciation of the
facts felt disillusioned and a bit used by him. How could a
man so deliberately fail to see the logic our our position?
There are
none so blind as those who will not see. The
most deluded people are those who
choose to ignore what they
already know.
Gene Quinn knows his position
is untenable, and only a
rationalization so that he many continue to profit
from
clients seeking software patents and him to advocate on
their behalf.
Simultaneously holding two conflicting
cognitions must cause him to suffer the
discomfort of
cognitive dissonance, disequilibrium, frustration, and
anxiety.
That is why he comes across as so defensive in
discussions in his threads where
his fall back position is
ad hominem attacks, because that is all he has to
fight
with. Logic is unkind to him and fails to support him when
he most needs
it.
He must not sleep well at night. I feel sorry for him. I
bear him
no malice. He is so obvious, a cartoon figure in my
mind. May God help him to
find peace, truth, and redemption.
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