December 18, 2004
Even someone as smart and sophisticated as Michael Kinsley is "floored" by the Hayekian wonderland that is the Blogosphere:
Just so I don't sound too naive: I am familiar with the blog phenomenon, and I worked at a Web site for eight years. Some of my best friends are bloggers. Still, it's different when you purposely drop an idea into this bubbling cauldron and watch the reaction. What floored me was not just the volume and speed of the feedback but its seriousness and sophistication. Sure, there were some simpletons and some name-calling nasties echoing rote-learned propaganda. But we get those in letters to the editor. What we don't get, nearly as much, is smart and sincere intellectual engagement--mostly from people who are not intellectuals by profession--with obscure and tedious, but important, issues.