Senile Bear Confuses Vaughn with Culp

[Little Arminius]

It seems Bear's memory is as shaky about TV shows as it is about his own past.  It also appears that Bear forgets that he dumped on Cosby's Ph.D. for years. He mentions it under Bending the Rules.
"If we are to believe a book by a member of Dr. Bill Cosby's dissertation committee at the University of Massachusetts (Education's Smoking Gun, by Reginald Damerell), the only class attendance on Cosby's transcript was one weekend seminar, and the only dissertation committee meeting was a dinner party, with spouses, at Cosby's house."
--John Bear--Bending the Rules--page 279--Bears' Guide-1997
I guess it is hard to remember if you have praised or damned people, especially, when you switch back and forth so much. You would think Bear would remember that he used Cosby as an example of famous people getting degrees the "Easy" way. He used to think things of that nature were much funnier back then, maybe because he sold so many himself. Perhaps Bear, if he can remember the details should do an expose of Cosby on some TV gossip rag, just as he did to John Gray.
The best thing to do with Bear is to simply stand still and wait. He will eventually come back that way again and take your side of the issue. Perhaps because he fails to remember what his previous expert opinion was. Ahhh, the shifting sands under the feet of the experts, how wonderful.

I well remember JB emailing me with these comments - shortly after he had received a copy of the Brown teal Manual:

"Every once in a while, I really enjoy the act of delving deeply
(if briefly) into a totally new (for me) area. Sometimes this simply involves picking up a book someone has left on a library table. Or being dragged along by my wife to a lecture or workshop given by someone I'd never heard of on a topic I barely knew existed. And sometimes a Brown Teal work appears magically on the computer What an immense piece of work this is. And the book is so well designed."

Not long afterwards he referred to me as "AN UNEDUCATED BUFFOON" at DegreeInfo - this would be because he thought his mates there would appreciate such comment.

Bear's original comments sound as though he wrote them during a moment of genuine sincerity, something that appears to be happening less and less often with the passage of time. In my own dealings with J.B., I truly appreciated his advice and encouragement in the form of written correspondence back in the 1980s when I enrolled in a BA (Hon) program at Unisa. His responses to my questions both served me well and motivated me to negotiate the bureaucratic maze that was pre-Internet Unisa. When I received my degree and sent J.B. a letter expressing my gratitude for his assistance, he replied with a wonderful handwritten note that truly touched me. At the time I believed that he was a truly extraordinary individual, a giant in his field and a man of great personal integrity. It's a real shame that he has decided to abandon his earlier principled positions and run with a pack of bitter, angry individuals who have rallied around the simplistic RA or No Way stance.

As far as Bear's insult, it is unfair and unfortunate that J.B. attacked Dr. Hayes the way he did. I still think that Rich "Bomber" Douglas, however, was far more insulting and mean-spirited when he called Dr. Hayes an "academic thief." That was a low blow even by RCD's standards.