I've been thinking about Bloomberg's comment that he could teach someone to farm. "You just dig a hole, put the seed in, cover it up, and let the rain do the rest." A friend said he's not talking about modern farming, just ancient farming. While I don't agree, let's go with that: farming without modern technology, without even plows. How easy is it really? Here are my questions for Bloomberg.
If you can't answer all those knowledgeably, then, no, you can't teach anyone how to farm.
Ancient people's didn't farm without technology because they were ignorant and did what was easy and simple for their primitive minds. They were just as clever as us (you think you're smarter? Make a plow from scratch, smartypants!), and had a rich and detailed knowledge that couldn't be taught simply, but was taught to each succeeding generation over many seasons as they grew up. It's a serious education, both in the depth of knowledge and in the importance of learning it well.
Bloomberg only thinks it's easy because he doesn't actually know anything about it. He associates his lack of knowledge with a lack of anything to be learned. He doesn't know what he doesn't know, but isn't aware that there's something to know. It's a classic Dunning-Krueger moment.
That in itself is not reason to vote against Bloomberg (the fact that he's an authoritarian with no compunction about focusing the force of the state on the less fortunate is), but it's just been bugging me. The general hubris of all these candidates bugs me.
