I ran into Joel Sachs today while I was munching on a stale-overpriced piece of mochi from my cup of Pinkberry. (Professor and Director of New Juilliard Ensemble)

We talked for a good 10 minutes. Though I didn't ask (nor was I even vaguely curious), he proceeded to bestow upon me an intellectual diatribe regarding my [in]ability to think - according to him, my "vast knowledge of history, literature, art, and music is impressively unimpressive." I am, apparently, unable to formulate a coherent intellectual opinion regarding any aspect of art without "falling" against a wealth of completely irrelevant contextual information. I am, apparently, able to tell you when, where, and why a painting from the 20th century was conceived and exactly what was going on in the world at that time; but unable to tell you why it is beautiful. Or even if it is. Furthermore, he said, I completely defy the old cliche "knowledge is power" because I replace that power with the inability to make aesthetic value judgements without separating content from context; the latter for which I am a junkie.

On a normal day, I'd usually tell him to either eat a dick or take a long walk on the short pier. But for some reason, this hit me hard. Nobody has ever accused me of not thinking before. Is he right?

Oh hell. Eat a dick.