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I thought exactly the same. Those who can do, do. Those who cannot do, teach. Those who cannot teach, consult.

But instead of dwelling on prejudices I decided to try my own solution. See https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42163286




Why insult teachers?


Well,

This quote is from George Bernard Shaw, but it's from a character from a play he wrote in 1903, "Man and Superman". The character is a descendent of Don Juan, a firebrand, but instead of being crazy about seducing women, he's crazy about revolution and anarchy. GBS explains exactly what he was thinking when he wrote this, in the preface, at extreme length:

https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/3328/pg3328-images.html

The preface is actually a letter to the friend who inspired the play. Some quotes:

> There is a political aspect of this sex question which is too big for my comedy ...

> When we two were born, this country was still dominated by a selected class bred by political marriages.

> I do not know whether you have any illusions left on the subject of education, progress, and so forth. I have none. Any pamphleteer can show the way to better things; but when there is no will there is no way.

> I have only made my Don Juan a political pamphleteer, and given you his pamphlet in full by way of appendix.

So the quote is from that appendix, Maxims for Revolutionists.

https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/26107/pg26107-images.ht...

> He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches.

There's at least one other well known quote there:

> The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.

Did GBS really mean this stuff? Kinda, but he's obviously being playful, because he got an overblown and ridiculous comedy revolutionary character to say it for him, in a work of fiction.


I had no idea that it's that old. I had only heard it in the context of consultant bashing.


Teachers at a minimum only need n+1 more knowledge than their students.




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