[icambron]

I almost did this in a literature class. I think it was the second day of the class, and we'd read James Joyce's "An Encounter". The prof read aloud sections of a published analysis of the story -- out of some big tome -- and asked us to discuss it. The analysis was so vacuous and absurd that I came inches from simply walking out, which would have been awkward because there were only like 8 students in the class. Mentally, I mapped out my path to the registrar so that I could drop the class and began checking out.

After a bit of classroom discussion, from which I abstained, the professor threw the book in the trash (clang! it was a metal trashcan) and gave a speech about how the analysis was gibberish, and how you can't just make up stuff about what a story says. He then walked us through how you might actually obtain useful insights about what the story means to say. It was apparent he gave that spiel every semester.

I'm glad I stayed; it was a good class.

[adhesive_wombat]

If only there were a saying about not jumping to conclusions based on a small amount of information that was somehow related to books!

[to1y]

Good god "deep thinkers" extrapolating ridiculous meaning from art/literature is a huge pet peeve of mine. Not too long ago I heard an art curator pull statements out of thin air about the political atmosphere of the time(400yrs ago) based on the angle the picture was drawn from. Incredible what a waste of time an art degree is.

[dallasg3]

Good Will Hunting?

[adhesive_wombat]

Sounds more like Dead Poets Society with the tearing out of the introduction to the book of poems.