sovietchild
Well-Known Member
Cops are one of the best fool pretenders.
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A leader is not a fool, a leader is someone who pretends to be a fool
- Thread starter sovietchild
- Start date
sovietchild
Well-Known Member
The Kilted Heathen
Crow FreyjasmaðR
So why are you asking us if we find truth in things your prophet said?
I prefer Sun Tzu...
Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak. Although he was talking more specifically about martial skills than life skills, no matter how some apply his lessons today.
sovietchild
Well-Known Member
It's like those cats when they puff up in order to make themselves look bigger. Same goes with bears when they stand up on two feet to make themselves look bigger.
Yep. In Australia we have frilled-neck lizards that stand up and use their frills to be more intimidating.
Kinda fair...I'm not shy in pointing out untruths.
sovietchild
Well-Known Member
Do you find the statement interesting?
The Kilted Heathen
Crow FreyjasmaðR
You didn't answer my question.
sovietchild
Well-Known Member
First of all, didn't I asked the question first? Secondly, I'll admit I was just coping Sunstone's idea. Call me Mr.China if you want. I'll copy your idea and then sell it in the market. Please.
Regards.
The Kilted Heathen
Crow FreyjasmaðR
In our discussion here? No, no you did not. Still didn't.
Jeremiahcp
Well-Known Jerk
I think you are just saying things because you like the way they sound.
DragonHawk1959
Member
A leader who appears to be a fool will have few followers.
But a leader who appears to his enemies to be a fool will win - because they will underestimate him.
pawl
New Member
OP, you have provided insight into your query in the first two quotes you provide in your tags, from Muhammad.
"If you think you smart you are an ignorant idiot." -Prophet Muhammad
"A leader is not a fool, a leader is someone who pretends to be a fool." -Prophet Muhammad
In the second, a leader should/may practice deceit in order to lead. (Worth considering is a saying about the tangled webs we weave...) We might be tempted to assume the Prophet Mohammad is inferring that leaders [by nature of their status] are not fools, that the position precludes the possibility that fools may place a fool in power. We know, of course, that this is not true. Rather, a leader may practice deception in order to serve her/his people. That is quite different than playing the fool, since foolishness has inevitable and unwelcome side effects.
In the first quote, if you think you are smart, you are the opposite. In other words, boastfulness belies weakness. (Saying "I am the smartest and the greatest and everybody loves me" indicates the opposite.)
We can understand these two ideas individually, but taken together they are at odds. The one seems to cancel out the other. Can a leader play "the fool" without believing that by playing such a role she/he is smarter than their subjects (i.e., can fool them)? If so, then, she/he is in fact, an idiot.
Similarly, when someone misleads by saying falsehoods, they are either of two things, but not both: they are either liars, practicing deceit in order to play the fool, or they are in fact idiots who have no knowledge, understanding and values of truth.
Hope that helps,
Paul
Milton Platt
Well-Known Member
Not currently in the U.S.
Shad
Veteran Member
Sure in some context playing the fool or appearing as one works. Warfare is the obvious example. Present an enemy with a weakness could seem foolish by the opposing general yet could be part of a greater plan. Hannibal for example understood Roman tactics. At the battle of Cannae he placed his army in a position which was superior for Roman tactics. He deployed his line with an obvious weakness by placing inferior units in the middle with superior on the sides. He let the Romans attack knowing the line would slowly be pushed back. In the end he surrounded an army of 50k or more slaughtering them. However he was a fool when it came to the greater strategy of the war as he refused to commit battle after battle until Rome crushed Carthage bypassing Hannibal.
sovietchild
Well-Known Member
I was just reading a little bit history of Phuket Province. It reminded me of this topic.
In 1785 Burmese troops were preparing to attack Phuket. Its military governor had just died, thus the Burmese thought the island could be easily seized. But Khun Jan, the widow of the deceased governor and her sister, Khun Mook, ordered the women of the island to dress as soldiers and take positions on the Thalang city walls. The Burmese called off their attack due to the perceived strength of the defenses. Short of food, they retreated. The two women became local heroines. They received the honorary titles, Thao Thep Kasatri and Thao Sri Sunthon, from King Rama I.[1]
Phuket Province - Wikipedia