I don't really care whether Stephen Fry is a genius or not. His intelligence is not the only reason I admire him, although I must say that it doesn't hurt. I look up to him because he is a beacon of kindness in this world, and we could always use more of that. I am sorry that you are unable to appreciate this wonderful man.
This man is amazing Organic machine for knowledge and enlightened perspective,so much understanding on so many levels The question about dinner with limited seats...he’d certainly be there Can’t get enough of soaking up his curious mind Brilliant person!
Amazingly, the man who played Oscar Wilde so well, so beautifully, so seamlessly and so famously has much of Wilde in him, in reality. For the way in which Stephen Fry expresses himself so eloquently and with such great articulation, in his humble, funny and dignified mannerisms, and in the incredible knowledge that he possesses, is all quite reminiscent of the literary superstar whose wit and wisdom was legendary, and who penned that timeless classic, A Picture of Dorian Gray. Yes, there would seem to be much of Oscar Wilde in the man who depicted him so superbly, and with this splendid beauty, grace, understanding and ease, granted Stephen Fry is always Stephen Fry, thoroughly individualistic, inimitable and genuine as he truly is, this British National Treasure (Fry).
Stephen Fry is wonderful..a great orator , and what a revelation, I had totally forgotten how in the past that so many were not allowed to communicate to the outside world..
Yes he's wonderful. I know lots of wonderful people who describe others as semi-educated morons. What a lovely chap. A beacon of kindness and humanity.
No, he isn't full of his own self academic importance. He knows what he's talking about, people ask him about it, and he answers them - no shame in that.
i'm 20 and love stephen on most things, i must say though that i am not as optimistic as him about this. all the evidence suggests that our generation's concentration is lacking in the extreme, bombarded, as we are by constant information. anyone else find they can't walk along without music, for example? of course he's right that people can do both things though and i generally consider the internet to be a positive thing (clearly lol)
When you got to the LOL part I was well I do both I’m a prolific reader lover of Wilde I might add. And you know we can do all these this in combination I adore my reading and being on line it’s because I have a very curious mind. I just have a need to know and learn and now I have all this at my fingertips. And of course my love of you and everything Fry. You are our modern day Wilde. I adore you I thank you 🙏
Was going to listen to him in the background...I just cant. Love this Man he commands respect, so intelligent and is certainly not a background person.You just have to stop what your doing and enjoy his candid wisdom. :))
I like like Mr Fry loads as well, I especially like Qi in which he is a very knowledgable host. The guests always come up trumps and all. I think he has become the nations favourite academic.
Mind you, he did say these words before any of the tech giants have become so crazily powerful, before people were constantly bombarded by text, audio, video and photo messages on their mobile phones and before these so-called "smartphones" were as ubiquitous and addictive as they are today. In a span of a decade or two, we, or rather, the social media(s) have created a generation of young people, who are obsessed with constant consumption of information (some good and but mostly bad), obsessed with buying over-priced brand items way out of their budget and obsessed about looking perfect, feeling perfect and be told they are perfect all the time. This modern generation, to which I also belong, appears to have everything and yet it is one of the most depressed, nihilistic generations ever to roam the Earth. Social media made us obsessed about ourselves, it exploits our deepest fears with ads about our body, ads about who we should vote, ads that have been specifically tailored by A.I. to work just and only for you and are short of what any reasonable man would call brainwashing not 20 years ago. There have been numerous reports of how social media giants are using ads and their platforms to promote the political agendas they seem fit. Many children and teens are recording their every move and sending their footage to social media servers with questionable moral reputation. These few rambling lines are only the tip of the iceberg. Steven Fry told these positive words about 10 years ago (the video is dated to 2009) and boy has he changed his mind in the meantime. So much so that he deleted his own Twitter account on multiple occasions, as he was fed up with what social media has become.
Like anything, the more important something becomes to your routine, the more you rely on it for day to day activity. I like my computer, but I could never see myself on facebook or twitter or anything. My youtube profile is the only thing I have like that, and it doesn't have my life splashed across it.
@Nakashii I know what you mean, but still I've seen people take it to more of an extreme than that. The Internet is different to a paper, as you are able to search constantly, there's always "something else" to read. It's very easy to become hooked on it. As long as people have self-control it shouldn't be a problem, but self-control is hard for many.
@kevvie100 And those would probably be the same couples who in years past would be reading separate copies of the newspaper beside each other or something similar.
@VamLoveAndKisses But that's the lovely thing about Fry. He WOULDN'T. He'd sit and talk with everyone if he could. The major problem is that there's so many millions of us "Small Frys" that he doesn't have the time.
He is actually good sociologist too, seems to me. I am pleasantly surprised for s.t. he talks a bit too conservative for my taste. It is very important (and adorable) to be openminded, aspecially in higher age.
actually my thumbs really do seem a bit messed up, and I didn't have internet at home till I was 10. what interesting talk, though...what event is this from?
Watch Stephen Fry Kinetic Typography. Watch it for the full six minutes and you will hear him describe those who believe in grammatical rules as semi educated morons. What a lovely chap.
I guess I just don't see Stephen the way you do, and I'm glad I don't. He always seems like a humble person to me. I can see him as emulating Wilde, but I wouldn't claim that he believes himself to be Wilde reincarnated. As far as his novels are concerned, I don't like them very much either. But that's not enough for me to dislike him. Finally, Bill Hicks? You can't stand Fry for calling people morons, but you're fine with a misanthrope who told people to kill themselves? Bravo.
I like him and agree with a lot of what he says, however I do know people who social networking has had a negative effect on. I've known couples who spend their evenings sat next to each with a laptop typing away and speaking very little to each other. Also people who feel the need to broadcast all their thoughts to the world (on facebook), without thinking about what they're saying. Not everyone is as educated as Mr Fry, so can't use the technology as intelligently as he does.
@lisambofoh he's only famous in britain...... hardly any one has even heard the name in north america (at least the ages 25 and under) and if they have its cause of hugh laurie
Yes. I'm sure that means something. I'm glad to know that he can be a terrible person as long as he doesn't pretend to be anything other than what he is. Also, talk about someone with an air of self-importance about him. He thought himself a anti-establishment visionary. A disseminator of the truth. I guess he really never pretended to be anything other than what he was. Stephen, at the very least, attempts to make the world a more pleasant place to be in--not just whine about how people suck.
Yes he is charming and erudite. But he is also a happy dweller of the ivory tower. "Connection" to young people on the internet is not the best way to comment about the Generation Web. Most 10 to 20 year olds who grew up on the net are shy of reading and studying. Most of you are taken in too much by Fry. But don't forget that a multi-millionaire like Fry is unlikely to know what the majority of 20 year olds live. I am at a uni. He ought to visit places other than Oxbridge.
Well, you did use that as your example for why you don't think Stephen Fry is a kind person. I was merely pointing out that your example doesn't really disqualify my statement on Stephen's kindness.
I wouldn't call Stephen Fry a household name. The only people aware of him are mostly fans. Compare that to someone like Tom Cruise. Even people who live under rocks know of him. I'm not saying Stephen isn't famous, I'm just saying he isn't a household name.
And yet you have felt the need to write this to people so that they can read it and understand your point of view and comment back. In a way is that not connecting or reaching out with humans to make a bond simply by expressing and opinion? If that sounds even the slightest bit rude it wasn't supposed to have been, just a thought.
That's what got you all riled up against Stephen Fry? Isn't that a bit of an overreaction? I think you greatly misinterpreted what he meant in the video. He's not suggesting that people who believe in grammatical rules are morons. He's making a case against people who like to nit-pick grammatical errors and then justify that behavior as "guarding" the English language. He repeated this same sentiment an interview with Jonathan Ross. I don't understand what's so offensive.
@Bastiat90 I agree take away the posh accent and there's not much substance there in anything he says and does. Or at least nothing that your everyday average person couldn't say or do.
Why is Bill Hicks a terrible person? Using colourful language when discussing some members of this species doesn't make you a bad person. Hicks was a humanist who thought the edifice of 'civilisation' was holding people back from reaching their true potential. He had no time for losers and morons who remained wilfully blind. He also had no time for rich morons who still whored themselves out for advertisers. Jay Leno in his time, and Stephen Fry now.
You asked where he called people semi-educated morons. I provided the answer. The rest of your statement is irrelevant as I have never said that statement alone makes me question him.
Clever guy yes- ....shame about the ego though ! I mean, come off it, he is a bit full of his own self academic importance isnt he ? Similar to the rest of our left wing mainstream 'comedy' acts these days .
I disagree with what he says about Generation Web. I wonder how many 19 or 20 year olds Stephen Fry knows in real life. His view of this demographic is very narrow. I know too many 19 and 20 year olds at uni. Most cannot construct a decent sentence. Most google for courswork essays. Many can't even speak English properly. And they are all doing Eng Lit ! Fry ought to get to know real young men and women of Generation Web. Then, he'll know that very few of that generation read Waugh.
@Bastiat90 Perhaps you should learn how to construct a sentence with proper syntax free of the many dangling participles in your post, then you may warrant criticizing a genius like Mr Fry. Semantics isn't the measure of intelligence, so i'll leave my criticism of the utter drivel you've posted at that. What is important, is to have profound cognitive faculties and critical thinking, whilst conveying these thoughts with brilliant eloquence, which is prevalent with Mr Fry and lacking in you.
Pale imitation of Oscar Wilde unfortunately. He's nowhere near as talented as the media consensus suggests. Have any of you actually read his novels? The Liar is especially bad. He's capable of dishing out criticism but when somebody dared to do criticise him in Twitter, he threatened to leave the site like a petulant child. A couple of bad reviews and he tries to commit suicide! Fry is a stupid man's idea of what an intelligent person sounds like. Far too much in love with his own voice
