There’s a funny moment near the end of The Wizard of Oz when the Wizard grants tokens to each of Dorothy’s companions to acknowledge all they had attained in the course of their journey. To the Scarecrow, who, you may recall, only wanted a brain, the Wizard bestows a degree. “Why, anybody can have a […]
—
There’s a funny moment near the end of The Wizard of Oz when the Wizard grants tokens to each of Dorothy’s companions to acknowledge all they had attained in the course of their journey. To the Scarecrow, who, you may recall, only wanted a brain, the Wizard bestows a degree. “Why, anybody can have a brain,” the Wizard tells him. “That’s a very mediocre commodity. Every pusillanimous creature that crawls on the Earth or slinks through slimy seas has a brain. Back where I come from, we have universities, seats of great learning, where men go to become great thinkers. And when they come out, they think deep thoughts and with no more brains than you have. But they have one thing you haven’t got: a diploma.”
Even as a child, this always puzzled me. How could this sheet of paper, rolled and tied with a ribbon, stand in for a human brain?
