Rick Was The Trigger For The Following Rant

 "Harley finally coming back to what a Harley should look like."

 Rick's right, it's as beautiful as a stock motorcycle gets. But there be the rub and the rant and they are both about 'dumbing down'.

Seriously back in the day

 Rick and I were both riding Triumphs. At one point Rick turned to me casting his eyes upon my bike and told me, "Stop making your bike look like mine!". He was right. I wasn't creating, I was copying. 

At any reputable university I would have been kicked out for plagiarism. 

Fast forward

 We now live in the age of 'Artificial Intelligence'. Students look it up on their cell phone / computer and then vomit it up without ever making the knowledge their own. 

They are collecting facts. They are not becoming educated. 

Rant Time

John Milton lived and died in the 17th Century. He wrote poetry at a level few have ever matched and none have surpassed. And he did it without cell phones, computers or the web. He did it with his well trained mind. 

Fun fact: Legend has it that Milton memorized the bible. He found ways to take what he had consumed in his education and turn it into sublime poetry. 

Poetry that forms our world to this very day.

How so, you ask. Simple I answer, read Paradise Lost. Then think about how you and your's understand Satan. Odds are you and your's have always had an understanding heavily influenced by Milton. 

Please note that here is where I shall follow Milton's example. I'll not be cutting and pasting from the highly educated(?) to make my point. 

Instead I'll merely encourage you to read the poem, think about it, use your mind not the darn web and stop your dumbing down. 

Because before you can be set free by the truth you need to be able to recognize the truth. 

Brian.