If it’s not worth doing…

In the July issue of the Literary Review, David Papineau (professor of philosophy of science at King’s College London) reviews Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking by Daniel C Dennett (director of the Centre for Cognitive Studies at Tuft University). He tells how Dennett’s most recent books have “elevated him into the top rank of popular-science writers”:

Inevitably this success has occasioned some carping from his philosophical peers. Some feel that he has sacrificed precision for the common touch. In his defence, Dennett has increasingly voiced his impatience with the clever scholasticism that marks a lot of current academic philosophiy. “If it’s not worth doing, it’s not worth doing well,” he says . . .

Yes. I can think of a few other things not worth doing well – playing the bagpipes, pole dancing, growing broccoli, competitive walking and conceptual art, for starters. My wife suggests synchronised swimming and macramé.