The Devil sighed: “That man wasn’t clever enough for me to get round him; he hadn’t enough brains. He was so stupid that he defeated me completely. What a problem, trying to tempt a moron! This one couldn’t make head or tail of my suggestions!”
— Paul Valéry, The Collected Works of Paul Valéry, Vol. 14
I saw this remarkable video the other day of the Devil addressing a crowd at the crossroads. She was an attractive young woman, eloquent and impassioned, promising to save the assembled multitude from a terrible fate. Dark forces were conspiring to deprive them of their ability to think for themselves, she warned. Fortunately, effective resistance would consist of indulging favorite hobbies. The crowd roared its approval. “Of course you read books, my darlings,” she murmured. “That’s what separates you from the others. They surrender their minds to machines, but you retain your intellectual independence. You have nothing in common with those people. You know better. You’re one of the good ones.” The free-thinking individuals were immensely pleased. They cheered every word before heading out to the gift shop to put more romantasy novels, ghostwritten political promos, and sassy laptop stickers into their officially-branded “Reading Is Resistance!” totebags. Only one man refused to be taken in by the Devil’s wiles, the hero the age deserved:
