It's a "kids these days" moment. Let's face it, he's not yelling at them and he's not even saying anything in a mean way. He seems mean because he comes from a time when people didn't lavish praise on children simply because they existed. Telling kids they're wrong and teaching them to make decisions isn't dickish, it's what responsible adults do.
He reminds me of the math and science teachers we had in Ohio in the 50s. Many of the men were WW11 vets. No wonder they were grumpy. I can't say I learned any better under them than the more sensitive teachers.
And as it turns out Mr Wizard was a bomber pilot in the European theater:
"His career as an actor was interrupted by World War II when he enlisted in the United States Army as a Private. Herbert later joined the United States Army Air Forces took pilot training and became a B-24 bomber pilot who flew 56 combat missions from Italy with the 767th Bomb Squadron, 461st Bomb Group of the Fifteenth Air Force. When Herbert was discharged in 1945 he was a Captain and had earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters. - Wiki
You nail it. As if there's something wrong with being direct, too.
Society is teeming with repulsively narcissistic adults these days who are always right and always deem themselves uber special. If they had had a little more Mr. Wizard in their childhoods, maybe they wouldn't have turned out so fucked up.
I think he's awesome. He reminds me so much of my grandpa. He used to always tease us like this.
And as it turns out Mr Wizard was a bomber pilot in the European theater:
"His career as an actor was interrupted by World War II when he enlisted in the United States Army as a Private. Herbert later joined the United States Army Air Forces took pilot training and became a B-24 bomber pilot who flew 56 combat missions from Italy with the 767th Bomb Squadron, 461st Bomb Group of the Fifteenth Air Force. When Herbert was discharged in 1945 he was a Captain and had earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters. - Wiki
You nail it. As if there's something wrong with being direct, too.
Society is teeming with repulsively narcissistic adults these days who are always right and always deem themselves uber special. If they had had a little more Mr. Wizard in their childhoods, maybe they wouldn't have turned out so fucked up.
I ALWAYS thought he was mean to kids! He enjoyed being smarter than a fifth grader…..
"I ALWAYS thought he was mean to kids! He enjoyed being smarter than a fifth grader….."
Mr. Wizard spoke to those kids exactly how my BF of a dozen years spoke to me every day of my life.
There's nothing untrue about what he says. It's just belittling and mean.
Thank God I took Dan's advice to DTMFA!
XO