No-brainer

There's something about Times editorials that gets on my wick.

Here's a recent example.

Probably not. Still, it's practically a statement of common sense compared to the procession of fatuous claims that follows.

Now, we could take this on, in a number of ways.

• We could ask whether there's the slightest evidence that Grand Theft Auto has any effect on the ethical standards of those who play it. Or, for that matter, how that group would compare to a similar group of people who played chess instead.
• We could ask in what way chess cultivates "good manners", citing a large selection of chess players (and for that matter bloggers) as examples to the contrary.
• We could ponder the statement that chess "makes you smart" for as long as we can do so without laughing.
• We could point out that the "worldwide...chess community" is not of course "600 million-strong" and that anybody who claims otherwise is a charlatan or a fool.

Or alternatively, since it's Friday and most people can't be bothered with any of that at this end of the week, let's just say that what gets on my wick about Times editorials is the pompous hypocritical blather, make the point that appears below and leave it at that.