Throughout history there has always been what we today call “Wise Men.” These men spent their lives in contemplation of the worldly problems that faced their respective cultures, and through that reflection they often found the answers that their fellows so desperately sought. The Wise Men, respected by all, sacrificed much of their lives in order to provide those answers, but the recognition and fame that they gained by doing so was surely an adequate compensation. Also, many were truly great thinkers of their age, and enjoyed meditation just as much as many of us today enjoy playing sports or creating art.

Unfortunately, the Wise Men are all but extinct now, due to a lack of need for their services. Today we have higher education, easily accessible books, mass media, and the freedom to speak our thoughts and voice our opinions. These things preclude the need for a few special men and women whose only function is doing all the thinking for us. However, there are some among us who still see a need for the Wise Men of old, and will stop at nothing to drive home the point to the masses that some people are just smarter than others, and deserve to be put on a pedestal for it.

But where would such a person find his niche, to advertise his vast learning and knowledge? What medium could he possibly use to express his superiority, when the majority of his would-be worshippers are already knowledgeable in the ways of math and science, which was the specialty of the Wise Men of old? And how, even if he were to find a subject that he knows better than anyone else, would he be able to reach enough people to even make a difference?

Enter the paper genius. As described in the previous segments of this article, the paper genius is a self-proclaimed English Wise Man, whose realm is the internet. He is a person who takes it upon himself to teach the unwashed masses proper spelling, sentence structure, and diction, whether they are truly in need of his services or not. He is also a person who does not consider that the idea is what truly matters, because unfortunately the paper genius is not truly a Wise Man, but is instead a mere shadow of those great men, who is only concerned with the recognition that wisdom can bring. Such a person does not actually deserve even to be called wise, as his learning is specialized to the point of being useless, and is often not even true knowledge, but is instead pseudo-knowledge, pulled straight from a book to serve his derisive purposes and then forgotten just as quickly. The paper genius phenomenon is a plague upon the internet that free-thinking people hold dear, and as such, it must be wiped out.

The solution to the paper genius problem is relatively simple, although it may be hard to implement as many people do not realize that they are not alone in their loathing of these odious know-it-alls. Since recognition, respect, and response are the things that a paper genius requires so desperately, to deprive him of it must in turn kill him, just as depriving a cactus of water will eventually kill it. However, just like a cactus, the paper genius will not die easily, and therefore the process of killing them off will be a long one, and will take not a little control by the exterminators. Is it worth it?

What we experience today when we interact with our fellows on the internet is but a shadow of the possibilities that the internet contains. Our internet is so wrought with strife, pride, useless bickering, and pointless postulation that too often a good idea is pushed aside before it ever really has a chance to be considered. To truly be heard one must already be a salty veteran of forum wars, and be immune to the harsh language and demeaning language of its denizens. This translates into newcomers frequently giving up on trying to express themselves, and either falling into the same rut that everyone else is already in, or simply abstaining from attempting to make themselves heard at all.

The paper genius is synonymous with stagnation, as they are the monster under the bed that all new posters must fear. Lying in wait, they pounce on the inarticulate, the unacceptably concise, and the unlearned, without heed for the actual idea that their prey was trying express. The tragedy is truly a needless one, and must be stopped. It is time for the race of paper geniuses to be stamped out, and replaced with free thinkers, with open minds and a willingness to learn even from the most unlearned.

What would really change, the reader might be asking? For that is the real heart of the problem. From the very beginning there has been paper geniuses among us, and therefore it is hard to imagine an internet without them. From day one new ideas submitted in a sub-standard form have been attacked, and so it is a difficult task to picture cyber space as a truly free medium, in which everyone has their say, no matter their education or chosen idiom. But it is not so impossible. Many people, when logging onto the internet for their first time, have an expectation that, while hard to define, contains within it the elements of an internet without paper geniuses. They expect to be able to share their ideas, and to be exposed to the ideas and opinions of others, without having to wade through masses of derisive, pointless flaming and personal attacks. And that expectation, although laughable to us today, should not be funny at all, as the world that we live in today expects freedom.

The internet, as an anonymous medium, allows people to hide behind binary faces and allegorical personas, free of the consequences that their harsh words would carry in the real world. Average people with average lives can become something else entirely in cyber space, and while that in itself is not a bad thing, it becomes one when those people abuse their anonymity by attacking others. A paper genius on the internet is more often than not a doormat in the real world, and the truly ironic part about it is that while the internet is a likely place for the paper genius to find friends, they remove all possibility of forming friendships through their actions. In other words, once the paper genius becomes extinct, the former paper geniuses will benefit from it as much as if not more than the remainder of the internet’s denizens, as they will find their new friendships much more fulfilling than the false pride that they had held for themselves before.

The internet as a free exchange of ideas and opinions, without the flame wars, the derisive, meaningless comments, sans even the acceptance that the paper geniuses are viewed with today. Could it ever truly happen? So many people take such great pleasure in their online superiority, and just as many people dabble in it, that perhaps an internet free of strife is impossible. However, there is hope, because although the internet itself is massive, and therefore impossible to free of all paper geniuses, it contains within itself communities, forums, and individual websites. If these smaller communities change, and throw out or at least make unwelcome the paper geniuses, then at least those people who have ideas, but have been afraid to voice them for fear of being attacked and flamed will have somewhere to go. Even that small victory would be huge, and is something that every free-thinking, learned individual should strive for, as nothing breeds knowledge like an environment that is open to creativity and new ways of thinking.

Of course, there is also the path of indifference, which has been very popular of late. It is always easier to do nothing about something, or pretend that it doesn’t exist, which is what most paper geniuses are counting on. They thrive on the fact that their derisive comments will go uncontested by all but their target, because by not speaking up against them, the majority shows that they accept the paper genius’s actions. And in the paper genius’s mind, the majority’s lack of concern translates into support and respect.

If the paper genius phenomena continue to go unremarked upon, they will get worse. What we today see as unthinkable cruelty or unbelievable harshness will soon seem as soothing as a scented bubble bath, or as soft as a cashmere sweater. This is because, as the paper genius’s comments begin to lose their sting, (since they have been heard a hundred times before, as a paper genius is generally very uncreative), he will be forced to amp up his ruthlessness, in order to feel that he is making the same impact as he had before. New people, young, old, and foreign, will resort to taking without contributing, because their contribution will not be accepted without first being flamed. No community can thrive in an environment such as that, and therefore the internet will be lost to the people that would use it best, and be given into the hands of the paper geniuses for good.

Let’s not let that happen. Let us encourage new people to share their ideas and opinions, and respect their uniqueness by praising them for contributing. If they express an interest in learning how to do something better, then let us provide the knowledge they seek in a helpful manner, free of disdain and malice. And if we ever do find ourselves in the presence of a paper genius, let us speak up against him, and deride him for his over-inflated self-image, and for his illusory superiority. If we do these things, then perhaps we can change our small community to what every fresh face just experiencing the internet expects. The only thing that we have to lose is the presence of the paper geniuses. What we stand to gain is a perfect medium for expression, be it for art, literary works, or opinions. And that, to a free-thinking, curious individual, is priceless.