A little knowledge makes us all Curling experts

'A little knowledge is a dangerous thing' and 'a little learning is a dangerous thing' have been used synonymously since the 18th century. 

The version 'a little learning' is widely attributed to Alexander Pope (1688-1744). It is found in An Essay on Criticism, 1709: -

A little learning is a dangerous thing; drink deep, or taste not the Pierian Spring:
there shallow draughts intoxicate the brain, and drinking largely sobers us again.

The similarity of the two phrases is demonstrated by what appears to be an impromptu coining of 'a little knowledge is a dangerous thing' in a piece in The monthly miscellany; or Gentleman and Lady's Complete Magazine, Vol II, 1774, in which the writer misquoted Pope:

Mr. Pope says, very truly, "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing."

And so we slide gracefully on our knees almost two and a half centuries to the Sochi Winter Olympics - a state-funded PR pitch dressed up as a 4 yearly display of national fervour in hard to pronounce places.

There are sports happening in the sub-tropical Krasnodar Krai region of Russia, located spectacularly by the water’s edge of the Black Sea (Winter Olympics? Go figure…) that most people who consider themselves to be normally active, have no clue about. What the hell are ‘Half-Pipe Freestyle Skiing’ or Parallel Slalom Snowboarding? And when did the ‘Skeleton’ event become something other than throwing yourself mindlessly down an ice-tube on a tea tray?

Anyway, before I really let myself down and rant about sports that only the pre-pubescent with affluent parents can ever experience, I’d like to turn our attention to Curling.

Now, for a late medieval game that originated, as the name might insinuate, in Scotland, this metaphor for ‘chess on ice’ has become a national obsession. How many conversations have you over heard in the last two weeks (when weather hasn’t been the dominant topic) that have used words like ‘the hammer’, ‘stones’ or ‘rocks’ and ‘blanked ends’?

Maybe it’s because we have 2 striking looking teams of young Scots folk competing for Olympic success to create some necessary lustre on an almost barren medal table. That cynical response aside, I marvel at our national psyche – our ability to pick a trend and go with it with expert commentary and opinions that, in about 14 days, will be jettisoned for another 4 years before we land in PyeongChang, South Korea for the next snow covered instalment.

Does that make us experts or quick learners? Does it just paint a picture of a nation that needs a cause? I don’t know the answer. But what I do know is that ‘The Roaring Game’ is a great example of a United Nation at play.

And you don’t need to be an expert to understand that, for our country, United is the best format!

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