Maybe my comment requires some slight clarification and elaboration:

I do not being called a moron, stupid, etc. or someone really pressing my beliefs because it needs to be done for two fundamental reasons: (1) Many (if not most) of us have been coddled our entire academic lives to this point and need someone to press us (2) In any job you plan on pursuing post-graduation, you will find people calling you a moron in some fashion. And since most of us (or many of us) are going into biglaw, I'd assume a fair number of us will be receiving daily "moron" updates.

There is an important (3) though, which is, Eben has the courage to say what he feels on the issue and put the belief out there on the open. I cannot say the same for most of my classmates, myself included. I feel like I am being called a moron in an assortment of non-verbal ways, almost daily. To be honest, the fact that Eben has the courage to call someone a moron to their face, even if it is in the context of one grand theatrical masterpiece (or hack job) means to me that he has profound respect for us as individuals. But I could be wrong.

Can Eben improve his rhetoric to make it more effective? Sure, I suppose. However, I'd just like to remark that all great advancements, scientific or otherwise, require some sort of sacrifice. In this instance, Eben has sacrificed the cordiality of the classroom (etc.) in order to establish a point and further, what I believe to be, a legitimate and honorable objective of the course. Does he have to do it? Probably not. But, this thread seems to serve as prima facie evidence of its effectiveness in ways that other means could not have achieved. Most important, I'd rather it be Eben, a professor who truly cares about his students, call me a moron than another professor or student. To me, it is like hitting someone over the head with a wiffle bat.

-- MatthewZorn - 08 Apr 2010