The Polonius Effect

Reciting words of wisdom can be influential, but they are only as good as the person who is saying them. If a person says an astounding piece of advice, it means nothing if they themselves do not follow what they preach. And we all know someone who is guilty of this.

I am dubbing this the "Polonius Effect." There are two components in my theoretical, observational effect.

Polonius, a character in Hamlet, is the reason for my creation of the "Polonius Effect." Polonius repeatedly has great quotes, but they have no substance because he does not heed them himself. Hamlet sees right through his workings and has no value of trust for the man. Polonius is somewhat of a hypocrite. He believes himself to be a man of high stature, however, I feel as though he does not know that he is not as grand as he sees himself. 

The other component is a sense of narcissism. In my opinion, I believe Polonius is narcissistic. Because of his narcissistic tendencies, he can preach his wise words without feeling like a hypocrite, even though he is. His enlarged sense of self causes him to almost condescend his wise words to Hamlet and the others in the play.

I do not know about most people, but at times I feel like I am a culprit of the "Polonius Effect." But at times, it is necessary to be this way so others do not follow in your path. But if you are being a Polonius for the majority of your day, you might need to reconsider some things. Help me to spread awareness of the "Polonius Effect" and help to better society with the suppression of Polonius's all over the world. To help, hashtag #stopPolonius so others can question your tweet.

As always, thank you for sitting with me on my pier. This is what I saw on my pier, what will you see on yours?