Lileks on "the new design paradigm"

It doesn't happen as often as it used to, but something caught James Lileks on the raw, and he must scream:

What really caught my eye was an interview with a University of Minnesota professor named Thomas Fisher, the dean of the U's new School of Design. It was a conversation about the new Design Economy, a term I hadn't heard before. America will compete and thrive because we design good things, like the iPod. You might wonder how a nation of 300 million can be sustained by design, but rest assured the term has broader definitions. The interview, called "Intelligent Design," focused on cities. As you might expect they are in dire need of Design, and I suspect this design will be administrated by experts. (As Dr. Johnson once said: A man who has tired of criticizing London is tired of tenure.) In order to compete, our cities need better design. No argument here — until we look at the specifics.

While it might seem a bit unsporting to take potshots at experts of this type, it can be very satisfying. Read the whole thing (after the initial refrigerator digression, that is).