The thing is, people think that because somebody is good at A, they will be good a B and C as well. Er ...no.
Secondly, Boris studied a subject largely requiring learning lots of facts. Mind you, he doesn't even seem to be very good at that, judging by many of his recent interviews on radio and TV. But what has this got to do with us learners of a modern language ? Let's see...
I don't think much to that! I'm a mathematician ..we not only have to know loads of things, but we have to actually use it all to find out new things, or to predict what will happen, or to use what we have found to make decisions. A completely different, and much more creative, type of learning.
Now our Boris, he's a Classics man ... Latin and Greek. Like us , he's learned a language or two. But there's a big big difference. Students who learn Spanish or German or French or Mandarin or Welsh ... they will have a lot of their course taught in the language they are learning. AND ... it's a big and ..... they are expected to speak the language as well. And that is where the real high-level, creative stuff kicks in. Speaking a second language with any degree of confidence and fluency is a very advanced and sophisticated job. You don't just memorise loads of words and the grammar to string them together ... you have to learn to speak the language well. In real time. Quickly. Nowhere to hide.
I don't think that either of those things happen with Latin and Greek.
It's all much simpler for the likes of Boris ... they learn lots of words and grammar by rote, and they read from a very limited supply of Latin/ Greek authors. All of which have been extensively translated into English anyway, if they get a bit stuck. Well well.
Then they do some exams in which they just sick it all back.
Tricky !
Us lot learning a modern language, we should be really proud of what we are doing. Wherever we are on the ladder, we're doing a tough job .... and most of us aren't over-privileged gits like Boris and his mates with their private lakes and suchlike. who think knowing a lot of facts is good enough.
OK folks ..... rant over.
Here's another startling thing by Bummelkasten .... "Chronisch Euphorisch" .. get ready ....