Stop me if you’ve heard this one before…

by Alex Evans | Dec 15, 2009

… but I think I have just discovered the greatest quotation of all time.

It is 1987. Mike Tyson is harrassing a little-known model called Naomi Campbell at a swanky drinks party in New York. Seeing a damsel in distress, who should ride to her rescue but… AJ Ayer!

Now read on:

TYSON: Do you know who the fuck I am? I’m the heavyweight champion of the world.

AYER: And I am the former Wykeham Professor of Logic. We are both pre-eminent in our field. I suggest that we talk about this like rational men.

Author

Alex Evans

Alex Evans is a Senior Fellow at the Center on International Cooperation (CIC) at New York University, and the author of The Myth Gap: What Happens When Evidence and Arguments Aren't Enough? (Penguin, 2017), a book about the power of deep stories to unlock transformational change. He lives in North Yorkshire and is currently working on political polarisation and learning dry stone walling. Full biog here.

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