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"MC Hammer could write The Symposium but Plato could never write Can't Touch This."
MC Hammer made a career out of spitting the truth in the rap game, and he appears to have found a new mic for his philosophical musings in the world of Twitter.
The '90s icon -- known for such hits as "U Can’t Touch This" and "2 Legit 2 Quit" -- went viral on Tuesday when he responded to a tweet that read, "Philosophy is flirtation with ideas. Science is commitment to truth."
You bore us. If science is a “commitment to truth” shall we site all the historical non-truths perpetuated by scientists ? Of course not. It’s not science vs Philosophy ... It’s Science + Philosophy. Elevate your Thinking and Consciousness. When you measure include the measurer. https://t.co/hsZzHNwJ0M
— MC HAMMER (@MCHammer) February 22, 2021 @MCHammer
"You bore us," Hammer -- real name Stanley Kirk Burrell -- began. "If science is a 'commitment to truth' shall we site [sic] all the historical non-truths perpetuated by scientists? Of course not. It's not science vs Philosophy ... It's Science + Philosophy."
He followed up with, "Elevate your Thinking and Consciousness. When you measure include the measurer."
The hitmaker was referencing an academic article about the philosophy of science he had shared earlier, titled "The visibility of philosophy of science in the sciences, 1980–2018." He also gave his fans a reading list that included the writings of philosopher Michel Foucault.
Clearly, fans were here for it, as Hammer's tweet racked up tens of thousands of likes and some hilarious responses.
MC Hammer could write The Symposium but Plato could never write Can't Touch This pic.twitter.com/3ziYOx5SNp
— wah wah wah, bitch i'm a baby (@MicycleOilyskin) February 23, 2021 @MicycleOilyskin
Dangggg @MCHammer makes me look provincial and poorly read af. One day I want to read like a Hammer. https://t.co/hJRKKSLeyI
— Annabel Kim (@annabel_l_kim) February 23, 2021 @annabel_l_kim
"MC Hammer could write The Symposium but Plato could never write Can't Touch This," suggested a follower, as another posted, "Dangggg @MCHammer makes me look provincial and poorly read af. One day I want to read like a Hammer."
But the Grammy winner wasn't done waxing on, even in the face of opposition.
One critic taunted, "I further submit to Mr MC Hammer, that music (which hits me so hard that it makes me say, oh my lawd) is directly dependent on math which is directly dependent upon philosophy. In which case, if not for Thales, Heraclitus, Plato etc, you might still be working at Oakland Coliseum."
Hammer replied, "a little knowledge is dangerous .. before Thales or Greece was ... these WERE ... Imhotep, Ptahhotep, Amenemhat, Merikare, Duauf, Amenhotep, son of Hapu. History doesn't start when you say go."
a little knowledge is dangerous .. before Thales or Greece was ... these WERE ... Imhotep, Ptahhotep, Amenemhat, Merikare, Duauf, Amenhotep, son of Hapu. History doesn’t start when you say go. 😤 https://t.co/302jnlrZpG
— MC HAMMER (@MCHammer) February 23, 2021 @MCHammer
Greater spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. https://t.co/qIGBGjOaoe
— MC HAMMER (@MCHammer) February 23, 2021 @MCHammer
Dang is right.
Another shared, "This thread makes me happy because so many people are correcting the ignorance of MC Hammer on science. It makes me sad because even some of those folk are a bit off in their understanding. But it also makes me hopeful because it is a teaching moment."
To which Hammer succinctly wrote, "Greater spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds."
Mic drop.
Keep reading for more mind-blown reactions to Hammer the Wise, below.
"MC Hammer on Foucault" is like the title of an American Studies PhD seminar at NYU
— Dr. Thrasher, jouRNAlist (@thrasherxy) February 23, 2021 @thrasherxy
it is not incumbent upon the god @MCHammer to educate us all on the history of human thought, but he's doing a damn great job of it anyways https://t.co/l0V7hSmOOq
— pHiycrtyl (@iycrtylph) February 23, 2021 @iycrtylph
Forever more I am going to say "In the words of MC Hammer 'When you measure, include the measurer.'"
— Rose Eveleth ▷▷ (@roseveleth) February 22, 2021 @roseveleth
“When you measure include the measurer.” https://t.co/tHeoPXNGOP pic.twitter.com/IofZgrXCWg
— Thomas Worth (@ts_worth) February 23, 2021 @ts_worth
Saw someone tweeting about history and philosophy of sci/tech with the handle mchammer and was like huh, I wonder how he managed to snag that handle.
— Mar Hicks (@histoftech) February 23, 2021 @histoftech
It’s because it’s MC Hammer.
MC Hammer continues to be a legend apparently, for different reasons https://t.co/zNKp6M4awr
So apparently I’m living in a version of the future I could never have imagined in the early 90s, where a device in my pocket allows me to watch MC Hammer defending the value of philosophy as an epistemic methodology.
— Josh Melican (@jmmelican) February 23, 2021 @jmmelican
Well... I guess we better sound the bell, school's in, sucker! https://t.co/9giTnmY072
MC Hammer writes eloquently about the supportive coalescence between the science of figuring out how vs the art of figuring out why. The tangible vs the intangible. Science: you can measure, you can touch. Philosophy: you can’t touch this https://t.co/K1LO2C2qMA
— Rod Kelly (@rodkelly50) February 23, 2021 @rodkelly50
I’ll be honest, I didn’t have “MC Hammer giving lectures on philosophy of science” on my 2021 bingo card 😳 https://t.co/I0L2ugpMqM
— Rachel (@whiteroserachel) February 23, 2021 @whiteroserachel
