First Alan Sokal, now Richard Posner?

A few years ago, the judge — a prolific writer — published a book criticizing so-called “public intellectuals” for pontificating about issues outside their areas of expertise. Several reviewers pointed out that the poorly constructed book itself seemed to illustrate the problems that Posner purported to diagnose. But it helped make him famous.

Then, Posner published a book on how to fight terrorism and started a blog with economist Gary Becker where he comments on a wide variety of issues.

And now, in his latest essay for The New York Times book review, Posner has again demonstrated his ability to illustrate the flaw he once criticized, engaging in a sloppy, badly argued analysis of the new media landscape. (Example: He claims CNN has moved to the left in reaction to Fox News, a claim that is bizarre on its face.)

By all accounts, Posner is brilliant. Is he mocking us? Or just unaware of the obvious contradictions between his book and his career?