Savants. they are prodigious talents in one area of endeavor, but fail in all others.
I took an IQ test in HS and got a 128, took one a year ago and got 128. I think the real focus with these tests is problem solving, there could be some bias, but a large part of the test is dots and colors as to “what comes next”, or number sequences which I think makes it fair.
The poster who commented on how effort is more important is right. In HS I was pretty much a C student, because I did not have to work to pull Cs. A good example is my senior year human anatomy class, I did little work, but the guy next to me would do his homework (meaning he would ask me what the answers were while I was screwing around doing something else). I got a C in the class, off of my knowledge he got an A. Needless to say I had a lot of growing up to do.
“Catcher in the Rye” changed my life. The chapter with Mr Antolini and his speech motivated me to go out and find that “knowledge I would find so precious”.
IMO the main reason for attaining knowledge should be to gain wisdom. I think from a problem solving perspective a higher IQ test rating may help with that. Education is nice, but most academic stuff is more concerned with knowing… rather than understanding.
A vice of mine is WW2 history, as it is with a lot of us on this board. We have all gotten into hair splitting over the subject (pick your sub-topic). What we do when we are arguing is academic bull IMO (and I am just as guilty as all of you). Wisdom is rarely the goal of our arguments, it is to prove a point, whatever that point may be. I think that is the goal of most higher education, to know is important, to understand is secondary.
I HATED Catcher in the Rye. HATED it. HATED HATED HATED HATED HATED it. AWFUL BOOK.
Not a Catcher fan myself. I’m still lazy as hell, but this time I’m getting A’s in college :)
“Catcher in the Rye” changed my life.
Rather “Catcher in the Rye’s” cliff notes changed my grade in jr. high school english.
Nietzsches’ Zarathustra changed the world for me as well as Schopenhauer’s “The World As Will and Representation”
If we are talking “life changing” reads, then I would have to float Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.
Not that what she wrote was different from what I already believed, but that it made what I believe gel into a more cohesive entity and allowed me to see some of the extrapolations of what the future could yield in the quasi-state-controlled-free-market we currently have in the US.
If we are talking “life changing” reads, then I would have to float Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.
yep ill second that on my second tier of books…
@Imperious:
“Catcher in the Rye” changed my life.Â
Rather “Catcher in the Rye’s” cliff notes changed my grade in jr. high school english.Â
Nietzsches’Â Zarathustra changed the world for me as well as Schopenhauer’s “The World As Will and Representation”
I liked “Thus spoke Zarathustra”. My favorite part of that is “beware the so called sagely man who limps into the light, for he has learned too quickly, and the good things not at all”. (rough quote)
Catcher got me started reading more than “Dragonlance” books. My favorite book is “Franny and Zooey”, hence my name.
Although there is something to be said about Dragonlance. There was one part at the end of the first book I really liked.
“So what you are saying is that there is no hope?”
“Hope is like the carrot dangled in front of the Donkey to urge it to go further”.
Disgusted “So you think we should just give up!?”
“No, I say remove the carrot and walk forward of your own will”.
Zooey, I’m a huge fan of dragonlance. I used to collect the books. At one point I had read 93 dragonlance books, before I stopped.
Dragons of the Autumn Twilight… one of the best books that I’ve ever read.
I HATED Catcher in the Rye. HATED it. HATED HATED HATED HATED HATED it. AWFUL BOOK.
LOL! I love this post. Keep em coming.
I went through the other posts - did anybody mention a possible IQ/standard of living (based off the average income) relation? I would have thought, but I didn’t see…
Anyway, I’d say that’s one thing, you’ve got A LOT of money in the NE, and services tend to follow the money (i.e. expensive tutors, all the books and equipment needed, private schools, etc.).
Besides that, I also doubt the IQ tests, but I think they give a vague representation. It’s possible that over a larger sample that the anomalies wash themselves out. Maybe not. Even then, like Yanny & Baker said, I’ve seen “geniuses” that couldn’t do such-and-such basic thing to survive. My boss is a math & organizational wiz, can analyze anything to the nth degree, has a near photographic memory, but is so socially awkward it’s not funny.
Anyway, I think people have their own view of the world/environment. It’s all on your own terms (for instance, I hate calendars that represent the seasons linearly - I picture them as a circle). Maybe you can’t memorize the quadratic equation and have no love for Euclidean geometry, but you can look at someone for the first time, go home and paint a masterpiece of their face from your memory. Life is about the experience and finding your interests. And then, when you come to some place that’s unfamiliar, go with what you know - translate your situation into terms you know, and there you go. Blah blah blah…
I think stupid people voted for both Kerry and Bush, just like I think smart people voted for both. I don’t think many people voted on either candidate because they thought one was more intelligent than the other. The two had very different platforms. This election had to do with which platform you agreed with. Moral and Ethical questions played more of a part than “I think <insert candidate=”" name=“”>is a genius." Abortion, War, Religion, etc. policies can be argued intelligently from sides of the political spectrum. This is in a major problem in my opinion. If you had more than just two political party heavy-weights you might be able to vote your conscious AND at the same time for a person whom you thought might be better able to carry out specific policy stances.</insert>
Well said.
just wish there is something i could do to fix the problem. concerned about the future. :-(
Find a 3rd party, vote for it, and advocate them to your friends.
Smart people voting for retards. Sounds awful similar to American Idol. :lol:
3rd parties are weak in local elections which makes them strangers to everyone in national elections. I think the best way is to grow a third party out of a local district instead of trying to make people vote for 3rd parties at national elections. Whether its possible I dunno, but I think its more likely to work taht way.
Already happening. Libertarians had over 100 candidates newly elected to office in 2004.
Re : Yan’s source…
I take it this is per person??
I wonder what the birthrates are per voters?
Recall the forum on this site showed Dems weren’t reproducing!
Didn’t some of the higher ranked states lose Electoral College delegates to lower ranked states?
Aren’t they projected to lose more delegates to Southern/lower ranked states in 2010??
I bet WS, MI & OR are embarrassed by this.
(18) Wisconsin…… $18,727
(19) Colorado…… $20,124
(20) Iowa… $18,287
(21) Michigan…… $19,508
(22) Nevada…… $20,266
(23) Ohio… $18,624
(24) Oregon…… $18,202
@MechWarf:
Smart people voting for retards. Sounds awful similar to American Idol.
American Idol(the #1 show on tv!?!?!)…
The Simpsons…
et al.
I read in the paper recently that FOX is now considered the family network.
I recall fifteen(15) years ago when The Simpsons came on tv…considered by some the end of civilization!
And now they call that family tv cuz parents (who were kids and teens watching year one of Simpsons)
are now watching Simpsons with their kids! AAAAAArgh!!
Families watching American Idol(making it #1) together is evidence of
Anybody gonna buy the winner’s album since he did that commercial for (No Advertisiments Without Agreed Upon Compensation.)?
