Category: not obvious

Indicator That Harvard Might Not Be A Good Place To Study For Intellectuals

This post was supposed to fall in the intellectual category for people to decide if Harvard has the qualities that high IQ people still desire (such as being able to see/argue multiple sides of an issue).  They have managed to ruin any hope of defending both sides of an issue given the updates as you read them below.  I’ll leave it for those who may be on the fence, and wish them the best in their decision.

Original Post Begins Here

If you look at the previous post, you will see some of the traits you might have indicating a high intellect.

One of them is the ability to see and argue from multiple perspectives.  To have this trait, you have to shut out ideological thinking or persuasiveness of others before developing a hypothesis.  Many have preconceived thoughts on a subject, political stance or values influenced by others rather than examining all aspects of a subject.  In other words, they read one side of a subject on the Internet and believe what they want to.  Everyone has a bias, but one needs to come to problems with an open mind and use facts and history to evaluate the solution otherwise you run at least a 50% chance of being wrong.

Harvard has released their list of Fake News sites.  This is a popular subject given the 2016 Presidential election.  If you look at the coverage and predictions of the various news sites, you can come to a conclusion which ones were actually wrong (based on forecasts, coverage and predictions) and if their coverage was biased or indeed “Fake News”.  You have to make up your own mind where you stand on this.  I am not saying their position is necessarily wrong, rather questioning their intelligence.

The list is decidedly one-sided, showing a bias.  This is unfortunate.  Again, readers have to decide if this is correct or not.  No one or news institution is right or wrong 100% of the time.

In fair disclosure, one trait may indicate nothing, or it may be the bread crumb down the trail of truth if they are the institution they claim to be.  Once more, each must reach his or her own conclusion.  I show later in the post how I came to my decision about the title based more on empirical evidence.

Given the perceived prestige that comes with a Harvard degree (note: I did not say education), one would hope that the inflated price for such would be well spent money.  It would appear that their logic in such a one-sided position on what is “Fake News” doesn’t indicate that they show this intellectual trait.  You take a chance where to get an education or where you send your kids.  One just hopes that it is the right decision.  Since almost every decision is a cost/benefit analysis in your mind, one now must question if it is worth it.  Maybe your kid isn’t really an intellectual so the point might be moot.

I realize that you can develop relationships with power people at college that can advance a successful career.  It is not the point of this discussion.  I am merely observing a perceived status and whether it is justified or not.

Worst Update: Harvard is one of the top 10 suppressors of free speech, a further indicator that they are pushing away one of the attributes of intellectuals

Update: Harvard now supports segregation.  MLK would not have wanted this.

Update: Harvard Grad students have organized themselves to start a resistance school.

Update: Students don’t understand the danger of ISIS.

Update: You can now submit a rap album as a senior thesis instead of actual academic work.

Update: Harvard discriminates, avoids meritocracy and endorses legacy of the privileged

Update 2: Apparently, they have now abandoned diversity and have become racist, albeit not in the traditional way.

The grad students, who consider themselves a progressive version of “Dumbledore’s Army,” have enlisted former Obama staffers to teach the class sessions. The syllabus includes readings on “Black-Palestinian Queer Reciprocal Solidarity.”

They have decidedly taken a position of only viewing issues from one side.  One should greatly question the concept of critical thinking ability being taught there.  For those of us who can balance multiple views of the same subject, it is clear that these snowflakes will be under-educated and might be damaged goods in the marketplace of talent.

I formed my own opinion having worked for decades with Ivy League educated employees, albeit somewhat weighted towards Harvard and Columbia.  It was made exceedingly clear by a PR flak who after having worked with a number of Harvard MBA’s stated that they had obviously wasted their money on their education.  We were working for a prestigious company that attracts genius level talent.  She showed remarkable intuition that caused me to further observe the Ivy’s. The majority didn’t last as they had a piece of paper saying that they should be smart, but lacked an education in people or the understanding that life is a series of challenges and hurdles.

Some of the most successful executives and workers I’ve encountered didn’t rely on their degree in school, rather what they learned in life and how they applied it to the next problem.

While history reveals that many leaders and intelligent people came from Harvard, the direction they are heading and the principles that they now uphold should add some cost to the side of the cost/benefit decision making process.  I hope it’s worth it if you choose it as your place for an education.  You will apparently get an institution that has a bias.

Are You Intelligent, Or Just Think You Are? – The 5 Indicators That You Can’t Fake

Most people think the are smarter than they are but usually are wrong.  This has nothing to do with whether they have a high IQ or have trained extensively in an area (discussed throughout). These are indicators of whether you possess intelligence, but does not discuss whether you use it.

You can go anywhere on the Internet and find any research you want, but here are 5 indicators that show that you have potential for intelligence.

  1. You learn from mistakes
  2. You read for fun
  3. You can argue from multiple perspectives
  4. You think before you speak
  5. You don’t care what others think

I saw this at My Domaine which show 3 of them you can’t fake.

You Learn From Your Mistakes

Intelligent people are able to accept their own failures and re-purpose them into lessons for future success. In fact, a study on decision-making skills reports that critical feedback from a mistake results in better performance the second time around. So while errors and setbacks can be frustrating, highly intelligent people are able to perceive them as growth opportunities.

It could of course be argued that humans are not that intelligent to begin with as we’ve continued to make the same mistakes throughout history.

I would argue that you learn more from a mistake than success.  In giving one of my prodigy advice for life, I told him I didn’t remember every success because I expected it.  I remembered every failure as it hurt and I vowed never to do it again.  Some however never learn. They reveal narcissistic behavior which prevents them from admitting they were wrong.

You’re an Avid Reader

If someone doesn’t cite their sources but insists upon an opinion regardless of evidence, they’re likely exaggerating expertise. A simple way to check is by asking them what they do for fun. Beyond being a good way to gain knowledge about history or experiences that are different from your own, research shows that reading increases memory function, communication skills, and focus.

I am intrigued to talk with people with good vocabularies.  To a person, they are readers of books, not social media.

One of the most intelligent fellows I’ve met was an avid reader, but couldn’t put life together due to lack of common sense.  That is another subject altogether.  He was obviously intelligent, but he couldn’t make good life decisions.

I see people in the gym taking selfies (or at the party, or anywhere) to garner likes on their Instagram or Fake Book (ok Facebook, but it is edited and acts a lot like a high school reunion).  Those who are contemplating intelligent thoughts aren’t as concerned about likes or emoji’s.  They are enjoying a book.

You See Both Sides of an Issue

When someone can articulately and convincingly argue every angle of an argument, they’re genuinely smart. Travis Bradberry, author of Emotional Intelligence 2.0, reveals the issues with assumptions; if someone is thoughtful and well-informed, they’re probably not faking their intelligence to get ahead. So while they’re really passionate and well-versed on a topic from their own perspective, if they haven’t evaluated all sides of an issue, they don’t understand it (or how to respond to it effectively).

This to me is one of the biggest indicators. The less intelligent can become so fixated on being right that they fail to observe the whole issue.  You can intrinsically know what is correct by understanding which part of the subject being discussed is not correct or what part is flawed.  The logic presents itself when you view it in its entirety.

I exempt lawyers here.  Some of them may actually be intelligent, but they are trained to argue any side of an issue.  Training is not an indicator that you are intelligent other than that you can learn.

You think before you speak

Truly intelligent people have a brain that is quicker than their mouth.

If you take your time to answer people’s questions and think them through to provide a genuine answer that you’ve thought about, you’re one step ahead. 

It is also related with being overly concerned with what others think of you and the idea that you must be right.  Many times, it is best to hear everything that is to be said before you respond.  This point helps clarify celebrity behavior.  They more often than not speak before they think or hear what is being said and then not thinking out the entirety of a subject.  Combined with living in a bubble, the few that are intelligent are overshadowed by the celebtards who have to be heard.  They expose themselves by opening their mouths, most often without their brain in gear.

You don’t care what others think 

Seriously intelligent people don’t consider other people when making decisions.

They don’t think about how others will feel as a result of their own actions and do things regardless of other people’s judgement.

The net of it is look at yourself or your behavior.  If you have these traits, you are likely more intelligent.

There are lists that say more intelligent people are messy and swear more, but I’d rather look for good qualities in people.

The Next Financial Crisis Worse than 2008? Which Politician Will Expose it?

I have always been warned of the great wealth transfer from the middle and lower class to the wealthiest.  I first thought it would be through the devaluation, then revaluation of gold, but I didn’t realize that it was engineered through Washington programs, financial crisis, stock compensation and accounting tricks.

I have been reading and found this.  Attribution is below and comments should consider this if you get upset, especially if you lose your shirt.  Here are some excerpts:

“Corporate earnings reports for the fourth quarter are pretty much in the books. The deception, falsification, accounting manipulation, and propaganda utilized by mega-corporations and their compliant corporate media mouthpieces has been outrageously blatant. It reeks of desperation as the Wall Street shysters attempt to extract the last dollar from their muppet clients before this house of cards collapses.”

“The previous all-time high in stock buybacks occurred in 2008 at the previous peak. That brilliant strategy led to 50% shareholder losses in a matter of months. No Board of Directors fired any CEO for these disastrous strategic blunders. These cowardly ego maniacs didn’t buy back any stock in 2009 and 2010 when they could have made a killing with valuations at decade lows. After the stock market recovered by 100%, these stooges then began borrowing and buying. It has now reached another all-time high crescendo.

Dividends and stock buybacks in 2015 topped $1 trillion for the first time according to S&P Capital IQ Global Markets Intelligence. As CEOs have borrowed billions to buyback their inflated overvalued stock, they have put the long-term sustainability of their firms at extreme risk.”

“The 2008 Wall Street created financial crisis will look like a walk in the park compared to what’s coming down the pike now. We now have a bond bubble, stock bubble, housing bubble, commercial real estate bubble and central banker confidence bubble all poised to pop simultaneously. The negative interest rate and banning of cash schemes will be dead on arrival, driving a stake into the heart of the Fed vampire.”

“

Even the billionaire oligarch crony capitalist Warren Buffett addressed this despicably flagrant flaunting of basic accounting principles to mislead shareholders in his annual letter last week:

It has become common for managers to tell their owners to ignore certain expense items that are all too real. “Stock-based compensation” is the most egregious example. The very name says it all: “compensation.” If compensation isn’t an expense, what is it? And, if real and recurring expenses don’t belong in the calculation of earnings, where in the world do they belong?

Wall Street analysts often play their part in this charade, too, parroting the phony, compensation-ignoring “earnings” figures fed them by managements. Maybe the offending analysts don’t know any better. Or maybe they fear losing “access” to management. Or maybe they are cynical, telling themselves that since everyone else is playing the game, why shouldn’t they go along with it. Whatever their reasoning, these analysts are guilty of propagating misleading numbers that can deceive investors…. When CEOs or investment bankers tout pre-depreciation figures such as EBITDA as a valuation guide, watch their noses lengthen while they speak.

Buffett’s words are borne out in the chart below. Based on fake reported earnings per share, the profits of the S&P 500 mega-corporations were essentially flat between 2014 and 2015. Using real GAAP results, earnings per share plunged by 12.7%, the largest decline since the memorable year of 2008. Despite persistent inquiry it is virtually impossible for a Wall Street outsider to gain access to the actual GAAP net income numbers for all S&P 500 companies. With almost $500 billion of shares bought back in 2015, the true decline in earnings is closer to 15%.”

I do not support any politician in my blog.  I’m generally not happy with any of the current crop.  One is called out in the following paragraph that causes problems with Wall Street….

“The establishment is aghast that Donald Trump is storming towards the presidency. They are blind to the fact their unconcealed felonious actions rise to the level of treason in the eyes of average hard working Americans. The fabric of this country is being torn asunder by a contemptible class of corporate fascists, ego maniacal bankers, shadowy billionaires, and media titans. They have reaped billions of profits since 2009 as the Fed and politicians in D.C. rolled out “solutions” designed to enrich them. They are confident their failures will be shifted to the American people again. The American people may have a different opinion this time. Pitchforks and torches are being readied.”

I found this article from The Burning Platform which was entitled the Great Corporate Earnings Fraud.

15 Things That #Introverts Would Never Tell You, But You Should Know

me opening up to someoneI read this article and could hardly believe it.  It was me.  I’ll editorialize between the lines based on past and current experiences, but people should realize that people are different and here is one group that is virtually unnoticed but should be understood.

The link is now broken, but here is the annotated article:

  • Introverts catch a lot of shit for being introverted. The whole world seems

    so enamored by extroverts – the people we know who just want

    to be around people all the time. While we  introverts might

    not want that, it doesn’t mean we’re depressed or

    suicidal or anything wacky like that. There are

    some things you should know about us.

    1. Small talk sucks.

    We’re just not very good at it. We’re typically the big-thinking types.

    We like big ideas and theories. Small talk is uncomfortable.

    We don’t care about the weather or how

    your cat has been doing.

    It is very annoying because it mostly is useless to us. 

    If you need to share so badly,

    check with an extrovert who can’t wait to share back. 

    You just won’t get good

    feedback from us.

    2. Being alone is fine.

    Seriously, we’re doing okay, even if we hole up in our houses for a while.

    We don’t need other people for stimulation. We find that ourselves.

    We’d almost always rather be alone.  We don’t want to be hermits,

    but we are good at keeping ourselves busy and this is

    our comfort zone for life. 

    We don’t have to be with a crowd to do something,

    although we might come

    along once in a while.

    3. We aren’t rude or uptight.

    We might seem like that at first, but get to know us. We’re still a fun bunch

    of friends, we just don’t always acclimate to unfamiliar settings and people

    so quickly.

    Mostly because you are loud and want to be the center of attention,

    something we can’t relate to.  When we find out who you really are

    behind the facade, it’s easy to get to know us, unless you are phony.

    4. Sometimes, we swing both ways.

    We might be introverts, but sometimes we are just so the life of the

    party. We do this willingly when we’re up to it, but we can’t always

    keep that kind of energy going. If we throw a party, great! But give

    us some time to recover.

    Recover is the key word.  We can be with or in a crowd, but afterwords,

    we need time alone.

    5. We have friends. And they like us! Probably.

    People hear the word ‘introvert’ and think of the goth kid sitting alone

    at the food court. That’s a whole different thing entirely. We love having

    friends, and our friends love having us! We put in a conscious effort for

    people we think are worth it.

    We see through those who are not worth it and move on as those who

    have a constant self centered need for attention aren’t real people,

    and likely are far more insecure than we are.

    6. When with the right people, we feel safe.

    Having the right people in our lives is amazing. we really give our

    best selves to the best people. We shine in the right company.

    But sometimes it takes a while to find those people.

    7. We like to write things out.

    Writing is easier than talking for us sometimes. Email is the best

    because it helps us get the thoughts out of our heads without

    being interrupted. Thinking about giving us a call? Try a text or email instead.

    8. We’re super productive.

    Sometimes at least. Usually in our alone time, we’re able to really

    rock and roll on projects that we need to finish. The solitude helps us,

    as we tend to be a bit more distractible than most.

    Especially when you constantly talk about nothing just to talk.  At work,

    the people who have to comment on everything are the worst as

    it usually isn’t productive.  See small talk.

    9. If we don’t like you, you won’t know it.

    It’s the truth of the matter. We hate conflict. So even if we don’t like you,

    we’ll still be nice. It’s a lot easier than being real with you. Especially if

    your feelings are inconsequential enough that confronting you on your

    bullshit isn’t even worth the time. Sorry. Well, not sorry.

    And we move along without you as you just aren’t worth it.

    10. Networking events suck.

    Seriously. Is there a mailing list we need to opt out of? There are few

    things more uncomfortable than a networking party. Except maybe a

    dentist’s networking party that we’ve just been accidentally invited to.

    Yes, so why do extroverts keep trying to drag us into this nightmare?

    11. We don’t like crowds.

    Though I find that after a few beers, I can tolerate it. Introverts tend to

    get overstimulated easily, so big crowds are tough to deal with.

    It’s just not worth it.  Those who have MOP (miss out phobia)

    have to be with the crowd, not us.  See number 2.

    12. Sorry, we probably weren’t listening to your story.

    We care deeply about our friends, but people outside of that

    circle will have a tough time maintaining our attention. It’s not

    that we have ADD or anything like that, we just don’t really

    care about you. On the plus side, we won’t judge you, so feel

    free to tell us all the fucked up things you said to your ex.

    People will tell me anything and everything because

    I won’t repeat it.  But usually won’t remember it either.

    13. Don’t make a fuss out of our birthdays.

    For the longest time, I had a great deal of difficulty

    understanding why I hated my birthday so much.

    Everyone I ever knew would come out and party

    with me! But then I realized: that’s the problem!

    We don’t need to make a fuss out of our birthdays,

    so please don’t do it to us.

    Or any holiday for that matter.  It’s just another day.

    14. We don’t want to make a fuss out of your birthday.

    We can quietly honor the annual birthday, right?

    It’s your day.  You have everyone else making a big deal about it. 

    Let them.

    15. If we’ve chosen to be friends with you, appreciate it.

    We value our alone time. If we see you often, it means that we

    really love you. Just don’t get too bummed out when we

    don’t hang for a week at a time sometimes.

    We’ll likely be the most reliable friend you have, the one

    you can call on when your loud friends let you down.

    But visitors are like fish, they smell after 3 days.

    Hat tip to Higher Perspective.

    What they might not tell you but you need to know is that they are good for your business.

    Here are 15 other things that people misunderstand about introverts and pre-judge them because of it…

     

  • Bonus: How to date and introvert, by an introvert.