L’esprit de L’escalier – things you wish you could have said after you leave an argument.
That’s me. I win all my arguments, unfortunately many of them the day after they take place. My response is usually spectacular. I just wish I’d thought of it at the time.
Peter Drucker – “So much of what we call management consists in making it difficult for people to work.”
I’ve posted on meetings being a waste of time and management ego’s. Great managers lead and let the employees work and succeed. Mostly, the best managers help their employees grow and advance in their careers. I know I’ve had both types. When I was a manager, I did everything I could to those working for me the opportunity to show what they can do and help them when they fell down.
Unfortunately, most can’t seem to get out of their own way and realize that the best managers surround themselves with a good team and give them the power to do their jobs to the best of their ability.
“If one does not fail at times, then one has not challenged himself.” -Ferdinand Porsche
People need to overcome challenges and problems in life. They are handed to us everyday whether or not we want them. That is just life and maintaining the balance that humans require.
To get ahead, you must step out, take a risk, use your talents and sometimes you won’t succeed. When you do, you get a sense of satisfaction from overcoming or in the case of Dr. Porsche, you start an iconic car company.
“Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rapidly promoted by mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a piece of shit by the clean end.”
Here’s where someone is going to get offended. I’m going to go ahead with it anyway even if there are a few people who always try to spoil the party for the rest of us. Most people really don’t care. Call things by whatever you want if it makes you happy. Heck, I’ll be happy for you especially if the PC police would shut up. I just can’t remember all the names you want me to call things I grew up calling something else.
There are so many important things than this in my life that come before being PC like cleaning my nails, sweeping out dust bunnies, contemplating my naval and much more because well, I have a life.
I already have posted that the media is biased from the point of view of the audience they want to reach, all of them. They have their lapdogs the celebtards who gladly will tell us what we should think because of their self-inflated opinion of themselves.
The funny thing to me is that some of this PC crap is made up like in the circle game. Reddit made up a story about the OK sign being offensive or white power or something to see if they could get the offended to bite. Just like Pavlov’s dogs, they salivated when the bell rung.
Senator Blaine Mayer: You’re reprehensible, Bauer. Jack Bauer: And you, sir, are weak! Unwilling and unable to look evil in the eye and deal with it.
This was on Day 7 from 6-7 PM. Sure it was just a TV program, but it shows that some need to stand up and fight the fight that others won’t in times of crisis. Evil is a dark force that must be confronted. This will challenge your inner convictions and take you to the fork in the road in life of right vs. wrong. You will have to face your fears and conquer them first before you can vanquish the enemy.
Jack Bauer was the ultimate bad ass who wasn’t a comic book superhero
Thomas Sowell – “Much of the social history of the Western world over the past three decades has involved replacing what worked with what sounded good.”
Post Modernism has ruined the quality of life for us. I know there is no going back, but there are but a few of us willing to fight for what is right rather than what the crowd tells us to do. Just being socially accepted is not a reason for not doing what is right and good.
Sowell has said some of he most relevant and meaningful things that can be read. I encourage others to heed his words
“So it is more useful to watch a man in times of peril, and in adversity to discern what kind of man he is; for then at last words of truth are drawn from the depths of his heart, and the mask is torn off, reality remains.” — Lucretius
Anybody can be good when times are good. You see what someone is made of in the bad times. How do they act? How do they deal with the trouble, pain, hurt and adversity. When the going gets tough, the tough get going as they say. People are most honest when they are at their end and all the layers of the onion are pealed away.
“It is in the whole process of meeting and solving problems that life has meaning. Problems are the cutting edge that distinguishes between success and failure. Problems call forth our courage and our wisdom; indeed, they create our courage and our wisdom. It is only because of problems that we grow mentally and spiritually. It is through the pain of confronting and resolving problems that we learn.” — M. Scott Peck
We all have problems. Ignoring them won’t make them go away. One must face them and solve them. Every problem solved increases your arsenal of weapons to take on the next problem. Those who won’t face the issues or deal with them not only don’t grow, they go backwards in life. Oh, and you will have problems to solve until the day you die, deal with it.
“And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.” — Haruki Murakami
We will be different when the China/Wuhan/Covid-19/whatever virus has run its’ course. Some will act differently like washing their hands more or social distancing. Some may travel less. The smartest of these will stay off cruise ships. The wisest will decide who and what they believe in to as the rock to anchor their life on.
“Hope is the power of being cheerful in circumstances that we know to be desperate.” — G.K. Chesterton
Hope is what we have. It is the one thing oppressive regimes try to take away from the people so that they will rely on the rulers in power. This was the case in the USSR, currently the CCP and many other examples in history. If you have hope, you can make it through your trying times.
Who you put your hope in also can change the course of your life, your attitude and your day.
When I first started liking Star Wars, I never realized how useful the dark side was going to be. See more of Vader here
in social distancing and here in the Circle Game.
“Learning to endure times of disappointment, suffering, and sorrow is part of our on-the-job training. These experiences, while often difficult to bear at the time, are precisely the kinds of experiences that stretch our understanding, build our character, and increase our compassion for others.” — Joseph B. Wirthlin
I know that I learn more from mistakes than from success. It hurts more and I never want to repeat it. While we as humans are doomed to go through it, we learn from the suffering, just some more than others.
“The higher man is distinguished from the lower by his fearlessness and his readiness to challenge misfortune.” — Friedrich Nietzsche
This is not a rating system based on grief, rather how one acts in the face of things not going their way. Everyone has ups and downs despite what they post on social media. We all have the choice to give up, or pulling up our trousers and moving ahead. Note: it doesn’t say we won’t grieve or suffer, rather how we persevere.
“The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value. I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress and grow.” — Thomas Paine
When I studied Martial Arts, my Sensei told me that the ones who quit are the ones that it comes easy too. The ones who have to struggle or try harder persevere longer and achieve more.
Training for anything is necessary. Enjoying the journey is how to best enjoy the process of overcoming. That is the key to the above saying because life, happiness, freedom and other things we cherish are a journey, not an event.
I worked with the press for decades. The ones I worked with were nice people, but they had to write something that people will read, until now. Journalists are supposed to (try to) and learn about the subject they are covering. Now they write ridiculous stories and then write the opposite. They don’t even bother to fact check anymore. No one reads corrections so they don’t care, and it shows. I can’t even say this current lot are nice. If you see below, they aren’t well liked either.
Lately, they have been circling the wagons to cover one side of the political scene or the other together. They are exposing themselves to the public as to how little they know or how little they want to hide their bias. A bunch of them just want to jam on the president out of spite, but they are either self-owning or he is swatting them like flies, especially Jim Acosta.
Twitter/Twitchy caught on and now instead of lawyer jokes, it is journalist jokes. For the most part, this lot deserves what they are getting. They are now as useless to regular people as celebtards and sports stars trying to give their opinion on something other than their sport.
The hashtag is #JournalistJokes, go see for yourselves. Here is a list of some as a starter. Others are more creative than me.
“Three journalists walk into a building. You’d think one of them would’ve seen it.”
“What’s 5 miles long and has an IQ of 30?” “A JOURNALIST PARADE!”
“Three journalists walk into bar and say ‘ouch’ – then write stories about how the bar is racist and phobic.”
“How does a journalist change a light bulb? He holds while the whole world revolves around him.”
And Twitchy’s pick for the winner: “What are the best four years of a journalist’s life? Third grade.”
“Why are there only 2 pallbearers at a ‘journalist’s funeral?” “Garbage cans only have two handles.”
“How do you make a journalist’s eyes light up?” “Shine a flashlight in his ear.”
“What do you call 25 skydiving journalists?” “Skeet.”
“How do you get a one-armed journalist out of a tree?” “Wave to them.”
“What’s the difference between a smart journalist and Bigfoot?” “Bigfoot has been spotted.”
“Why can’t a ‘journalist’ dial 911?” “She can’t find the eleven.”
“What do you do if a journalist throws a grenade at you?” “Pick it up, pull the pin out, and throw it back.”
“What’s the different between God and a journalist?” “God doesn’t think he’s a journalist.”
Hat tip WND
I love Darth Vader meme’s. One of my favorites is in the Circle Game, but this one is just as good.
God save this Queen. The Commonwealth is lucky to have her. She has served well since WWII and is well respected despite what her offspring has put her through. Maybe they could skip to William to keep the Royals as well thought of as they are with her.
Douglas Adams – “Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.”
I guess not. I wonder what lessons we will have from the Corona/Covid/China/Wuhan/Whatever virus? Probably not to trust the media and to carefully evaluate if Congress is working for us or themselves.
Pain is only temporary, victory is forever -Jeremy H. Winning
No one wakes up and is the best at what they do by accident. It takes training, study and perserverance. The worst place in any competition isn’t last, it’s second because that is the first loser. This goes with the Vince Lombardi quote a few days ago.
We as humans want to do our best, but some strive harder than others. I’m not desparaging those who try their hardest, but someone was better, but no one remembers who lost the presidential elections, or got silver medals at the Olympics.
I know I strive to win anything I do. I try to win practice for anything I compete in, not just the event. I’ve even beaten the Kobayashi Maru, thanks to Captain Kirk.
“Learning to endure times of disappointment, suffering, and sorrow is part of our on-the-job training. These experiences, while often difficult to bear at the time, are precisely the kinds of experiences that stretch our understanding, build our character, and increase our compassion for others.” — Joseph B. Wirthlin
I love sports as much as any other red blooded American male. I love both playing them and watching the best compete against each other. I just wish they’d realize that with a very few exceptions, athletics is all they are qualified to pontificate on. I’m tired of being lectured about their position on anything other than their sport. I’m willing to bet that I’m not alone and in the majority.
I’ve already posted here that actors (celebtards) are the same.
Even though the meme points to their salary, I don’t have a problem that they make a lot of money. It doesn’t make them smart or qualified to tell the people with essential jobs how we should think though. I’m glad that they worked their way to the top based on their skill and God given talent that they worked hard to perfect. They should be grateful that they were born in a time and a place that allows them to succeed. When anyone succeeds, the tide rises for all boats so good for them.
They are getting a lesson that while we enjoy being distracted watching them, we don’t miss their soapbox spoutings and are managing to survive just fine without them.
I hope they don’t forget that it’s the fans who pay them. They work for the fans, not the other way around.
I’ve worked with the media for decades. There is nothing independent, nor objective about them, all of them. Comments are welcome if you can show consistent examples of the opposite.
I’ve already written about how useless most meetings are here, so this is appropriate.
“Meetings are indispensable when you don’t want to do anything.” – John Kenneth Galbraith
You can’t change what happens to you in life. All you can change is how you deal with it.
And now as we deal with the Covid-19 virus, this is relevant.
“We must always remember that America is a great nation today not because of what government did for people but because of what people did for themselves and for one another.” Richard Nixon
Sure, things didn’t work out so well for him at the end, but he’s not wrong about America or government.
Laurence J. Peter – “Competence, like truth, beauty and contact lenses, is in the eye of the beholder.”
“Close scrutiny will show that most ‘crisis situations’ are opportunities to either advance, or stay where you are.” — Maxwell Maltz
And now we will see who are the real leaders around the world. As always, some will be better than the others. Some will be more decisive and others will reveal that they may not be leaders at all. History will be the judge perhaps years from now.
“Panic causes tunnel vision. Calm acceptance of danger allows us to more easily assess the situation and see the options.” — Simon Sinek
It’s a practiced skill, although true leaders seem to be born with it the ability to put aside feelings and deal with it. It’s why Army Rangers and Navy Seals can enter a hostile situation and execute. Many drives by sports teams to the winning score are by level headed leaders who see the goal and understand the situation. Adding perceived danger only clouds the situation and adds complexity.
Finally we have proof that proves no one cares what people think who pretend to be others for our entertainment or those who play games for gazillions. They are our distraction and don’t live paycheck to paycheck like the 60% of Americans who do.
“A harmless man is not a good man. A good man is a very dangerous man who has that under voluntary control.” — Jordan Peterson
Self control is a good trait. The baddest man in the room never has to prove it, but should be able to defend himself and the weak when necessary. This is not just a bare knuckles statement. Being intellectually strong as well as spiritually sound are also strengths one needs.
None of these come for free. You must work on them, and work on them constantly. The world doesn’t stop and neither does evil. Now go out and be dangerous to evil.
Update: On April 5th, the Surgeon General compared the Corona Virus to Pearl Harbor.
There are events in history that cause a divided nation to come together.
Some have been pandemics and others have been wars, but there are times defined by history that people put their selfishness aside and gather to do what is best.
As an example, I could pick the Spanish Flu, SARS, MERS, H1N1, Y2K, the Swine Flu, the Space Race to the Moon or any number of events, but I’m going to use Pearl Harbor.
I wasn’t there, but our nation was divided as to whether we should enter another World War or isolate ourselves and hope the problem would go away or others would solve it. This all changed on December 7, 1941 when our country was forced into the events of the world.
We could have cowered to the attack and ask them not to do it again. Neville Chamberlin tried to appease Hitler this way and it didn’t work out so well.
THE MIGHT OF THE USA
Admiral Yamamoto, the architect of Pearl Harbor knew that a surprise attack to take out our Navy was the only real chance for Japan to stop the USA so they they could expand their reach in the Pacific Rim. After all, he had studied and lived in the USA and knew that our forces were depleted after WWI. He also knew that he couldn’t attack us on our own soil.
What also turned out to be true was that if the attack didn’t work, that he would awaken the might of the greatest industrialized nation in the world and unite our country to defeat evil.
On December 8th 1941, men young and old were lined up to enlist to fight for our survival. They knew that they would be leaving loved ones behind and there was a distinct possibility that they wouldn’t return alive. They put their fears aside and were willing to fight for our survival and the future that we enjoy today.
Not long after, women went to work in the factories. We had to ration rubber and metal for war supplies, but everyone did their part.
Companies changed their direction. Auto makers went from making cars to building bombers. Scientists invented new weapons to win, not to just survive and suffer. Our nation came together as one because we had a cause to fight for.
After the war, the greatest achievements in technology, medicine and space exploration happened at a speed heretofore never accomplished.
WE’VE BEEN COMPLACENT AND DIVIDED
All of that progress created wealth, comfort and abundance and we lost our focus. It’s no secret that we’ve been a divided country. I’m not here to point fingers because there is enough of that going on through the tradional news and social media. All of it has a bias one way or the other and it has been pulling us apart.
We haven’t had a common enemy to rally against since the downfall of the Soviet Union. Instead, we’ve been feeding on ourselves instead of pulling together. There is a strain of hatred for what we have been that defies the achievements that built our country. I have read celebtards and sports figures that say we have never been great. This just proves that they have no appreciation for the sacrifice and achievements that gave them the fame and fortune to preach from their soapboxes. It also denies our ability to do it again.
We as humans need a cause to believe in and to fight for, whether we are handed or invent it ourselves. Conversely, politicians have been poisoning us with their desire for power and control. They have been playing a game of capture the flag on their own islands and haven’t put the good of the country and the people first. They have been building their power base by taking away our freedom through regulation.
Our government was set up with a system of checks and balances to ensure that no one had the power like the monarchy who we defeated to become what we are. We now potentially suffer from what the history of the world has suffered from since the beginning of time. That is the selfishness, greed and desire for power that has aflicted man since the expulsion from the Garden of Eden.
There also has been a faction for globalization that has tried to deplete our greatness by moving manufacturing offshore to the point that we could be held hostage for medical supplies. Our spirit of nationalization has been tested by the border fight and ideology fueled by hate of the President. It has ratcheted up these last few years in a power struggle because there was no enemy other than from within.
We have been eating ourselves instead of fighting together.
THE CORONA/COVID-19/CHINA/WUHAN/WHATEVER VIRUS
We now have a new Pearl Harbor. We have been attacked by a new enemy who ambushed us again. It is time for us to realize that we have a fight on our hands Opportunity for success or failure knocks at the door of the fate of our country.
To do that, we need to go back to the spirit of 1941. It was the people who came together in both the public and private sector, not the control of the Government that helped us save ourselves.
We can go back to being the humans that have struggle to fight against, rally together and overcome (both the virus and the overbearance of the governement regulations).
THE SILVER LINING
There is a great opportunity if we do the same as our forefathers. Manufacturing in America again can help us right ourselves to help reunite our country and help other countries as we’ve done before.
We are beginning to see the automakers making ventilators, factories starting to make facemasks and other birth pains of our possible re-emergance to self-sustainment. It can be done.
Before you manufacture in the USA instead of cheap labor offshore, there needs to be a construction boom to prepare production facilities. After that, the job creation of made in in America is limitless, profitable and will help us help ourselves and others if they want it.
We already have become energy independent by producing enough oil so as to not be dependent on countries who hate us.
Our pharmacuticals are all made offshore by countries that have threatened to cut us off. We need to do the same in the drug industry to continue our trend of independence and strength. Through this can we help the rest of the world and save our nation from being held hostage for needed medical supplies and energy.
Most of all, we need fix our goverment and make them serve us instead of us serving them. Companies and individuals need to be let loose to invent, design and create to defeat this latest Pearl Harbor instead of being told when and what we can or can’t do. It’s time to limit their power and continue the greatness that history proves is inside of us.
“I don’t fear failure. I only fear the slowing up of the engine inside of me which is saying, ‘Keep going, someone must be on top, why not you?’” — George S. Patton Jr.
Love him or hate him, he got things done and was feared by the enemy, so much so that they had a respect for his command. In these times of the Covid-19 virus, we need to keep going and not give up. Stay on top and don’t give up.
“If I were dropped out of a plane into the ocean and told the nearest land was a thousand miles away, I’d still swim. And I’d despise the one who gave up.” — Abraham Maslow
I’ve been in some dark places before either in life or just competition. They say in the Marines that there is always an end to whatever pain you are going through so don’t give up. You’d be amazed at what you can accomplish.
They train Seals until exhaustion, but it’s said that they are only at their 60% level and have a reserve. How do I know? If someone pointed a rifle at them, they could still run some more. It’s said if you get to your end and someone offered you $100 to go 30 seconds more, almost everyone can and will do it.
“There can be no failure to a man who has not lost his courage, his character, his self-respect, or his self-confidence. He is still a King.” — Orison Swett Marden
A lot can be said for the person who is has not lost his courage, even if he is afraid. You can have both at the same time, just don’t let the one out do the other. As for character, that will be what others talk about when they speak of you either behind your back or at your funeral.
I’ve heard him being quoted with different versions of this one, so I’ll put in the ones that I’ve heard.
“Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is.” — Vince Lombardi
If winning isn’t important, why do they keep score?
Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.
It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s whether you win.
“A man does what he must — in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers, and pressures — and that is the basis of all human morality.” – John Kennedy
“Adversity toughens manhood, and the characteristic of the good or the great man is not that he has been exempt from the evils of life, but that he has surmounted them.” – Patrick Henry
“If you want to be respected by others, the great thing is to respect yourself. Only by that, only by self-respect will you compel others to respect you.” — Fyodor Dostoyevsk
“Life is too short to be little. Man is never so manly as when he feels deeply, acts boldly, and expresses himself with frankness and with fervor.” – Benjamin Disraeli
I have written about men and women in the workplace (and in life) and how they treat the same sex.
One ex told me that mean girls will say you look nice when they look bad or if another girl asks how do I look (when there obviously is something wrong or it looks bad) and the mean girl says you look just fine.
Men grow up playing games (the circle game) and doing stuff like snapping each other with a wet towel at the pool or in the lockerroom. Men can call each other all kinds of names or fight in a meeting at work, then go for a beer afterwards as if nothing happened.
I haven’t noticed this trait in many women. If offended, I’m told by females that they can hold a grudge forever.
Well, here is a meme that describes it.
Some sanity and reasonableness should be considered when putting yourself out into the social media universe. Everyone seems to think that it is now their responsibility to tell us how to think, speak and act.
Here are 10 logical statements that are not new, but should have been taught to those who think they should tell us what to do, especially by politicians, the media and celebtards. I wish George Orwell were alive today to see how right he was when he wrote 1984.
PC culture is ruining our society and frankly is taking the fun out of life for those of us who don’t get offended easily.
It’s time for a lot of people to grow up and act like adults. Personally, I blame the educational system. It has a considerable lack of diversity in terms of being able to view all sides of an issue before opening there mouths or post on Twitter, which I now call Hater. Other platforms are becoming just as bad, but the hate usually starts there.
Rep. Stephen M. Young inserted into the Congressional Record, in 1950, an article from Harper’s magazine, written by a Lincoln scholar, Albert A. Wolman, listing most of the ”Ten Cannots” and other material falsely attributed to Lincoln.
The 10 Cannots:
1) You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
2) You cannot help small men by tearing down big men.
3) You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
4) You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
5) You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich.
6) You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income.
7) You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
8) You cannot establish security on borrowed money.
9) You cannot build character and courage by taking away men’s initiative and independence.
10) You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.
Of course, Introverts will be uniting together, separately and alone. Hopefully the extroverts won’t try to butt in and want to small talk.
People who can’t distinguish between entomology and etymology bug me in ways I can’t put into words.
WordPress says this is my 600th post, but I know I lost the year 2007 when I switched from Blogger to WordPress because I avoid Google whenever possible. I likely passed it a while back, but they are gone forever now.
I post a lot about IQ, intelligence, Introverts, tech and a lot of subjects that would provide a platform to post something meaningful, deep in meaning , intelligent, well thought out and well written. As they say, the road to hell….
In that spirit, I give you a to do list that is sarcastic, funny to me and given the mood I’m in as I write this and very appropriate especially since my last name is Simonds (see number 8).
#3
Reporters interviewing a 104-year-old woman:
“And what do you think is the best thing about being 104?” the reporter asked.
She simply replied, “No peer pressure.”
#4
I’ve sure gotten old!
I have outlived my feet and my teeth,
I’ve had two bypass surgeries, a hip replacement,
New knees, fought prostate cancer and diabetes I’m half blind,
Can’t hear anything quieter than a jet engine,
Take 40 different medications that make me dizzy, winded, and subject to blackouts.
Have bouts with dementia. Have poor circulation;
Hardly feel my hands and feet anymore.
Can’t remember if I’m 85 or 92.
Have lost all my friends. But, thank God,
I still have my driver’s license.
#5
I feel like my body has gotten totally out of shape,
So I got my doctor’s permission to join a fitness club and start exercising.
I decided to take an aerobics class for seniors.
I bent, twisted, gyrated, jumped up and down, and perspired for an hour. But, By the time I got my leotards on,The class was over.
#6
An elderly woman decided to prepare her will and told her preacher she had two final requests.
First, she wanted to be cremated, and second,
She wanted her ashes scattered over Wal-Mart.
“Wal-Mart?” the preacher exclaimed.
“Why Wal-Mart?”
“Then I’ll be sure my daughters visit me twice a week.”
#7
My memory’s not as sharp as it used to be..
Also, my memory’s not as sharp as it used to be.
#8
Know how to prevent sagging?
Just eat till the wrinkles fill out.
#9
It’s scary when you start making the same noises
As your coffee maker.
#10
These days about half the stuff
In my shopping cart says,
‘For fast relief.’
#11
THE SENILITY PRAYER:
Grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway,
The good fortune to run into the ones I do, and
The eyesight to tell the difference.
The Assault Nail Gun Rifle is one of the most clicked on posts on this blog. In that spirit, I thought I’d add to the arsenal.
And as a bonus, there are many famous Porsche’s listed here for those who are in the know.
Authors Note: I have a tendency to notice patterns in both a macro and micro universes. I’ve been watching this one brew for a while now.
FIRST, WHAT IS GODWIN’S LAW?
Reformulated in the Net.Legends FAQs “Usenet Rule #4”:
“Any off-topic mention of Hitler or Nazis will cause the thread it is mentioned in to come to an irrelevant and off-topic end very soon; every thread on Usenet has a constantly-increasing probability to contain such a mention.”
It is generally accepted that whoever is the first to play the “Hitler card” has lost the argument as well as any trace of respect, as having to resort to comparing your adversary to the most infamous mass-murdering dictator in history generally means you’ve run out of better arguments. Thus, once such a comparison is made, the thread is finished and whoever mentioned the Nazis has automatically lost whatever debate was in progress. This principle is itself frequently referred to as Godwin’s law.
Disclaimer: This blog post does not take a position on racism, it’s prevalence, who is or isn’t or might be racist and my position on this subject. Aristotle noted that the mark of an educated mind is to entertain a thought without accepting it. Therefore I am observing a speech and behavioral pattern of the public. In other words it’s on them, not me.
It is also noted that a trait of people with a higher IQ is that you can argue from multiple perspectives (unfortunately so can lawyers and politicians who may or may not be of higher intelligence – especially politicians and especially millennial politicians).
The original Godwin’s Law has lost its’ sting since everyone is now Hitler, so the new talking point is racism or white supremacy. Rather than argue on the merits of the position of the person (political candidates mostly since they dominate the news) the go to is now calling the other person one of these two pejorative names. This constant overuse has devalued the meaning of the words and rendered them ineffective at worst and boring at best.
Here is a quick search that shows views from multiple points doing just this:
This is in direct conflict with Martin Luther King’s evocative phrase: “I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” Now, it is common to hear you are a racist or white supremacist because you don’t agree with me. It greatly devalues MLK’s position.
1: a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race, racial prejudice or discrimination.
While I could list any or all of the comments that have been made in public themselves could be racist in tone, one could make the case for or against whether the accused are really racist. Calling someone a racist is easy but proving most of these ad hominem attacks is harder.
One would need to know what is inside the person making the statements to know if it were really true or just talking points. I won’t and am not even sure if I can make that value judgement. These attacks are easy enough to find (see the media below).
This is not the point of this post. I am not here to call someone a racist or White supremacist (or Hitler), rather to point out a trend.
In the department of redundancy department, this discussion is that the replacement for Godwin’s Law is that you are not Hitler, instead you are racist for whatever reason or whatever you say.
Why is this the case? The overuse of Godwin’s Law has made it impotent in political circles, the media and on social media platforms. Hitler stands with few others in history, perhaps Mao, Stalin or Pol Pot as true villains. Nobody really believes that the other person is like Hitler, they are just trying to make the worst case as they flush their argument down the toilet due to lack of substance.
HOW TO WIN YOUR POLITICAL RACE OR PUT YOUR OPPONENT ON THE DEFENSIVE WITHOUT TAKING A POSITION
What most of the accusers are doing is described in Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals numbers 7-13 as follows:
Rather than argue on a platform, beliefs and issues, it is far easier to make your opponent defend themselves, and put them off their talking points.
Example: Candidate 1) If elected, I’ll lower taxes if elected (insert any issue here because it’s about to be destroyed).
Candidate 2) my opponent is Hitler and molests collies.
Press coverage: Candidate 1 is a well known collie molester. How long has this person been molesting Collies? The first question in the next debate; Candidate 1, are you still molesting Collies?
Now insert the word racist or white supremacist for molesting collies and you get the point of why this is effective.
HOW THE PRESS BECOMES AN ENABLER
A common adage is that sex sells, as do murders, rapes, political embarrassments and anything not good news. Guess what they will print (hint: collie molester)?
A not so recent trend is that there is a common thread where a preponderance of reporters has similar talking points concurrently. There is a groupthink that causes the media to focus on a particular phrase, word or subject. Like piranha on carcass, they hammer it home. https://www.google.com/search?q=why+do+news+anchors+say+the+same+thing&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwim9dyQxv3jAhWFB80KHeyQAE0Q1QIoAHoECAsQAQ&biw=1440&bih=825
Since the new go to in Godwin’s Law is you are a racist and/or white supremacist, it makes for headlines that sell advertising. I can also be taken as ideological. This is the de-facto statement now to the point that it has lost effectiveness.
Having spent decades working with (and against) all forms of media, they have a tendency to take the position of them being right, even if proven wrong. A correction is meaningless as once a statement is printed, it is still in the minds of the reader. Almost no one reads the corrections.
Most are journalists who write about a topic because it is assigned to them. In the case of social media everyone thinks they have the moral high ground.
SOCIAL MEDIA
I’m not going to spend much time here, because most people have gotten into an Internet argument. Nobody wins unless the motive of one of the combatants is to piss off the other. It won’t matter how factual your argument is because it is just Internet road rage.
If you go to the above link, you see the outcome and great advice on how to handle this.
So the net result of overusing this theme is the same thing that happens with all overuse. Godwin’s Law is becoming meaningless. The definition of what racism really is and when the word should be used to protect the oppressed has been damaged. Even Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals suffers from overuse and tediousness.
The political landscape is a train wreck of who can sling the most mud. Watch the ratings nosedive for upcoming debates.
Stay out of it on Social Media except to observe who isn’t smart enough to stay out of this pool. With each use of the attack, the meaning becomes less valid and meaningful.
I thought about calling someone a racist instead of Hitler the Simonds Law, since I haven’t found this discussion fully hashed out, but I’d rather be associated with something more positive.
Everyone is a loser who engages in this behavior. My advice is grow up or be better educated to discuss your position better than: you are Hitler/racist/white supremacist and whatever the next insult is.
It used to be that to call someone Hitler was the ultimate insult, albeit the indication that the argument is lost. Has calling them a racist and/or a white supremacist suffered the same fate?
It is the celebration of the birth of our nation. People died for our freedom to start a new country that would arguably become the greatest ever.
My mom was born on the 4th of July. Captain America, the comic book hero fittingly was also born on the 4th, in 1918.
Nothing is more patriotic to me than the Star Spangled Banner and the Stars and Stripe forever, so here they are.
God bless the USA
Art Linkletter said he loved to interview kids and older people the most. Kids always told the truth and older people just didn’t care anymore and would say what they thought. Here is the Kids version.
This is a story about my young son trying to catch the biggest fish in the pond.
Fathers do things for their children. They take them places and (try to) teach them things.
I like to fish and wanted my son to also like it so we could fish together. I made sure that we went catching instead of fishing. For those who have gone a entire day fishing without catching anything, you know what I mean.
I took him to the fishing show one year to show him around. It is a place where they sell things mostly to catch fishermen’s wallets.
We started the show by dropping quarters into a large fish tank. If the quarter glided through the water and into the shot glass at the bottom, you were a winner with the prize being your choice of worms. He won on the first try and was very excited about it.
I knew his attention span was limited so we went to the trout pond to fish. When I say pond, I mean a temporary pool filled with fish. They were mostly small trout with maybe 3 big boys in the pond (actually the big ones are female). It came complete with plastic palm trees in the middle for décor. You paid your $2 and could keep anything you caught in 5 minutes. The poles were a 4-foot stick with a short line and small hook baited with a mostly inedible piece of plastic half the size of a fingernail.
The odds are with the fish on this one. Especially when they have seen the same bait for 3 days and got fed every night.
My goal was for him to catch anything while I wanted to get enough of the small guys for dinner. I told him that any fish was a good fish.
HUNTING MOBY DICK
Never the small dreamer, he spotted the biggest fish in the pool and said he was going after it. I feared he would be disappointed as everyone threw a line at it, but I knew I could just take him through the line again and tell him to go for something catchable.
I had landed about 3 of the small fish and was well on the way to having dinner by half the time allotted. He kept trying for the big fish (nicknamed Moby Dick).
As time was counting down and I had caught enough for dinner, I heard a huge splash beside me. I looked over and sure enough, my son had hooked Moby.
My new fear was that he would be crushed if the fish spit the hook. The hooks they provided were tiny and easy for the fish get off the line. I saw it happen to every kid before us. If you didn’t get one to the side in less than 15 seconds, it was pretty much over.
This fish was almost too strong for the small stick and line we were given. Over a minute into the fight, it was still on and I knew the odds were against us.
THE FIRST CHANCE TO LOSE THE FISH
Things took a turn for the worse as his fish got wrapped around one of the plastic palm trees. In my mind, I was already preparing to console him for his loss.
I knew I had to try something. After all, I was his Dad so I reached into the tank and grabbed the palm tree. The pond monitors weren’t happy with me but it was my son.
Anyone who ever had a fish on knows that if you get slack in the line, the fish is as good as gone once the line goes taut and the sudden tension pulls the hook out of the fish’s mouth.
To my surprise, Moby stayed on despite the tree incident and he was well past 2 minutes into the fight. Time was now over for that fishing session, but since he had one on we were allowed to finish. We had an audience as everyone waiting to fish and those who just finished could see that he had a good one on.
I decided that if by chance I could get my hands on this fish that I was willing to do anything to get it for my son. I didn’t want him to be disappointed after overcoming virtually everything that could go wrong, just to lose it at the last second. This wasn’t going to be easy, as anyone who has handled a trout knows they have a coating of slime. They are as slippery as greased ice. Landing them is usually done with a net, which we weren’t allowed to use.
PANIC AT THE MOMENT OF TRUTH
I thought nothing more could go wrong, but to my horror I could see that it was foul hooked (hooked on the body rather than the mouth). My sense of the odds of landing Moby were next to nothing now.
After what seemed like a million circles in the pond, Moby came within my reach and I stuck my hand under the fish and threw it out of the pond in one swoop.
On that day, he had landed the biggest fish in the pond, a Dad was proud and a small boy became a fisherman.
Here is a picture later in life of fishing together. He learned well
Have you ever wondered what the f&*% the kids are talking about lately? Do you parents want to decode your kids texts?
Below is the Generation Z dictionary distributed by a Mr. Callahan so I point to him if any Gen Z’ers have a problem with it.
When thinking about this, I’m sure every generation trashes the previous by describing them as not as learned and their improper use of grammar. I’m also pretty confident that Shakespeare is rolling in his grave as he probably has done for each generation after him.
I’ve put some screenshots below and full link to the dictionary in PDF form to download.
What I fear is these people will be making decisions about my generation in a few years.
To fully honor this generation, I purposely didn’t put it in alphabetical order just to mess with them.
THE SETUP FOR THE DISCUSSION
I suppose every generation considers the learning of the next generation as inferior to theirs. If we didn’t, why do millennials eat tide pods? Why do parents talk about how better their education was and how soft they are on kids today? There are many reasons for this including prejudice, standards, government intrusion into the learning system and deviation from what made our education system the one that led to more progress, inventions and breakthroughs than any in the history of man.
We’ve now potentially gone backwards and have therefore failed the following generations.
In working with public school kids, I observe that there are many reasons. People are not equal and some are smarter and learn better than others. Those with two parent families or with a single parent who is highly integrated in the student’s learning consistently outperform those who don’t. The system has gone backwards due to interference from do-gooders, government (over)regulation and unions. Note: that is my observation only. I see kids rise above the system to achieve, but they have to swim upstream. Most can coast their way through.
Conversely, children who learn under Classical Education have an advantage in learning as it is taught to a standard the kids must keep up with as opposed to teaching to the lowest common denominator so no one is left behind, penalizing those who could achieve more.
Further, Classical Christian education is an approach to learning which emphasizes biblical teachings and incorporates a teaching model known as the Trivium, which consists of the three stages of grammar, logic, and rhetoric.
Classical education complements a child’s natural development stages. Young children can memorize information easily. So, in the early years, learning is enhanced by songs, body movement, recitation, and exploration. This sets them up for success in their next stage of learning, critical thinking.
The critical thinkers are what companies want to hire. They look at problems differently and come to the table with better skills for success.
They also have a distinct advantage over the public school system and the below discussion of how we are destroying learning.
WHERE EDUCATION HAS FAILED OUR KIDS
The biggest failure I’ve observed is the Common Core learning system. It threw away the standards of learning that has proved to produce educated kids by introducing a system that borders on the ridiculous.
It was implemented by those we thought were helping us, yet it may have set us back for years.
Behind a lot of this is none other than Bill Gates, a man I’ve met and have mixed thoughts about. Microsoft is far more successful than his support of Common Core.
From the American Thinker, I read this snippet:
But Bill Gates should have felt some uneasiness. Common Core was untested, unproven, and micromanaged by David Coleman, a man with limited credentials but reliably far to the left. Nobody in the business world launches a big new product without years of research and refinement. Instead, Common Core was wrapped in $1 billion’s worth of propaganda and dumped on the country as a fait accompli.
The late, great Siegfried Engelmann, a real educator, was asked what he thought of this approach: “A perfect example of technical nonsense. A sensible organization would rely heavily on data about procedures used to achieve outstanding results; and they would certainly field test the results to assure that the standards resulted in fair, achievable goals. How many of these things did they do? None.”
Did Gates realize that Common Core, supposedly a new and higher instruction, incorporates all the dubious ideas from decades prior? New Math and Reform Math were the basis for Common Core Math. Similarly, Whole Language and Balanced Literacy were rolled into Common Core’s English Language Arts (jargon for reading). Constructivism, which prevented teacher from teaching, has been undermining American schools for decades. Nothing new and higher about these clunkers.
An earlier generation of Gates’s business partners had created so much illiteracy that Rudolf Flesch had to write a book to answer every American’s favorite question: “why can’t Johnny read?”
I don’t hold Gates responsible except for his funding and use of his status to push this, but I hold those who pushed this system on the generation suffering from this learning standard.
The Thinker sums it up like this:
We have to wonder if Bill Gates performed due diligence, that being the care that a reasonable person exercises to avoid harm to other persons or property. In other words, before putting your business funds to work on anything, you should make yourself an expert. That’s what we need in this country: everybody becomes an expert. For sure, nobody should trust the official experts. If Bill Gates had observed that simple rule, he would still have a billion or two he doesn’t have now. And the country would have tens of millions of better educated students it doesn’t have now.
We need to stop this disservice to our kids and have them learn properly, and to learn to think critically.
Here is a video that shows just how far we’ve deviated from the learning system that invented computers, vaccines, technology that has helped mankind and sent men to the moon. Go to 1:24 under Decompose to see how far we’ve digressed.
CONCLUSION
It would seem the dumping common core and putting real learning would be best for the kids. The world is getting tougher and we need to give them every advantage possible.
Editors note: Since I published this, the comments have been coming in and are now far better than the blog post. I encourage you to read about the lives and struggles of those who have high IQ. Their stories are quite revealing.-> It’s in the comments, hint, hint, hint.
Authors disclosure: I won’t disclose where I am on the IQ chart, but I do have some in my family with very high IQ. My father had a gigantic IQ. Here are the stories of those with high IQ and their travails. See if you identify with any of them.
The blog post actually starts here. It is a compilation of individuals with their names mostly redacted who have written about the travails of a high IQ:
Update: 10/3/16 from Alison Craig
It sounds like you are in the beginning stages of an existentialist crisis. http://plato.stanford.edu/entrie… I know the word “crisis” looks alarming, but it shouldn’t. In this case it just means you are examining the point of your own existence. Will I always be alone? Why am I here? Eventually you may even question all existence and come to the seemingly frightening conclusion that we’re all born alone and die alone and nothing in life has purpose.
“Well, that’s horrible! You’re depressing, why would you say such things?”
Again, I repeat- it is nothing to be alarmed about. Those things are true – to a degree. We are born alone and die alone, but we work to make connections with people who can support us, and that we can support in return. Intelligent or not, there will always be like minded people in the world somewhere and they are never easy to find for anyone. To me, making those connections is why I am here and is a large part of my purpose.
No matter how intelligent, wealthy or attractive a person is – it can always be difficult to find true connections so that all of the sharing and giving is not a one way street. Intelligent people may have stricter standards for making friends (in fashion or other), but so might a wealthy person, or a very attractive one. All people fear being used and some are just more cautious than others. An intelligent person can read books on understanding human nature ( Ten Keys to Handling Unreasonable & Difficult People), body language Psychology Today and other psychology tools to assist them in making life long connections with other people.
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From Shah Rukh Qasim on hiding your intelligence:
If you could generalize, the most common would be:
Other signs will include:
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It sucked when I was younger, but these days it’s just awesome.
There is a very common pattern among highly gifted people, namely:
Honestly, at this point in my life I feel like there are literally no downsides to having a high IQ. It’s like being born good looking or with great physical health: it’s not a silver bullet to a happy life, but it makes a lot of things much easier.
I only found out I had a high IQ (161) because my professional life was such a mess I had to see a psychologist.
If I had to sum it up in a few sentences, I would say that the most aggravating thing about being very intelligent is that you quickly see and understand things at a level of depth that most people don’t (or can’t), and it is very frustrating. You want to move on, you want to be pushed, you don’t want to spend time explaining the details of things you have already grasped, but no one else is caught up yet, so you have to pause. It is particularly painful when dealing with complex topics where the mental models involve feedback loops and non-linearities.
But that said, I’ve learned there is much more to life than intelligence, and being successful is more about hard work and good communication skills than anything else.
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“One of the indictments of civilizations is that happiness and intelligence are so rarely found in the same person.”
Working successfully in society and business is limited by some really important social choke points. One of them is that other people, even if they are intellectually slower, must be treated with respect. Another is that even if you are correct you will have difficulty getting people to act on your insights until they understand why you are correct. A third thing is that most important activities are done as a team and so taking action requires breaking down your insights into something that your slower peers and employees can understand. If you try to blow past these choke points you will destroy relationships and even if you are right, your career will languish. I try to remind myself that being successful is not well correlated to being right.
My career is going pretty well now that I’ve understood these constraints. It is possible to turn intelligence to practical life-advantage but our educational system doesn’t really give a blueprint for this. I left school thinking that it mattered that I understood things 5 minutes or 5 years before my classmates did. It doesn’t. Most people’s functioning adult lives are not spent solving tough problems. They are spent going through well established rituals and patterns of relating to each other punctuated by an occasional tough problem. In most cases, people can even skip the tough problems and still do okay in life. So how do you convert a parlor trick (like knowing the ending of a movie after 5 minutes) into something that will make you happier? Mostly, you don’t. Use it when it’s valuable and relax a little when it’s not.
There’s a great Dilbert where someone invites him to join the company’s Mensa chapter and Dilbert asks why people who are so smart continue to work at the company. The president of the Mensa chapter answers, “Intelligence has much less practical application than you’d think.”
In a word, I find it alienating.
Extremely so, in fact.
And I think this is not only because of what makes me “smart”, but also because of what my brain has to sacrifice to be “smart” in that way. (More on that in a sec.)
For the record, my IQ was measured (years ago) at 178. [ETA: Just looked up the percentile, and that’s about 1 in 2 million, for some perspective.] I have 3 advanced degrees and a solid career. But I’m still single and spend very little time around other people.
It took me some time as a young kid to figure out that the people around me weren’t interested in the same things I was. And that, often, to talk about the things I found interesting turned people away.
So I hid that.
When they announced that I was valedictorian of my high school, I was in 1st period art class, and one of my classmates refused to believe that they’d said my name.
But I never felt like I belonged anywhere, and I still don’t.
I don’t have kids, TV doesn’t interest me, I don’t follow celebrities or watch sports. My time is spent with my work, and researching the things that are important to me — astrophysics, particle physics, consciousness research, and although this might seem strange to some people, Biblical scholarship (tho I’m not a believer).
As a result, chit-chat is impossible for me, or else it’s so boring that it becomes impossible.
But like I said, the problem isn’t only that my brain is interested in things that most other brains aren’t. It’s also what my brain can’t do.
There’s only a certain amount of space in the brain, and if one area is eating up the real estate with more neural power, some other part of the brain is likely losing out.
For me, it’s some of the automatic social functioning which tells you, for example, what emotion another person is feeling based on their facial expression, or whether someone’s being sarcastic or not. (Sarcasm is a minefield for me, and meeting another person in a hallway is a nightmare — I cannot interpret when to look, or not, what to say, or not, etc.)
That said, I have an enormously rich life, and I’ve adjusted to it. When I stopped trying to fit in, things got better.
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HOWEVER…..STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES
The smart can do stupid things such as:
Not really a joke … just a tiny bit of math fun.
142857 is a cyclic number – its digits always appear in the same order but will rotate around when multiplied by any number from 1 to 6:
142857 x 1 = 142857
142857 x 2 = 285714
142857 x 3 = 428571
142857 x 4 = 571428
142857 x 5 = 714285
142857 x 6 = 857142Pretty cool, huh? Now multiply 142857 by 7. (Spoiler below.)
142857 x 7 = 999999
Again, these are not my answers, but are an interesting read on people. It will offend some, but God is number one for me. The rest of the lists below should offend someone or many.
1. Human psychology. It’s a young field, and no one has all the answers yet. But you can get a better understanding of why other people do what they do — and how to thread your way through life’s complexities — by studying at least a little of this field.
2. The basics of accounting. This will greatly reduce your chances of being swindled in life. It also will make it much easier for you to do some systematic planning, while keeping track of how you’re doing vis a vis your plans.
3. Music. It will calm you. It will inspire you. It will build bridges to a more interesting set of friends.
4. Your own family’s story. Where did your parents grow up, and how did that shape who they are? What are the formal or informal communities that help define your identity? (“We are athletes … we are Irish … we are restless spirits who move from city to city.”) Having an enduring sense of identity that goes beyond the ups and downs of your own life will be a source of comfort and motivation all your life.
5. The way your government really works. Find out why some laws are tightly enforced and others aren’t. Learn the best ways of influencing your government — whether it’s on matters of national significance or something as personal as winning a zoning variance for the cafe you run. Finally, gain some non-bitter insights about why society doesn’t always work the way you’d like.
6. Good nutrition and how to incorporate it into your life. Mike Leary is right. In a poor society, this is the difference between life and death. In a rich society, it’s — surprise! — the difference between a long, robust future and chronic illness that can turn deadly far too soon.
7. Different cultural values. If you’re going to be effective outside a small cluster of people like you, you’ll need to understand and appreciate how other tribes work, too.
8. How to communicate your ideas to the wider world. Justin Freeman is right. Learn how to speak clearly and persuasively. Or to write well. Or to create useful and appealing computer code, video, music, etc. Pick the medium that works best for you, and make sure you don’t go through life being mute.
9. Effective parenting. Just because your parents didn’t quite get it right (no one ever does!) doesn’t mean that you can’t do better. Find your own style, stick with what works … but keep refining your approach as you learn from others. You owe it to the species.
10. Quora. It’s one-stop shopping for biased crap! Be aware of what’s on Quora, and you’ll know what not to believe.
Here’s another:
Go to the link above, there is more.
Add more in comments if you have a better suggestion than these.
So says an article published by the Washington Post.
Having discussed high IQ people including those with a perceived higher intelligence a number of times (this one with the highest Google ranking), I like to ponder on these things.
The first in this article tends to reference dwelling among all people as it relates to happiness:
They use what they call “the savanna theory of happiness” to explain two main findings from an analysis of a large national survey (15,000 respondents) of adults aged 18 to 28.
First, they find that people who live in more densely populated areas tend to report less satisfaction with their life overall. “The higher the population density of the immediate environment, the less happy” the survey respondents said they were. Second, they find that the more social interactions with close friends a person has, the greater their self-reported happiness.
Why would high population density cause a person to be less happy? There’s a whole body of sociological research addressing this question. But for the most visceral demonstration of the effect, simply take a 45-minute ride on a crowded rush-hour Red Line train and tell me how you feel afterward.
One would tend to think that if you weren’t in such a densely populated area, that it might lead to greater happiness. No wonder New York, Chicago and other highly populated cities have such low rankings in this category.
THE NEED TO BE ALONE
I can’t prove it, but there is a tendency for “Smart People” to be either introverted or have a need to spend time alone to gather their thoughts when making contributions to inventions, theorem’s, calculations and other notable achievements. (Note: the link above describes things introverts won’t tell you, but you should know).
Being an author, I know that I prefer quiet to gather my thoughts and increase the powers of concentration on what I am trying to write. It’s hard to clear your mind when there is a bombardment of distractions either from people, social media or other causes.
The article does state the obvious, long commutes, traffic, waiting in line and crowds are tedious, monotonous, and can grate on anyone over time. The infrastructure is usually older (see the lead in the water in Flint, Mich.) I’ve often wondered why anyone would want to live in a place like that if they really had a choice. Maybe that is why there is such a large population outflow to Florida upon retirement.
Kanazawa and Li’s second finding is a little more interesting. It’s no surprise that friend and family connections are generally seen as a foundational component of happiness and well-being. But why would this relationship get turned on its head for really smart people?
I posed this question to Carol Graham, a Brookings Institution researcher who studies the economics of happiness. “The findings in here suggest (and it is no surprise) that those with more intelligence and the capacity to use it … are less likely to spend so much time socializing because they are focused on some other longer term objective,” she said.
Think of the really smart people you know. They may include a doctor trying to cure cancer or a writer working on the great American novel or a human rights lawyer working to protect the most vulnerable people in society. To the extent that frequent social interaction detracts from the pursuit of these goals, it may negatively affect their overall satisfaction with life.
The article and researchers discuss a “Savannah theory of happiness” which is a bit of a reach since there weren’t iPhones for cavemen, although an ability to deal with new challenges seems obvious.
FEAR OF MISSING OUT OF SOMETHING FOR SOME, LOATHING PEOPLE FOR OTHERS
There is a need for many in the general population to gain happiness from their social interactions. I have relatives who suffer from FoMo syndrome, generally indicating that they derive their happiness and/or satisfaction from others or the perception of others.
When drilling down and specifically targeting high IQ people, there is a distinct difference from the last sentence in the above quote:
Second, they find that the more social interactions with close friends a person has, the greater their self-reported happiness.
But there was one big exception. For more intelligent people, these correlations were diminished or even reversed.
“The effect of population density on life satisfaction was therefore more than twice as large for low-IQ individuals than for high-IQ individuals,” they found. And “more intelligent individuals were actually less satisfied with life if they socialized with their friends more frequently.”
Let me repeat that last one: When smart people spend more time with their friends, it makes them less happy.
Again, an observation from the high IQ group and personal introspection, there seems to be less of a need to find your happiness in others or what others think of you in this space. It might be in the above stated pursuit of goals:
Hell might actually be other people — at least if you’re really smart.
That’s the implication of fascinating new research published last month in the British Journal of Psychology. Evolutionary psychologists Satoshi Kanazawa of the London School of Economics and Norman Li of Singapore Management University dig in to the question of what makes a life well-lived. While traditionally the domain of priests, philosophers and novelists, in recent years survey researchers, economists, biologists and scientists have been tackling that question.
There’s a twist, though, at least as Kanazawa and Li see it. Smarter people may be better equipped to deal with the new (at least from an evolutionary perspective) challenges present-day life throws at us. “More intelligent individuals, who possess higher levels of general intelligence and thus greater ability to solve evolutionarily novel problems, may face less difficulty in comprehending and dealing with evolutionarily novel entities and situations,” they write.
It appears that the high IQ might actually have another less socially accepted skill that is less politically correct as defined by the masses. They may just have thought out that they are able to be happier or more satisfied while being alone rather than by having to try and satisfy others definition of their happiness.
Conversely, they might find being around other people annoying, especially the chatty or needy.
Once you are able to happy alone, the ability to be happy with others is icing on the cake, but shouldn’t be the definition of the cake.
What is Internet Road Rage? My definition is that you are willing to engage in hateful, spiteful language aimed at someone whom you either don’t agree with ideologically/religiously/politically/any excuse to vent, or a counter attack to someone who got on you or your ideas.
Here is the caveat. You most likely wouldn’t act or speak that way in person or to someone’s face with that tone or language. Most of you have either more self-decency in person or a survival instinct that would prevent you from getting your ass kicked.
Worse, you could or are likely a Porch Dog, one who barks severely, but is no real threat. In other words, you yap by tapping the keyboard but pose no intellectual threat.
ACTUAL ROAD RAGE
Most people have road rage inside them. Here is how it works:
Polite drivers may think that dialogue like that is the territory of deranged, out-of-control, or terrible drivers, and maybe they’re right. But according to a new survey from AAA, most drivers in the United States display signs of road rage. So too bad, you supposedly polite drivers.
The survey, published today, polled 2,705 drivers 16 years old and older about their road rage habits. Seventy-eight percent of drivers—more than three-quarters—reported engaging in some kind of aggressive driving maneuver, including tailgating, yelling, honking, gesturing angrily, purposely blocking another vehicle, cutting someone off, confronting someone, and intentionally ramming another car.
The breakdown of each category was fairly unsurprising. Fifty-one percent of drivers reported tailgating at least once; 47 percent reported yelling at least once; 45 percent reported honking at least once. The more bats**t responses—confronting another driver and ramming another vehicle—polled much lower on the list.
INTERNET ROAD RAGE
There is every flavor in the book, more than I can write about. It started with email flaming. As soon as forums or ideological websites like Quora, Instagram, Facebook, The Huffpo, Fox News, etc., etc. The net of it was that people were able to transfer their hate to others online. The comments are mendacious, eviscerating and frequently ad hominem attacks that most wouldn’t do face to face.
I call B.S. as most of those people are cowards and wouldn’t stand up to others in real life. There are of course some that do speak their minds, but they generally have more of a life than pissing on each other online.
What would the other person do? Back in the schoolyard days, you say something like what is written almost everywhere now and you’d have to fight. Most people don’t like to fight and there are a few who know very well how to protect themselves. I’d even bet that a lot of folks who are right wingers fully explore their second amendment rights. Who wants to walk into that? There are some who would be very able to kick your ass and would.
WHY DO YOU DO IT?
I use the word you in its’ plural and direct form. I’m pointing at everyone who reads this because most of you have crossed the line when someone pissed you off.
The reason is that you envision some curtain of invisibility or invincibility because you are typing to a screen. You wouldn’t say it in person, or wouldn’t say it that way. Therefore, you are either a coward or a bully. Most people lose considerable IQ points when you think this way.
So stop it. Grow up and act like an adult. Be big enough to pass over some typed letters of venting. More than likely, there isn’t enough reason for responses that are so harsh. Before you type it, imagine saying it face to face and see if you would do it, or risk either your reputation or an ass whooping.
Note: intelligent people generally read a lot. There are many ways to read a book. Authors read for story arc’s, character profile and emotional connection.
Many people learn from textbooks, but for general reading, here is a good list I found on how high IQ people read:
1) Find a personal angle: You need to relate to what you’re reading
2) Get a bird’s eye view: Get the basic outline of the book by skimming through the table of contents (and the rest of the book); try finding a central theme
3) Drum up curiosity: Draft a few “curiosity questions” based on the theme; consider these questions as you read the book
4) Create your own structure: Identify key points in the book and leave space for you to take in-depth notes
5) Record key insights: Take in-depth notes based on the elements you mentioned in Step 4; think about what the “Takeaway Message” is.
6) Review your notes: Now that you have a summary you have created in your own words, it’s now time to review; try to remember the details related to the messages you recorded 10 minutes, 2 days, 1 week after finishing the book.
7) Repeat with another book.
Here is the link to this list.
Scroll down a few posts and you’ll see other articles I’ve posted that talk about Social Media ruining people’s lives. It’s their outside daring you to compare, unfortunately to your inside.
Spending too much time on “social media” sites like Facebook is making people more than just miserable. It may also be making them depressed.
A new study conducted by psychologists at the University of Pennsylvania has shown — for the first time — a causal link between time spent on social media and depression and loneliness, the researchers said.
It concluded that those who drastically cut back their use of sites like Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat often saw a marked improvement in their mood and in how they felt about their lives.
Many of those who began the study with moderate clinical depression finished just a few weeks later with very mild symptoms, she says.
The study, “No More FOMO: Limiting Social Media Decreases Loneliness and Depression,” was conducted by Melissa Hunt, Rachel Marx, Courtney Lipson and Jordyn Young, is being published by the peer-reviewed Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology.
For the study, Hunt and her team studied 143 undergraduates at the University of Pennsylvania over a number of weeks. They tested their mood and sense of well-being using seven different established scales. Half of the participants carried on using social media sites as normal. (Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat did not respond to request for comment.)
The other half were restricted to ten minutes per day for each of the three sites studied: Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, the most popular sites for the age group. (Use was tracked through regular screen shots from the participants’ phones showing battery data.)
Net result: Those who cut back on social media use saw “clinically significant” falls in depression and in loneliness over the course of the study. Their rates of both measures fell sharply, while those among the so-called “control” group, who did not change their behavior, saw no improvement.
This isn’t the first study to find a link between social media use, on the one hand, and depression and loneliness on the other. But previous studies have mainly just shown there is a correlation, and the researchers allege that this shows a “causal connection.”
So I ask, why do you do it to yourselves? Facebook has a model to make you feel worse while they steal your privacy and track you to sell your profile to everyone and anyone.
On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month the sounds of the guns went silent
Today is Veteran’s Day. the 100th anniversary
World Leaders gather to mark the 100th anniversary of WW1
The commemoration is the centerpiece of global tributes to honor the 10 million soldiers killed during the 1914-18 war and mark the moment the Armistice, signed in northeastern France, came into effect at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, 1918.
World leaders, including Trump, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin, will be seated under a glass canopy at the foot of the Arc de Triomphe, built by Emperor Napoleon in 1806, for the ceremony.
Macron is expected to speak and light a flame in honor of an unknown soldier who was killed in the war and whose remains are buried with others under the triumphal arch. Afterwards, Macron will host a lunch for the dignitaries at the Elysee.
We honor and remember those who fought for the Freedom of our country and fought side by side with those who are now or were friends of ours.
It is important to never forget that Freedom isn’t Free. 
Man has been at war since he was put on the face of the earth.
We appear to be on that track until the end of our existence. While I don’t advocate war, pacifism has always lead to tragedy because of the ruthlessness of those who seek power, ignore borders and human rights.
Here are links to Veterans Day that I found interesting:
From John Ray: Click on it to see these pictures.
The 11th of November in 1918 was when the First World War officially came to an end. And that day has been formally marked every year since in remembrance of those who died. When I was growing up it was known as Armistice Day in Australia and I still think of it as that. It is however now formally Remembrance Day. It is Veterans Day in the USA. It is perhaps a little more significant this year as the 90th anniversary of the event. Britain certainly seems to have been engaging in more than the usual amount of commemoration in the last few days.
Anything by Blackfive (a 4 part series this time)
A great Picture from Knowledge is Power
Dedicating the Intrepid. A Carrier that saw plenty of action and sacrifice.
Delusions of Adequacy 