Re: People Without Meaningful Lives Seek Power Over Others

On 9/2/2024 3:09 PM, AMuzi wrote:

On 9/2/2024 12:51 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:

On Mon, 02 Sep 2024 16:37:16 GMT, cyclintom <cyclintom@yahoo.com>
wrote:
>

Why do you try so hard to be smart?

>
To make you look dumb by comparison, to keep you entertained and
because intelligence tends to pay better than stupidity.
>

 Since generalities about humans are generally not all-inclusive, many things can be true and not true depending on 'for whom?'.
 Charles Murray has an excellent take on one type of achievement this week, so well done that it is de-paywalled:
  https://www.wsj.com/opinion/the-roots-of-stem-excellence-higher- education-cognitive-ability-over-dei-df09f6c7?st=lnae1l50jqogeuv

OK, interesting article. Some observations:
First, the article strongly acknowledges the obvious (to me) fact that not everyone can learn everything. I've made that point here many times.
It also pays homage to the normal curves I frequently mention, which is another way of making the same point. Those on the extreme tails of the curve are far different from the great bulk near the center.
The article also touts, strongly, the value of education. Can you imagine the author's reaction Tom's claim that he is as good as a degreed engineer because he "read out" three libraries? Or the tricycle rider's claim that professors just sit and push papers around?
Going farther: I do agree that our nation should be devoting more resources to supporting and challenging those at the top of the curve. The societal benefits would likely be far greater than, say, helping those at the bottom to achieve mediocrity.
And I strongly believe the author's statement that "the students in these elite STEM departments will be more than 90% Asian or white and more than 80% male" speaks to societal conditions, and certainly not to genetic predispositions. I had female graduates who easily outperformed the men in class, and did great work after they graduated. I hope our culture could be changed so not only white (or Asian) males were supported and challenged into tech education and professional roles. There's too little of that happening now.
Also, not all work needs to be Nobel-worthy. We will always need competent STEM workers from the Nobel level all the way down to the technician level.
And finally: The article does mention that "hard labor" as well as talent is very necessary for the kinds of achievements the author wants. When I was in graduate school, I think all my peers agreed on who was the most brilliant of us. His mental horsepower was pretty astonishing - as in, not bothering to study much for exams, but routinely topping the curve.
But he ended up dropping out of his PhD program at a nationally renowned university. Last I heard, he runs his family's pharmacy.
--
- Frank Krygowski