The Farang Pub: How Intelligent are the Posters. And, what can the Normal Curve tells us about the lengths of their pickles, .... if anything?

[Stocky]

10 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

In my opinion, most posters are about one standard deviation to the right, ...  or... MORE.

The bell end

 

.

Edited December 14, 2021 by Stocky

[Tippaporn]

6 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Mensa member, nuff said

I never would have guessed.  LOL

You set yourself up for that one . . . 

[Tippaporn]

6 hours ago, CharlieH said:

I always found "common sense" to be more valuable, many "intelligent" people seem to lack it for some reason ????

 

My sister is Mensa.  She's sharp as a tack on some subject matter and dumb as rocks on others.  What's the conclusion here?  Intelligence is vastly overrated.  It's been said in some circles that if the earth had to rely on intelligence alone in order to maintain it's orbit around the sun then it's orbit wouldn't last a nanosecond.

[Tippaporn]

I like to say that through our intelligence we are technologically advanced and at the same time our heavy, even singular focus on intelligence may well be what makes and keeps us spiritual Neanderthals.

 

We're like children with matches.  We've lost anything that could temper how we use those matches.  We can use them beneficially as a spark to provide us with life-giving warmth or we can use them destructively to light the world on fire.  It seems to me the later is the path so many 'intelligent' people have chosen to set ourselves upon.

[OneMoreFarang]

1 hour ago, Tippaporn said:

I never would have guessed.  LOL

You set yourself up for that one . . . 

Is it because of "my" winning smile? ???? 

[sipi]

My Dad was Doctor in Science, lectured chemistry at the Uni of NSW, and had an IQ off the scales. He also had full blown Asperger's.

You couldn't ask him a question like "what time is it" or "how was your trip" without getting a three hour response.

But he could dumb down hydrogen bonding or whatever into simple terms I could understand.

[Tippaporn]

51 minutes ago, Tippaporn said:

I like to say that through our intelligence we are technologically advanced and at the same time our heavy, even singular focus on intelligence may well be what makes and keeps us spiritual Neanderthals.

 

We're like children with matches.  We've lost anything that could temper how we use those matches.  We can use them beneficially as a spark to provide us with life-giving warmth or we can use them destructively to light the world on fire.  It seems to me the later is the path so many 'intelligent' people have chosen to set ourselves upon.

@OneMoreFarangWhat about this confuses you?

[OneMoreFarang]

26 minutes ago, Tippaporn said:

1 hour ago, Tippaporn said:

We can use them beneficially as a spark to provide us with life-giving warmth or we can use them destructively to light the world on fire.  It seems to me the later is the path so many 'intelligent' people have chosen to set ourselves upon.

@OneMoreFarangWhat about this confuses you?

First, I agree that if someone is intelligent this does not mean he must be a good or a bad person.

 

What confuses me is why you think so many intelligent people have set the world on fire.

Obviously I don't know all the IQs of many people who did a lot of good or a lot of bad things. If you ask me about intelligent people then people like Newton and Einstein come to my mind. But also a couple of my friends. I am sure lots of intelligent people did lots of good things in this world.

I am also sure some intelligent people did bad things. Did more intelligent people do bad things than good things? I don't think so but I don't know.

[zzaa09]

9 hours ago, CharlieH said:

I always found "common sense" to be more valuable, many "intelligent" people seem to lack it for some reason ????

 

 

Common.....as in a standard? 

I don't believe there might be such a beast except for what's been highly invented for us. 

 

 

[CharlieH]

55 minutes ago, zzaa09 said:

Common.....as in a standard? 

I don't believe there might be such a beast except for what's been highly invented for us. 

 

 

com·mon sense

/ˌkämən ˈsens/

 

noun

1. good sense and sound judgment in practical matters.

   "a common-sense approach"

[sipi]

All the intelligence in the world can be fired down by some do-gooder.."I'm offended by that"..

[sipi]

2 minutes ago, sipi said:

All the intelligence in the world can be fired down by some do-gooder.."I'm offended by that"..

I'm offended by that.

[Tippaporn]

14 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

First, I agree that if someone is intelligent this does not mean he must be a good or a bad person.

 

What confuses me is why you think so many intelligent people have set the world on fire.

Obviously I don't know all the IQs of many people who did a lot of good or a lot of bad things. If you ask me about intelligent people then people like Newton and Einstein come to my mind. But also a couple of my friends. I am sure lots of intelligent people did lots of good things in this world.

I am also sure some intelligent people did bad things. Did more intelligent people do bad things than good things? I don't think so but I don't know.

While I am pointing out that intelligence can be used as a double-edged sword (you have, as provided by you, your distinguished Newtons and Einsteins and, as well, your devious criminal masterminds, amongst which many of the political and business class certainly fall into) I am more focused on making the point that intelligence is much overrated.  You could say that it has been given an almost all-powerful status, especially in regards to solving all earthly problems and answering all unanswered questions.  Yet it is only one of many attributes, or characteristics of consciousness.  It does indeed serve a vital role.  But so do all of our other attributes.  Some of those other attributes, by the way, are in fact openly disparaged.

 

What I'm trying to convey in that post is that intelligence, given it's mighty power, will fail us if that is all we rely upon to 'save' us from our problems or to create a more idyllic future.  We have many 'intelligent' people charged with steering us into a brighter future yet one needs only a quick glance around the world to see that this brighter future which these charged individuals are bringing us into is actually closer to a dystopian nightmare.  Covid is but one small example.  Their attempts to bring this future into being is metaphorically lighting the world on fire.

 

Intelligence left to run amok by itself without being tempered with or guided by the virtues of temperance, prudence, courage, fortitude, justice. faith, hope, love and charity is doomed to be perverted to work against us.

 

I think we are more in agreement than not, OMF, true?

 

Edited December 14, 2021 by Tippaporn

[Tippaporn]

Also, in the many prize championship fights between intelligence and belief more often than not intelligence gets K.O.'d in the first round.

[jerrymahoney]

I feel stupid when I reply to this guy's topics (like right now).

Edited December 14, 2021 by jerrymahoney

[OneMoreFarang]

1 hour ago, Tippaporn said:

While I am pointing out that intelligence can be used as a double-edged sword (you have, as provided by you, your distinguished Newtons and Einsteins and, as well, your devious criminal masterminds, amongst which many of the political and business class certainly fall into) I am more focused on making the point that intelligence is much overrated.  You could say that it has been given an almost all-powerful status, especially in regards to solving all earthly problems and answering all unanswered questions.  Yet it is only one of many attributes, or characteristics of consciousness.  It does indeed serve a vital role.  But so do all of our other attributes.  Some of those other attributes, by the way, are in fact openly disparaged.

 

What I'm trying to convey in that post is that intelligence, given it's mighty power, will fail us if that is all we rely upon to 'save' us from our problems or to create a more idyllic future.  We have many 'intelligent' people charged with steering us into a brighter future yet one needs only a quick glance around the world to see that this brighter future which these charged individuals are bringing us into is actually closer to a dystopian nightmare.  Covid is but one small example.  Their attempts to bring this future into being is metaphorically lighting the world on fire.

 

Intelligence left to run amok by itself without being tempered with or guided by the virtues of temperance, prudence, courage, fortitude, justice. faith, hope, love and charity is doomed to be perverted to work against us.

 

I think we are more in agreement than not, OMF, true?

This is a complex subject, as you know.

Intelligence is necessary for many task/jobs to be able to understand what's going on and to decide what to do. And I am sure intelligence brings good and bad people in positions to be able to do something - good or bad.

I never thought much about it because it is like it is. Like the sun will rise tomorrow, there is not much point thinking about it.

 

Personally I am sure I have more intelligent friends than not so intelligent people (lets be nice and call IQ 100 people not stupid). I also know some people who I like and who I am pretty sure are not very bright. I.e. one of them if feeding animals. It seems he loves that job and is happy with it.

 

On the other hand I am often enough upset with "idiots". It might be the way they drive, it might be how they (try to) work, etc.. So all in all I wouldn't mind if more humans would be a lot more intelligent than they are.

 

It seems IQ is the most researched subject in psychology. And it seems IQ is relative speaking the best matching criteria for success. Not the only criteria, but from all the criteria the most significant. 

 

[peter zwart]

21 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

One of my favorite quotes is this one:

“Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.” George Carlin

I dont get it ????

[OneMoreFarang]

1 hour ago, peter zwart said:

I dont get it ????

Half the people must be in the other half - don't take it personal. ???? 

[sezze]

TBH , and everything i've seen from the growing up . Yes i'm not 35 anymore , but i've seen the educational system go down  ( people having chem degrees and don't know what is dangerous or not because they only learned from books ) . The way i seen things grow makes me think , yes people now are certainly smart then they used to be . They do know <deleted>loads more about posting movies on YT and similar , but actually knowing things , i am afraid of the future . This does  not matter for me , im old enough to get me around this wave but i am sure that this will go well beyond my time on this planet .

[peter zwart]

9 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Half the people must be in the other half - don't take it personal. ???? 

hahaha excellent. Cheers mate. Its always good to know where you stand. 

[Gsxrnz]

16 hours ago, sipi said:

I'm offended by that.

I think you just invented Self Offence. 

[OneMoreFarang]

2 hours ago, Tippaporn said:

Also, in the many prize championship fights between intelligence and belief more often than not intelligence gets K.O.'d in the first round.

Is that a fault of intelligent people? Or is the problem that there are more people who believe some crazy things and not enough intelligent people to educate all those believers.

[OneMoreFarang]

5 minutes ago, peter zwart said:

hahaha excellent. Cheers mate. Its always good to know where you stand. 

Did I mention which half? ... 

[peter zwart]

1 minute ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Did I mention which half? ... 

Nope, but that i can still fill in myself.

[Tippaporn]

2 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

This is a complex subject, as you know.

Intelligence is necessary for many task/jobs to be able to understand what's going on and to decide what to do. And I am sure intelligence brings good and bad people in positions to be able to do something - good or bad.

I never thought much about it because it is like it is. Like the sun will rise tomorrow, there is not much point thinking about it.

 

Personally I am sure I have more intelligent friends than not so intelligent people (lets be nice and call IQ 100 people not stupid). I also know some people who I like and who I am pretty sure are not very bright. I.e. one of them if feeding animals. It seems he loves that job and is happy with it.

 

On the other hand I am often enough upset with "idiots". It might be the way they drive, it might be how they (try to) work, etc.. So all in all I wouldn't mind if more humans would be a lot more intelligent than they are.

 

It seems IQ is the most researched subject in psychology. And it seems IQ is relative speaking the best matching criteria for success. Not the only criteria, but from all the criteria the most significant. 

 

This is a complex subject, as you know.

 

As evidenced by the sparsity of responses?  Well, either that or a lack of interest in the subject matter.  No judgement implied.

 

And I am sure intelligence brings good and bad people in positions to be able to do something - good or bad.

 

Questions:  Wouldn't a high degree of intelligence be able to recognise the difference between 'good' and 'bad'?  Wouldn't that intelligence also fully understand that 'good' is better than 'bad'?  And finally wouldn't that understanding then be prohibitive of intelligence being bent to ill ends?  Maybe I'm no good at maths but something doesn't seem to add up with this reasoning.

 

I never thought much about it because it is like it is. Like the sun will rise tomorrow, there is not much point thinking about it.

 

I think about it because intelligence is so ballyhooed and yet I've witnessed complete idiocy at times emanating out of highly intelligent people.  Makes me wonder how that works.  There must be more in play.

 

On the other hand I am often enough upset with "idiots".

 

Are idiots simply and truly 100% idiots all of the time or are they perhaps highly intelligent individuals who have temporary devolved to idiocy?  As I've said, often enough I've heard the sheerest nonsense come out of the mouths of otherwise highly intelligent people.  How to explain the contradiction?  Has intelligence failed?

And it seems IQ is, relatively speaking, the best matching criteria for success.

 

This makes for some good questions.  What the 'ell is success?  How many different yardsticks might be out there?  And might some of them be for sh!t?

Sorry, OMF.  It's been said that every subject is an endless subject.  On this I agree.  And since it's true then it's always a question of how far the track one wishes to go.

[Tippaporn]

1 hour ago, OneMoreFarang said:

4 hours ago, Tippaporn said:

Also, in the many prize championship fights between intelligence and belief more often than not intelligence gets K.O.'d in the first round.

Is that a fault of intelligent people? Or is the problem that there are more people who believe some crazy things and not enough intelligent people to educate all those believers.

What I'm suggesting here (and in a subsequent post) is the notion that a highly intelligent individual can also be an utter dolt.  Intelligence of any degree does not ensure that intelligence is at the fore at all times.  Or put differently, we are in truth multi-faceted.  Just as no one is 100% 'bad' neither is no one 100% 'good'.  It is, however, assuredly a 100% mix.

So given the concept that even a genius is capable of behaving foolishly then what factors come into play which would determine which face is going to appear at any given time?

The question must be asked, "What is belief?"  For myself I already have satisfying answers to that question.  And so if I were a betting man I would put my money on belief more often than not to kick the living stuffing out of intelligence.  I may even go so far to say that I think intelligence in the face of belief is oftentimes quite cowardly.  I may lose some of my wagers but overall I think I'd make myself quite wealthy.

 

I'll provide a real world example from my own life.  I grew up in the SW suburbs of Chicago.  Back when I was a youngster there was quite a racial divide as the black population expansion from the city would encroach upon all-white neighborhoods.  Peoples' home values would literally plummet to worthlessness.  Segregation has it's consequences, as do all things.  Anyway, some acrimony is justifiably understandable.

In any case, the SW of Chicago and it's suburbs were much more racially biased than the rest of the city and it's surroundings.  There was one family I knew in particular whose head of household was indeed a very intelligent, successful, upstanding and respected gentleman.  But when he got 'round to talking about dem coloured folk . . . 

That example should serve well enough for my point.  Intelligence will have it's voice immediately cancelled by belief.  And you thought Twitter and FB were bad.  Ha!  You ain't seen nuthin'.

 

Edited December 15, 2021 by Tippaporn

[OneMoreFarang]

I will try to answer/comment on some of this.

32 minutes ago, Tippaporn said:

Questions:  Wouldn't a high degree of intelligence be able to recognise the difference between 'good' and 'bad'?  Wouldn't that intelligence also fully understand that 'good' is better than 'bad'?  And finally wouldn't that understanding then be prohibitive of intelligence being bent to ill ends?  Maybe I'm no good at maths but something doesn't seem to add up with this reasoning.

I think often there is good and bad combined in many of us, maybe even all of us. I.e. I know an intelligent guy who seems to be a nice guy. I also know that he used to run a criminal business ripping off what he would call stupid people who asked for it. 

And is being good for individuals always better than being bad? I.e. some people are rich because they convinced idiots to invest money with crazy and unrealistic promises. Is that bad? At least in this forum many people laugh about idiots who lose their money because they wanted to make 50% profit is a month.

Sometimes I think it's difficult for us if someone is good or bad, or both, but as long as he is good in regards to us we don't really care about the bad side.

 

42 minutes ago, Tippaporn said:

I think about it because intelligence is so ballyhooed and yet I've witnessed complete idiocy at times emanating out of highly intelligent people.  Makes me wonder how that works.  There must be more in play.

Did you ever participate in a comprehensive intelligence test? It goes on for hours and contains many aspects of intelligence. People with high IQ don't have to be top in all tests. As far as I know if they are very good in some tests they can be bad in other tests and still are all together considered high intelligent people.

 

And intelligence <> knowledge. I.e. maybe an intelligent person is convinced to invest in something because he has no or little knowledge about (that specific) investment. And it doesn't really matter if that investment is in cryptocurrency or a coffee shop or a fish farm.

 

And now enough of this (at least for the moment). I have to use my intelligence to do some work for which I get paid.

[Tippaporn]

Here's another outstanding example of massive intelligence failure.  Or at least intelligence taking a huge fart.

As I've mentioned earlier my sister is Mensa and not bashful about it, either.  So during Thanksgiving at her house one year I'm in her expansive kitchen sitting at the island with my 26 year old nephew singing the praises of Thai women to him (he was single).  My sister was well within earshot as she was engaged in cooking.

 

Some backstory:  My sister was raised amongst all of the women's lib ideology drilled incessantly into the heads of females in the 60's and 70's.  I can't say which ideas she accepted and which ones she rejected but she did come away agreeing strongly with the notion that women had suffered terribly in a subservient posture to men.  And that idea certainly produced feelings of corresponding bitterness within her.

 

How this one idea played out for her in her real world was to sit in judgement over the acceptable ways a woman was able to show her affection for her man.  If any action hinted in the slightest of subservience all 'ell would break loose.  I know.

 

Years earlier I had related a story to her of my then girlfriend squatting at my feet shining my dirty shop shoes as I was buttoning my shirt.  I had remarked to her about that experience, "My God, what you can do with this if you reciprocated!"  I don't think she ever heard me utter those words as she was beet red over the image of a woman squatting at the feet of a male.  Her own brother, no less.  She immediately called me a male chauvinist amongst other nasty words I didn't bother to remember.

Of course, a man was able to show his affection for his woman without restrictions of any kind.  Hypocrisy is blind.

 

So back to our Thanksgiving.  Upon hearing my enthusiastic endorsement of Thai women my sister looked past me towards my nephew with steely eyes, a furrowed brow, and pursed lips and spat out, "Thai women are stupid.  Stick to American women.  At least you can talk to them"

She's Mensa.  What happened to her intelligence??????  Where'd it go??????  It was gone and in it's place stood a bigoted, acrimonious, and hurtful idiot.

 

Edited December 15, 2021 by Tippaporn

[473geo]

Self interest defines a person much more than intelligence, intelligence however may facilitate a more accomodating mechanism 

[Tippaporn]

2 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Is that a fault of intelligent people? Or is the problem that there are more people who believe some crazy things and not enough intelligent people to educate all those believers.

I must add this comment.

Years and years and years ago I came across the true definition of humbleness (and kudos to anyone who can ascertain the source of the quote).  "True humbleness is knowing that no one is better than you and that you are no better than anyone else."  And more kudos to anyone who truly comprehends that sage definition (which admittedly is pretty easy to do).

 

And now another real life tale:

On a visit to my sister once I was sitting on the can in the bathroom and as is typical in many loos in the west there was a stack of reading material provided.  In this case the rags were published by Mensa.org.  Hmmm, I thought.  What do Mensa folk talk about amongst themselves?  What kind of articles do they write?  What kinds of thoughts do they have?

 

So I thumbed through the topmost magazine and hit upon an article for which I forget the exact title.  The article was a lamentation, more or less, about the sad lack of consulting with Mensa members by society writ large in finding solutions to the world's problems.  The heartbreaking truth the author exposed was that the brightest members of the human race were unbelievably under utilised (and perhaps under appreciated as well).

 

Some might accusatorily call hubris on the author.  Perhaps.  Myself, I consider the author's sentiment to be due to a lack of knowledge.  I'm sure the guy is intelligent enough but is his knowledge sufficient?

 

Edited December 15, 2021 by Tippaporn