Bogley

[deathcricket]

If you are low on time, just watch the 3rd video. At first I was thinking he was full of crap but the more I think about his proposals, the less I disagree. Our society does seem to have lost it's logic. And I think stupid people will end up outbreeding the the people with common sense. Also an interesting way of thinking of god. Again I cant really disagree with his logic.

Interested in 2nd & 3rd opinions, chime in.

[CarpeyBiggs]

Hmm... I watched all three. I can't say they really got the wheels in my brain turning. Maybe it is too late at night, or maybe I'm just too stupid to comprehend. I'll give it a quick crack though.

In regards to his definition of God, I think it very closely resembles how I interpret Christianity, in the sense of man's relationship to each other and man's relationship to god. The idea of "one," for instance, is a basic tenet of new testament doctrine, and I've always felt that idea tasted good and had some substance (no logic, just going on my gut). Unfortunately, I feel like that idea is completely forgotten in most Christian faiths nowadays (and most other faiths as well, to be fair.)

The only other real thought that resonated with me was the idea of a basic fundamental framework of truth from which we can derive all other truths. I'll have to think about it some more thought. But if I use just my instinct, I feel he isn't as intelligent as he believes he is... And he certainly isn't as smart as at least a few dudes on this board... :lol8:

Basically, the guy seems very "Christian" to me in most of his reasoning, without actually mentioning the need for a savior or talking about sin, damnation, or the eternities. But in regards to man's relationship to other men, god, and this earth, I think his thoughts are hardly original. :ne_nau:

[Cirrus2000]

Watched them all, and I've got to go with arrogant prick/crackpot. Can you imagine how good the world would be if he hadn't dropped out of college? What a difference it would have made, if only he'd been able to exercise all that cranial capacity in some official capacity! </sarcasm>

He'd make a hell of an air traffic controller, though. Or a pretty good pilot.

At least he didn't get into the whole savior, damnation schtick. The only sensible thing in the video was an act of exclusion. :roll:

[Brewhaha]

Basically what you have here is a 30-minute video definition of narcissism. No real insights and lots and lots of inconsistencies in ideas and actions.

The video did give real insight into the little-understood world of the genius/bouncer. More ethnographic research is needed, however.

And we can all thank a little IQ test in Omni magazine for setting this wunderkind on his heroic journey.

Thats all for now...I have to go and take the 20 question "Sexpert" quiz in my wife's Cosmopolitan. Perhaps I can become the worlds greatest sexologist/math teacher. Yee-haw.

[deathcricket]

Going to have to totally agree (with you Cirrus) on the arrogance issue. Statements like "I’ve never met a person nearly as smart as me" etc. But I do appreciate how he says several times that "I’m no better than anyone else", and " hey I work at a bar, obviously I'm not that successful at life even with my vast intelligence". I didn’t notice on how he does seem to blame it on his upbringing and circumstances though, good catch. I was thinking it was more an account of his life in a nutshell. But now that I watch it again I do see the “they didn’t recognize my brilliance” attitude. But here are the things he said that rang true. With me at least, HAHA.

1. People in our society who are extremely smart are not very successful. They are only moderately successful. Granted there are the Bill Gate examples of course, but there seems to be some component or "drive" separate from intelligence that determines your social standing. I mean let’s face it; the financially successful people are singers, actors, and professional athletes. I’m not saying they are all stupid, but “intelligent” is not the main factor I would use to describe them. I think proposing that intelligent people have more responsibility (or worth in our society?) is an awesome idea. How many kids would say, “I wanna be a rock star like paris Hilton, she’s so pretty” over “I wanna be a rocket scientist and help progress humanity” is where I’m going I guess.

2. The people making decisions about how we live (politicians) aren’t selected based on intelligence or rational thought. They are voted in by majority vote. They have “script writers” telling them what to say and just saying what “the people” want to hear. He is proposing that intelligent people are put in charge of making decisions because they are capable of making better choices and taking more factors into account. He even goes a step further (I believe) to say that the majority of people are just stupid sheep and not really capable of making correct choices. There should be some agreed upon criteria for the people who make decisions about our lives. Not just majority vote.

3. (This one I had to think about for a bit) There should be some basic requirements before you are allowed to have children. The parents should be at least screened for any birth defects they might pass on to their children. And be informed before they make a decision. Right now it's like "oh you're pregnant lets take a looksie". Something more proactive like "oh you want to have children? Lets see what possible problems you might face". He didn’t say it, but I’m thinking he would even propose some basic type of parenting classes, maybe some way for the parents to prove they are capable of taking care of the child. He does go into what crappy parents he had. But allowing anyone to just breed because “their horny” should not happen.

At first I was against this since I’m really opposed to telling people what to do with their lives. I also don’t like the idea of other people controlling how I live my life. And then there is the tricky issue of should mentally retarded people be allowed to reproduce? And so many others... But then I got to thinking that since we have no more natural selection forces, (besides the Darwin awards haha) that humanity as a whole is starting to fall into a void. Think about it…. a smart person wants to go to high school, goes to college, gets their career on track, buys a house, gets married, and then has children. A not so smart person, drops out of high school, works at Taco bell, goes out drinking as often as money will allow, and tries to get laid. In that scenario, which is going to produce the most offspring? I like that idea that freedom is a privilege and not a right. But having some basic agreed upon requirements before people are allowed to bring another life into this world is a good idea.

4. Then finally the religion talk. Ya he is a bit “christianish” but the thing I liked is he states very clearly that having “faith” and “theology” is a bunch of crap. That always bothered me immensely about the Christian religion. “God was mad at the world and wanted to kill everyone, so he told Noah to build an ark. Then 2 of every single species got in and they all lived together peacefully for 40 days and nights.” The problem with this is there are so many things you have to take on “faith”. How did the elephants and giraffes swim all the way from Africa, wouldn’t the journey take longer than the animal’s lifespan? , etc. His scenario takes those questions out of the equation. He says that god should be able to proven through logic and mathematics. And there should be some evidence that intelligent people can provide if they all put their heads together. I honestly believe there is some higher power(s) out there watching us. Be it like a “scientist studying strange mold in a beaker” or a “creator viewing his children” relationship I can’t begin to guess though. But I don’t believe in the infinite vast of the universe there isn’t some sort of intelligent or vastly intelligent beings. Star Trek for the win!

Anyways off my soapbox. Just wanted to say Carpey that I hope you respond. Even though we have vastly different opinions I like how you are always rational and logical in your approach.

Edit: Didnt see your response before I started typing my book, Brewhaha. "The little understood world of the genius bouncer". I seriously spit my mountain dew all over my desk, LMAO. Thanks a lot you jerk! :five:

[CarpeyBiggs]

deathcricket wrote: I mean let’s face it; the financially successful people are singers, actors, and professional athletes. I’m not saying they are all stupid, but “intelligent” is not the main factor I would use to describe them.
I'm not so sure this statement is true. First off, are you defining success as financial success? Or name recognition? Or what? At any rate, I think the reason superstars appear to be so wealthy is because they are so prominent in our culture. But really, someone who makes a few million dollars a year is not that common. Most of them just don't appear on ESPN or MTV everynight. Of the 400 wealthiest people in the United States, I'd bet that there is only a few "superstars" among them. Maybe not though, I could certainly be wrong on that. Here's a link from forbes, I didn't look through all of them.

http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/54/biz_06rich400_The-400-Richest-Americans_Rank.html?boxes=custom

I'm short on time, I'll respond more as I can.

[deathcricket]

No not at all. If you even look in my quotes I say "financially successful", so I don’t define success in life as financial only thing. If that were the case I would truly be a loser, haha. I make barely enough to make ends meet, but I have a wonderful marriage, 1st child, own my house, etc, etc. Everyone has his or her own idea of what succeeding in life is, so that is not possible to quantify. I was trying to basically say that a person’s intelligence is not linked directly to their financial status. But thinking more about that list you presented, there is really no way to gauge. So I will concede the point, I could very well be wrong on that. In fact I would say those people are above average intelligence.

I’m just thinking smart people tend to be engineers, scientists, biologists, mathematicians, etc (60k-120k/yr). Not CEOs, leaders, attorneys, actors, rock stars, and other jobs that pay 250k to millions a year). In my experience, the few people I have met that I would consider extremely intelligent were not the most socially adjusted people. They live in their own little world grinding out answers to problems I can only begin to fathom.

Carry on when ya get time brutha!

[Jaxx]

since I am at work I had time to look through all 16 pages. There are only a couple of guys that made money from Racetracks. Looks like you were right Carpey.