Why is anti-intellectualism so rampant?
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You didn't need to soften your wording - people question our decision and my ability alllll the time. It doesn't upset me anymore. If you met my kids, you'd get it.
Lots of people suck at "homeschooling" so I get the surprise and distaste for it.0 -
I'm the first to admit that I don't think I'd pass a test to Mensa. Not that I have tried. On the other hand I don't care that much, because my time is limited and it isn't a thing I'd want to invest much energy in at the moment; just to say that I don't perceive it as a group of snobs at all.People are
a) afraid/intimidated by intelligence and ideas because it makes them feel bad about themselves for not having those thoughts. They feel inferior and don't want to. Also because
b) being an intellectual--one who enjoys thinking and ideas--takes work. It means not taking the easy route.
What I do think, however, is that intelligence and being an intellectual is hard work, like you said. I don't want to be mediocre, but want to live up to my full potential. I might not succeed but I sure as heck will try and I don't mean this last portion as self-congratulatory at all, but I do think one must possess a certain level of self-acceptance and honesty to say "this is as far as my mind could take me". I don't think everyone has the balls to go out and explore how far their genetic makeup can take them, so they might settle for the mediocre.
Which brings me on to:
Personally I don't care much for IQ tests. It's enough for me to do the laziness test; does someone try to live up to their potential or not? I see lots of people, who could do great things, but they are way too lazy to do anything at all. I personally perceive it as obligation to use what I was given and it can be hard at times to look at people, who just keep taking. They were gifted this beautiful life and they don't "give back".
I don't think there is a reliable way to measure it. Personally I think its best summed up as the basic curiosity that inspires a drive to want to learn, and the wherewithal to follow through and actually do it. The people I'd say are lacking are the ones who don't have any desire to know anything, and happy just drifting through, never thinking to question anything or anyone or to challenge themselves. The ones who just space off and watch things happen without ever asking why, or better yet wondering if there is a better way to make things happen.How do you (meaning any one of you) measure intelligence?
As for school and education, Sir Ken Robinson has given a TEDtalk with monster viewer numbers at this point about school. I think everyone should watch it, teachers and decision-makers included. There are many other talks on education there, too, but that's the first I usually recommend.0 -
You didn't need to soften your wording - people question our decision and my ability alllll the time. It doesn't upset me anymore. If you met my kids, you'd get it.
Lots of people suck at "homeschooling" so I get the surprise and distaste for it.
You may be doing a great job. I'm not saying that you aren't. Without objective testing, however, there is no way for anyone to know. I personally want my kids tested regularly as I want to make damn sure that they understand the material in school, and I want them to practice test taking. It's as much of a skill as anything else and I want them accustomed to it.
ETA: And yea, I did need to soften it. The first statement definitely didn't properly convey my thinking and I am in no way insulting your approach with your kids.0 -
You didn't need to soften your wording - people question our decision and my ability alllll the time. It doesn't upset me anymore. If you met my kids, you'd get it.
Lots of people suck at "homeschooling" so I get the surprise and distaste for it.
You may be doing a great job. I'm not saying that you aren't. Without objective testing, however, there is no way for anyone to know. I personally want my kids tested regularly as I want to make damn sure that they understand the material in school, and I want them to practice test taking. It's as much of a skill as anything else and I want them accustomed to it.
I guess I don't understand how you think objective testing shows proficiency in a subject more than a 1 on 1 education where the teacher is directly involved in every step of the process. It just doesn't seem, to me, why one would be superior to the other.
I agree that test taking is a skill. My kids do math drills every day - they are timed and must complete the problems in a minute or less. I do these drills because it pushes my kids and they love them - it also shows me where their weakness is. If we learn about something like the Revolutionary War, I ask them questions at the end of the lesson to not only make sure they understood what we learned, but to encourage critical thinking, and to draw their own conclusions on the information I give (I'm constantly telling them "use your context clues!").
So no, I don't formally test my kids, but I do have my own way of making sure that the concept is fully understood. I'll also randomly throw out questions about things we may have learned weeks ago to keep them on their toes, or surprise them with a math drill containing subtraction rather than fractions just to make sure they aren't forgetting the basics.
I'm not trying to defend myself, or prove that I'm awesome. I'm just trying to explain how we approach learning here.0 -
It's not "being a nerd", it's not being ignorant...
'Tis simple: ignorance is bliss. It's easier to live a life controlled by others/things 'outside of your hands' than to face the cruel reality of the world and take responsibility for yourself.0 -
The internet is a big part of it too. It's been lowering IQs of students and normal people since 1995 and has all but killed civility in America if not elsewhere too. It's made stars of the illiterate and stupid thanks to youtube and now it's spread to the tv shows with all these reality shows featuring people barely smart enough to tie their shoes.0
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I know that chicks dig nerds.
As long as they look rich in their leased beemers
I'm not really appreciative of the implication here that women are seeking rich above all else. Jeesh. We just ran straight into misogyny with this.0 -
A sapiosexual is someone sexually attracted to intelligence. I am one myself.
Amen sister0 -
I know that chicks dig nerds.
As long as they look rich in their leased beemers
I'm not really appreciative of the implication here that women are seeking rich above all else. Jeesh. We just ran straight into misogyny with this.
what a weak claim0 -
This is how threads get derailed into pathetic nothingness. People must comment on the car crash and so it evolves into a train wreck. Way to go. Why not just ignore sh1t stirrers like that? I brought up wisdom versus intelligence earlier and sorry to say your move isn't wise in any way.I know that chicks dig nerds.
As long as they look rich in their leased beemers
I'm not really appreciative of the implication here that women are seeking rich above all else. Jeesh. We just ran straight into misogyny with this.0 -
I know that chicks dig nerds.
As long as they look rich in their leased beemers
I'm not really appreciative of the implication here that women are seeking rich above all else. Jeesh. We just ran straight into misogyny with this.
Both are really silly generalizations, and not worth any sort of outrage time.0 -
The internet is a big part of it too. It's been lowering IQs of students and normal people since 1995 and has all but killed civility in America if not elsewhere too. It's made stars of the illiterate and stupid thanks to youtube and now it's spread to the tv shows with all these reality shows featuring people barely smart enough to tie their shoes.
The reality show phenom is something I *really* don't get. I didn't even do The Real World back when it was "real".0 -
The internet is a big part of it too. It's been lowering IQs of students and normal people since 1995 and has all but killed civility in America if not elsewhere too. It's made stars of the illiterate and stupid thanks to youtube and now it's spread to the tv shows with all these reality shows featuring people barely smart enough to tie their shoes.
Luddite attitudes are rampant.
In reality, IQ scores have been increasing since the thirties; this is known as the Flynn effect.
And yes, you can google that.0 -
In reality, IQ scores have been increasing since the thirties; this is known as the Flynn effect.
And yes, you can google that.
I hadn't heard of this. I don't put much stock into IQ, but it's still an interesting topic to read up on - thanks for sharing.0 -
The government wants stupid people.0
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Clover, have I told you lately how much I love you?0 -
The government wants stupid people.
I don't think it's just the government. Yes, quite a bit of ignorance comes from the under-funded schools (in the US, anyway) but even more comes from our general laziness and complacency. We're happy "knowing" what we "know" and don't want anything to challenge us. We have a tendency to overemphasize information that agrees with our point of view and trivialize information that does not. Honestly, I think people grow and evolve from being challenged but we're just too afraid of being challenged because we could be proven wrong.0 -
The government wants stupid people.
I don't think it's just the government. Yes, quite a bit of ignorance comes from the under-funded schools (in the US, anyway) but even more comes from our general laziness and complacency. We're happy "knowing" what we "know" and don't want anything to challenge us. We have a tendency to overemphasize information that agrees with our point of view and trivialize information that does not. Honestly, I think people grow and evolve from being challenged but we're just too afraid of being challenged because we could be proven wrong.
Not meaning schools but entertainment for example. If you ever saw the movie Idiocracy I think that is where we are going.0 -
The government wants stupid people.
I don't think it's just the government. Yes, quite a bit of ignorance comes from the under-funded schools (in the US, anyway) but even more comes from our general laziness and complacency. We're happy "knowing" what we "know" and don't want anything to challenge us. We have a tendency to overemphasize information that agrees with our point of view and trivialize information that does not. Honestly, I think people grow and evolve from being challenged but we're just too afraid of being challenged because we could be proven wrong.
Not meaning schools but entertainment for example. If you ever saw the movie Idiocracy I think that is where we are going.
Yeah, we also have a tendency to pay attention to things that don't really matter (ie, "Ooo, Kim and Kanye just got married!" instead of "I wonder how things are going in Crimea?") once again, because they make us comfortable. Kim and Kanye's wedding is something I could easily bring up on facebook without being called names and insulted, but anything too political or too important is taboo.
I saw a bit of Idiocracy with my AP biology class in high school. One of the students in the class actually thought that watering plants with sports drinks was a good idea... :noway:0 -
I saw a bit of Idiocracy with my AP biology class in high school. One of the students in the class actually thought that watering plants with sports drinks was a good idea... :noway:
Lol. I see shows like Wipe-Out and all I can think is "Ow My Balls!"0 -
Clover, have I told you lately how much I love you?I don't think it's just the government. Yes, quite a bit of ignorance comes from the under-funded schools (in the US, anyway) but even more comes from our general laziness and complacency. We're happy "knowing" what we "know" and don't want anything to challenge us. We have a tendency to overemphasize information that agrees with our point of view and trivialize information that does not. Honestly, I think people grow and evolve from being challenged but we're just too afraid of being challenged because we could be proven wrong.
The feeling is mutual, new friend.0 -
My guess?
Politically, it's easier to say, "No more taxes!, "Stay the Course" or "Hope and Change" than to divulge the nuances that make cadidates' opinions different from one another.
Economically, it is difficult to have a content workforce if they are all striving for the top.
Militarily, to have a successful mission, you need jarheads that will not question orders when time is of great importance.
So, in other words, it's easier to lead people that lack knowledge, because knowledge is power and the powers that be don't want the added hassle.
The problem with all this is when we need an intelligent workforce, like we do now.
That's my opinion.0 -
I saw a bit of Idiocracy with my AP biology class in high school. One of the students in the class actually thought that watering plants with sports drinks was a good idea... :noway:
Lol. I see shows like Wipe-Out and all I can think is "Ow My Balls!"
Darwinism at work, my friend!0 -
I don't find anything wrong with entertainment in its various forms, as long as it's balanced by a good dosis of realism and general awareness. When attention tips toward entertainment alone, it's no wonder people have no idea of what's going on in their societies or around the world.Yeah, we also have a tendency to pay attention to things that don't really matter (ie, "Ooo, Kim and Kanye just got married!" instead of "I wonder how things are going in Crimea?") once again, because they make us comfortable. Kim and Kanye's wedding is something I could easily bring up on facebook without being called names and insulted, but anything too political or too important is taboo.
I saw a bit of Idiocracy with my AP biology class in high school. One of the students in the class actually thought that watering plants with sports drinks was a good idea... :noway:
Another story is where focus is on in the news; I find it so depressing that when I have lots going on in my personal life, I simply can't keep up or it would drain me completely. That's totally on me, though, because I can be a bit too empathetic. It feels like there's so much bad stuff happening constantly that I can't take it all in at all times.0 -
And they shouldn't. But what each and every employee should feel is value and respect for the work they do. People, no matter what their job is, should feel like an important part of the machinery.Economically, it is difficult to have a content workforce if they are all striving for the top.
"If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals." - J.K.Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.0 -
And they shouldn't. But what each and every employee should feel is value and respect for the work they do. People, no matter what their job is, should feel like an important part of the machinery.Economically, it is difficult to have a content workforce if they are all striving for the top.
"If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals." - J.K.Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
I love you so hard for quote HP in this thread
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And they shouldn't. But what each and every employee should feel is value and respect for the work they do. People, no matter what their job is, should feel like an important part of the machinery.Economically, it is difficult to have a content workforce if they are all striving for the top.
"If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals." - J.K.Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
I read a story about two brick layers. One complained that he was just a laborer toiling away doing an unchallenging job. The other felt great joy because he was a part of bringing a grand cathedral to serve generations. The attitudes of leadership certainly affect the workers, and good wages certainly help with that. We can "keep on waiting for the world to change,"
Or we can "be the change that we want to see in the world."0 -
Thanks to TheVirgoddess earlier
And they shouldn't. But what each and every employee should feel is value and respect for the work they do. People, no matter what their job is, should feel like an important part of the machinery.Economically, it is difficult to have a content workforce if they are all striving for the top.
"If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals." - J.K.Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
I read a story about two brick layers. One complained that he was just a laborer toiling away doing an unchallenging job. The other felt great joy because he was a part of bringing a grand cathedral to serve generations. The attitudes of leadership certainly affect the workers, and good wages certainly help with that. We can "keep on waiting for the world to change,"
Or we can "be the change that we want to see in the world."
Quoting Gandhi isn't too shabby either and I agree, change starts from everyone. Bitterness in general is unbelievably unattractive and the two brick layers might have been working on the same cathedral for all we know.
I thought some more about education and the second Master's I'm working on, which I mentioned earlier in the thread. Someone might think it ridiculous or something equally negative, but I don't have anything else. I'm divorced and we didn't get kids (thank god), so it's all that I have.0 -
Honestly, I think that people in general are intimidated by anyone who is smarter. Human beings are always skeptical or afraid of something they don't understand. At least, this has been my experience. I grew up in a really strange subset of society, in which as if it wasn't bad enough that I was a girl, I was (still am) also very intelligent and opinionated. These people literally could not understand why I was more interested in learning and satisfying my curiosity than growing up to find a husband and have a family, so they hated me. They did their best to make me feel like an outsider and a bad person. Fortunately, I didn't listen, but it seems that society as a whole has no idea what to do with smart people, so they do their best to hold them back and make them come down to everyone else's level.0
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And they shouldn't. But what each and every employee should feel is value and respect for the work they do. People, no matter what their job is, should feel like an important part of the machinery.Economically, it is difficult to have a content workforce if they are all striving for the top.
"If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals." - J.K.Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
This is why I love Japan. Even if they are a cashier or a janitor they do that job the best they can and always have a smile.0
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