Stupid of me to misread the table like that. ;-}
On Sun, Feb 14, 2010 at 12:11 PM, Russ Abbott <russ.abb...@gmail.com> wrote: > The table on the Wikipedia > page<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IQ_and_the_Wealth_of_Nations#National_IQ_estimates>says > we're at 98, not 93. It's apparently taken from > here <http://www.rlynn.co.uk/pages/article_intelligence/t4.asp>, which > seems to have more entries. > > > -- Russ Abbott > _____________________________________________ > Professor, Computer Science > California State University, Los Angeles > Cell phone: 310-621-3805 > o Check out my blog at http://russabbott.blogspot.com/ > > > > On Sun, Feb 14, 2010 at 10:42 AM, Douglas Roberts <d...@parrot-farm.net>wrote: > >> There are times when I do feel the need to turn to my Psittaciformes for >> some genuinely deep, intelligent, considered discourse. I'm sure that will >> come as no great surprise to you, Nick. >> >> I'd like to bludgeon home one more bit of fact that IMO supports and >> justifies my low opinion of the aggregate level if intelligence in this >> country: fully 47% of our fine US population voted for a presidential >> ticket that had Sarah Palin down for Vice President. >> >> I'd also like to throw out another troubling observation: Whenever the >> intellectual elite launch yet another discourse on one troubled aspect of >> our country or another -- health care, economic reform, the educational >> system, the political system -- they always go all academic on us. We get >> deep, thoughty intricate, theoretical symposia which never touch on the core >> issue. >> >> What is the core issue? The fact that the average IQ in the United states >> is just a notch above 90. 93, according to this >> reference,<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IQ_and_the_Wealth_of_Nations>and >> I've seen others that support it. What I have not seen is what the >> distribution of IQs for the US is, so I don't know how fat the left hand >> side tails are, but I suspect the worse. >> >> Now, I suspect that the bulk of the FRIAM readership is, or at least >> consider themselves to be several points above the US standard. So given >> that, why have we never seen a discussion oriented around how to lead a >> nation of dullards into a better social structure? >> >> I would argue, should such a discussion ever get beyond the topic of >> political correctness, that we have arrived at exactly the optimal solution. >> From the perspective of the power elite, of course. The rich, powerful >> corporations like Bechtel, BWXT, the Washington Group, Grumman, Lockheed to >> name but a few of the military industrial ones. United Health Care, Blue >> Cross, Cygna, etc. from the health care sector. Likewise, the view as seen >> by the politicians whom those very same corporate entities have purchased is >> clearly pretty rosy. >> >> From where these guys sit, it's the perfect way to run a country. The >> academics can blather all they want about theoretical optimizing solutions >> to whatever they claim are the pressing societal problems, because meanwhile >> the bulk of the populace are enchanted with Sarah Palin, the Party of No!, >> Rush, Pat Robertson, and their ilk, and the status remains Quo. Plus or >> minus a few nuances, George Orwell got it right. >> >> Then, there's the issue of cultural stupidity, which may or may not be >> related to IQ. These are the ones that Pamela refers to as unable to think >> their way past slogans they've been taught. This is a rich field for >> research, publications, speaking engagements, but one which most academics >> seem blissfully unaware. >> >> --Doug >> >> On Sun, Feb 14, 2010 at 10:44 AM, Nicholas Thompson < >> nickthomp...@earthlink.net> wrote: >> >>> Doug, >>> >>> Parroting doug ===>We truly are a nation of idiots. We deserve Rush >>> Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, and Pat Robertson <=== end parroting Doug >>> >>> I don't think one has to be stupid to engage in Dialogues of the Deaf. >>> We do that sort of thing quite well in FRIAM, from time to time, and we are, >>> ex hypothesi, VERY smart. >>> >>> Somewhere along the way, We lost our faith that there is a Truth Of The >>> Matter. In the fifties, you had to believe that you were right, when you >>> said something. Nowadays, you just have to believe you are plausible. (I >>> blame the post-modernists myself ... but now this message is becoming an >>> example of itself.) >>> >>> That having been said, are the Tea-Totallers any worse than the people >>> who put McCarthy into office in the 50's? >>> >>> Nick >>> >>> >>> >>> Nicholas S. Thompson >>> Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Ethology, >>> Clark University (nthomp...@clarku.edu) >>> http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/<http://home.earthlink.net/%7Enickthompson/naturaldesigns/> >>> http://www.cusf.org [City University of Santa Fe] >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> ----- Original Message ----- >>> *From:* Douglas Roberts <d...@parrot-farm.net> >>> *To: *The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group<friam@redfish.com> >>> *Sent:* 2/14/2010 9:05:07 AM >>> *Subject:* Re: [FRIAM] Sources of Innovation >>> >>> Pamela, >>> >>> I think the healthcare issue goes way beyond just the usual corporate >>> profit protection, pay for play political game. Look at how polarized the >>> nation has become over just this issue alone. Look at how many people * >>> don't* believe that the healthcare issue is really about healthcare >>> insurance industry profit protection. >>> >>> We truly are a nation of idiots. We deserve Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, >>> and Pat Robertson. >>> >>> Model that, if you like. The agents in the individual based simulation >>> won't need much sophistication. >>> >>> --Doug >>> >>> On Sun, Feb 14, 2010 at 8:00 AM, Pamela McCorduck <pam...@well.com>wrote: >>> >>>> When Kennedy envisioned going to the moon, no lobby existed to fight >>>> ferociously for the sole right to take the profits from going to the moon, >>>> and the sole right to decide who gets to go. >>>> >>>> If you read the not-very-deep subtext in this fight, you will see that >>>> it's not about giving better healthcare to Americans (which we desperately >>>> need) but about protecting the enormous profits of the healthcare insurance >>>> industry. It's dressed up in "right to choose," and "privacy between doctor >>>> and patient," and "keep the government out of medical care," but it's >>>> really >>>> about profit protection. From several different and reliable sources (one >>>> of >>>> them a congressional candidate) I have heard that since early last summer, >>>> the insurance and pharmaceuticals industries have been spending over $1 >>>> million per day on lobbying. It continues. You can do the arithmetic. >>>> >>>> The media regularly reports on how much better, cheaper, and more >>>> effective medical plans are all around the developed world. It doesn't >>>> penetrate $1 million-plus per day. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> On Feb 13, 2010, at 3:55 PM, Jochen Fromm wrote: >>>> >>>> Where does all this whining about health care >>>>> come from? Everyone in Germany has a health >>>>> insurance, it is obligatory. There is general >>>>> agreement here that the European (and esp. >>>>> the German) health care system is better >>>>> and more social than the one in the US. >>>>> The USA obviously needs a better health care >>>>> system. Where is the American optimism and >>>>> the "i believe we can do it" spirit? I've heard >>>>> that optimism and positive thinking is a typical >>>>> American attitude. >>>>> >>>>> America is lacking a vision, something like >>>>> Kennedy's vision to bring a man to the moon >>>>> and back. Military and NASA won't do it >>>>> this time. A vision or a common dream which >>>>> would foster technological innovation. Schmidt >>>>> mentioned "renewable energy" and green >>>>> technology. What about a clean L.A. with >>>>> fresh air? A large scale scientific initiative >>>>> to create the first AI would be another one. >>>>> America would have the resources to do it, it >>>>> has the companies with the largest data centers. >>>>> It should be proud of Google, Microsoft, >>>>> Amazon, and Apple. It is difficult to understand >>>>> why it disputes about health care so long. >>>>> >>>>> -J. >>>>> >>>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: Roger Critchlow >>>>> To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group >>>>> Sent: Saturday, February 13, 2010 6:54 PM >>>>> Subject: Re: [FRIAM] Sources of Innovation >>>>> >>>>> [...] We're too busy defending ourselves from hedge fund vampires and >>>>> health care ghouls to worry about growth. Say what you will about the >>>>> undead, they steal their profits fair and square and invest them in the >>>>> rule >>>>> of law. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >> ============================================================ >> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv >> Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College >> lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org >> > > >
============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
