Seasons
This is a forum or general chit-chat, small talk, a "hey, how ya doing?" and such. Or hell, get crazy deep on something. Whatever you like.
Posts 4,937 - 4,948 of 6,170
Posts 4,937 - 4,948 of 6,170
Regarding that thing about geniuses who can't do the more mundane things in life, it makes me wonder about things like autism and the like being more of a spectrum than a discrete entity. I mean there are examples of many an autistic person who is truly gifted at art or maths or whatever who can't get by in real life etc. Perhaps these geniuses are another form of mild autistic, the difference being that their ability to interact socially is higher than the more obvious autistic, so it's less obvious that there are aspects of "regular" life that they just can't get.
Ambition and drive are another aspect of "problem solving" that gets little attention. It seems that someone of lesser intelligence and high motivation will succeed where a more lazy genius won't. Look at politics, not very many world leaders could be called geniuses.
Most probably paid the teachers off in order to graduate school at all. I'll bet most politicians couldn't manage my 11th grade world history homework. And Im in public school...
Heh. You don't even have to pay off teachers. There's pressure to (a) keep students of the same age group together and (b) move as many students as possible into the next group, so that the "numbers" look good. So people can get a high school diploma knowing absobloodylutely nothing.
More closely related to Forge stuff:
http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=853
It's an article discussing efforts and reactions regarding robots that mimic humans.
It's an article discussing efforts and reactions regarding robots that mimic humans.
The truth is that people of different classes put emphasis on different things. It's mainly the middle class that works its ass off with the intention of all making all the old cliches of bettering oneself and getting ahead and setting up for life etc.
Although the upper classes (where the majority of our world leaders emerge from) will often put in the effort to get top marks, and will have a support network (teachers/tutors/facilities) that gives them the opportunities to achieve this, there is more of an emphasis of creating/maintaining the social network, the family legacy and the school's honour etc, etc. That is actually more likely to set them up in life than getting a string of As.
On the ambition and drive thing. I've taught kids with documented intellectual disabilities and other learning difficulties whose work craps all over that of their "normal" classmates. The difference is that they will put in the time and effort on work instead of doing it at the last minute and will pay attention to mistakes made in the past. In most cases it seems to be their drive to be "normal" that sees them getting ahead of their classmates i.e. they realise they have to work a bit harder to succeed and actually do.
Although the upper classes (where the majority of our world leaders emerge from) will often put in the effort to get top marks, and will have a support network (teachers/tutors/facilities) that gives them the opportunities to achieve this, there is more of an emphasis of creating/maintaining the social network, the family legacy and the school's honour etc, etc. That is actually more likely to set them up in life than getting a string of As.
On the ambition and drive thing. I've taught kids with documented intellectual disabilities and other learning difficulties whose work craps all over that of their "normal" classmates. The difference is that they will put in the time and effort on work instead of doing it at the last minute and will pay attention to mistakes made in the past. In most cases it seems to be their drive to be "normal" that sees them getting ahead of their classmates i.e. they realise they have to work a bit harder to succeed and actually do.
I have been known to teach gifted students, and I have seen the obverse of what Corwin describes - a large percentage of them have a negative work ethic and hence learn relatively little.
Well... I'd be inclined to say so, except that there is always the hope that the right teacher can motivate the student. Also, public school can be so horrific for gifted kids that just getting them out of there might be worthwhile. A substantial number of the gifted kids that I have known have severe psychological problems, many of which are (hard to prove this, but I am convinced) due in part to being trapped in public school. Actually, public school is pretty bad for ordinary kids, too!
Irina: Part of the problem there might be that these students were gifted enough to sail through standard classes with little or no effort. They were bored to tears: never challenged at all. They didn't need to develop a work ethic. Some of them may be self-motivated enough to seek out more challenging material, but most probably aren't.
The one useful application for IQ-tests is to determine whether a student should be left in regular classes, put in special-ed classes, or put in more challenging honor's classes. Even there, the IQ tests won't always be 100% accurate. But at least it will catch most of the outliers.
The one useful application for IQ-tests is to determine whether a student should be left in regular classes, put in special-ed classes, or put in more challenging honor's classes. Even there, the IQ tests won't always be 100% accurate. But at least it will catch most of the outliers.
I think you are right, Ulrike - they find things so easy that they never learn determination. They also never thearn the skills for attacking problems that don't collapse right away.
It seems to me that intelligence has something to do with Logic and reasoning. A more intelligent person can draw more (correct) conclusions.
» More new posts: Doghead's Cosmic Bar