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Sorry, but America is a society that enshrines and holds intelligence so, so high. If you are "smart", you are afforded all sorts of privileges that everyone el

by kbos87 8y ago

Sorry, but America is a society that enshrines and holds intelligence so, so high. If you are "smart", you are afforded all sorts of privileges that everyone else misses out on. The intelligent don't need a sob story or a defense in America, they are scoring a close second to those that already have and control the wealth and resources here.

man2525 8y ago
I don't remember where I read it, but there are supposed centers in America for which virtues are held in high esteem. Intelligence was Cambridge, MA, wealth was Manhattan, NYC, power was Washington D.C., and health was Berkley, CA.
onion2k 8y ago
America, and most western countries, hold wealth in high esteem. Intelligent people tend to make more money, so they get in to positions that afford them privilege more easily. But there are plenty of counter-examples to that. Stupid people get to the top through other means and win those privileges, and clever people who choose to work in less well paid jobs aren't given any privilege at all. Intelligence itself rarely commands much respect at all.
labbyz 8y ago
I see an extreme focus on GPA, even employers considering that score during hiring. This is fairly alien to the other Western cultures I've sampled. Also the latest "taboo" is discrimination on intelligence. You can not help it that you were born below the IQ Bell curve. "You just gotta work harder for it" is like telling an overweight person to "just stop eating so much". Difficulty learning new material puts you at an eternal disadvantage, with no way to catch up to what smart people are learning in their teens and early twenties. The big five openly discriminate on intelligence. Intelligence and aptitude is also correlated with your upbringing (Did you have smart parents to guide your academic career and interests? Were they rich enough to help put you through a good college?). For all the renewed interest in identity politics and combating discrimination, intelligence is really the odd one out. High school teachers berate you for something that isn't your fault, it is commonly accepted to call out your low IQ, no matter how much you want to work for a tech company -- even if they favor women, poor people, minorities, war veterans, the disabled -- you are not going to get hired to fill some neurodiversity quota. The ease with which the left ridicules, stigmatizes, and marginalizes right politicians (Bush & Trump) and those that vote for them is astounding to me. "Those idiot low-educated racists ruined it all! They are not smart enough to vote rationally!". Change "low-intelligence" with any other protected status and such language becomes vile and primitive.
- davvolun 8y ago
  In my personal experience, after you've been out of school for about a year, nobody cares the least bit about GPA or any of that stuff. It's a placeholder differential for someone who doesn't yet have relevant experience. There's a big difference between someone born with a low-IQ and someone who actively maintains their own ignorance. You can argue whether the left is crossing that line in some places, but some portions of the right actively attack higher education, whether it's "trying to convert our kids to socialists" or "attacking Christian values" -- pursuing an education is positive, full stop, no matter what your IQ is. Also, "stigmatizes and marginalizes right politicians"? You're arguing politicians on the right are being marginalized? And two examples you're using are the last two GOP POTUSes? That's not marginalization. And of course, notably, for all the "coastal elites" talk -- Trump is pretty much the definition of a coastal elite, a billionaire born into privilege who went to an Ivy league college and has lived in NYC his whole life.

by kbos87 8y ago

man2525 8y ago

I don't remember where I read it, but there are supposed centers in America for which virtues are held in high esteem. Intelligence was Cambridge, MA, wealth was Manhattan, NYC, power was Washington D.C., and health was Berkley, CA.

onion2k 8y ago

America, and most western countries, hold wealth in high esteem. Intelligent people tend to make more money, so they get in to positions that afford them privilege more easily. But there are plenty of counter-examples to that. Stupid people get to the top through other means and win those privileges, and clever people who choose to work in less well paid jobs aren't given any privilege at all. Intelligence itself rarely commands much respect at all.

labbyz 8y ago

I see an extreme focus on GPA, even employers considering that score during hiring. This is fairly alien to the other Western cultures I've sampled. Also the latest "taboo" is discrimination on intelligence. You can not help it that you were born below the IQ Bell curve. "You just gotta work harder for it" is like telling an overweight person to "just stop eating so much". Difficulty learning new material puts you at an eternal disadvantage, with no way to catch up to what smart people are learning in their teens and early twenties. The big five openly discriminate on intelligence. Intelligence and aptitude is also correlated with your upbringing (Did you have smart parents to guide your academic career and interests? Were they rich enough to help put you through a good college?). For all the renewed interest in identity politics and combating discrimination, intelligence is really the odd one out. High school teachers berate you for something that isn't your fault, it is commonly accepted to call out your low IQ, no matter how much you want to work for a tech company -- even if they favor women, poor people, minorities, war veterans, the disabled -- you are not going to get hired to fill some neurodiversity quota. The ease with which the left ridicules, stigmatizes, and marginalizes right politicians (Bush & Trump) and those that vote for them is astounding to me. "Those idiot low-educated racists ruined it all! They are not smart enough to vote rationally!". Change "low-intelligence" with any other protected status and such language becomes vile and primitive.

davvolun 8y ago
In my personal experience, after you've been out of school for about a year, nobody cares the least bit about GPA or any of that stuff. It's a placeholder differential for someone who doesn't yet have relevant experience. There's a big difference between someone born with a low-IQ and someone who actively maintains their own ignorance. You can argue whether the left is crossing that line in some places, but some portions of the right actively attack higher education, whether it's "trying to convert our kids to socialists" or "attacking Christian values" -- pursuing an education is positive, full stop, no matter what your IQ is. Also, "stigmatizes and marginalizes right politicians"? You're arguing politicians on the right are being marginalized? And two examples you're using are the last two GOP POTUSes? That's not marginalization. And of course, notably, for all the "coastal elites" talk -- Trump is pretty much the definition of a coastal elite, a billionaire born into privilege who went to an Ivy league college and has lived in NYC his whole life.