5 ms·
It's particularly amazing how high functioning people who lack basic logical reasoning skills can be. I have to admit: sometimes it takes me weeks (or even mon
by smanek 18y ago
It's particularly amazing how high functioning people who lack basic logical reasoning skills can be.
I have to admit: sometimes it takes me weeks (or even months) to realize that someone I know is a complete idiot. The problem is that day-to-day interaction is so scripted that there is no opportunity for them to reveal how stupid they really are. But as soon as you deviate from the script and try to work together on a real problem or argue about something it becomes embarrassingly evident.
I've starting trying to provoke little academic arguments with new people just as a quick intelligence test (this seems marginally more socially acceptable than trying to unearth some other proxies for intelligence).
- hugothefrog 18y agoHah, I think I might have met you before ;) In all seriousness, can you give me an example of the sorts of arguments you start? In a more idealistic phase of my life, I used to start political arguments at the drop of a hat. Not to verify someone's political leanings were like mine, but to instead verify that they had thought about (the) issue(s), and developed any opinion at all. Now I just sigh when people say they don't take an interest in some topic I think is generally applicable to their lives.
- knightinblue 18y agoin some topic I think is generally applicable to their lives. No offense, but you have absolutely no business deciding what's applicable to someone else's life. Just because it's interesting to you doesn't mean it has to be for others. And if it isn't, it's still perfectly acceptable. I sigh when people judge others for not caring about things that they themselves care about.
- hugothefrog 18y agoFair point, and perhaps poorly worded on my behalf. You may disagree with me, but I think there is some political, social-economical, geo-political or even local-government topics that effect everyone. Or rather, there is at least one topic that effects every single person, whether they think it or not. That was more what I was getting at.
- eru 18y agoRational ignorance may still be the best option. (From a game theoretic individualistic point of view, of course.)
- jedc 18y agoI always enjoy chatting with people about the Monty Hall problem. That separates the people with flexible minds (or statistics knowledge) from all the rest...
- deleted 18y ago[deleted]