Did you all remember to turn your clocks BACK one hour? If not, you’ll be early to where ever you’re going! heheh
Sunday, November 4, 2007
“What Is Intelligence, Anyway?” by Isaac Asimov
What is intelligence, anyway? When I was in the army, I received the kind of aptitude test that all soldiers took and, against a normal of 100, scored 160. No one at the base had ever seen a figure like that, and for two hours they made a big fuss over me. (It didn’t mean anything. The next day I was still a buck private with KP—kitchen police—as my highest duty.)
All my life I’ve been registering scores like that, so that I have the complacent feeling that I’m highly intelligent, and I expect other people to think so too. Actually, though, don’t such scores simply mean that I am very good at answering the type of academic questions that are considered worthy of answers by people who make up the intelligence tests—people with intellectual bents similar to mine?
For instance, I had an auto-repair man once, who, on these intelligence tests, could not possibly have scored more than 80, by my estimate. I always took it for granted that I was far more intelligent than he was. Yet, when anything went wrong with my car I hastened to him with it, watched him anxiously as he explored its vitals, and listened to his pronouncements as though they were divine oracles—and he always fixed my car.
Well, then, suppose my auto-repair man devised questions for an intelligence test. Or suppose a carpenter did, or a farmer, or, indeed, almost anyone but an academician. By every one of those tests, I’d prove myself a moron, and I’d be a moron, too. In a world where I could not use my academic training and my verbal talents but had to do something intricate or hard, working with my hands, I would do poorly. My intelligence, then, is not absolute but is a function of the society I live in and of the fact that a small subsection of that society has managed to foist itself on the rest as an arbiter of such matters.
Consider my auto-repair man, again. He had a habit of telling me jokes whenever he saw me. One time he raised his head from under the automobile hood to say: “Doc, a deaf-and-mute guy went into a hardware store to ask for some nails. He put two fingers together on the counter and made hammering motions with the other hand. The clerk brought him a hammer. He shook his head and pointed to the two fingers he was hammering. The clerk brought him nails. He picked out the sizes he wanted, and left. Well, doc, the next guy who came in was a blind man. He wanted scissors. How do you suppose he asked for them?”
Indulgently, I lifted by right hand and made scissoring motions with my first two fingers. Whereupon my auto-repair man laughed raucously and said, “Why, you dumb jerk, he used his voice and asked for them.” Then he said smugly, “I’ve been trying that on all my customers today.” “Did you catch many?” I asked. “Quite a few,” he said, “but I knew for sure I’d catch you.” “Why is that?” I asked. “Because you’re so goddamned educated, doc, I knew you couldn’t be very smart.”
And I have an uneasy feeling he had something there.
All Done with a Single Stroke of the Pen
Amazing portrait of Christ (circa 1884)
drawn with only ONE penstroke!
Full size: m3.entitea.com/piles/?s=onepenstroke
Fascinating Stories: The iPod Revolution
“The iPod Revolution” is a fascinating documentary that aired on the Discovery Channel in December of 2006. It traces the evolution of the iPod from Steve Jobs return to Apple to the present day. [2006, Length 43:30]Watch video free online: video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6960974522224017009
Read more on Steve Jobs: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs
Laugh of the Day
From my cousin Scott:
One day, Little Red Riding Hood is skipping along the forest road when she sees the big bad wolf crouched down behind a log. “My, what big eyes you have, Mr. Wolf.”
The wolf jumps up and runs away.
Further down the road Little Red Riding Hood sees the wolf again and this time he is crouched behind a bush. “My what big ears you have, Mr. Wolf.”
Again the wolf jumps up and runs away. 
About ¼ mile down the road Little Red Riding Hood sees the wolf again and this time he is crouched down behind a rock. “My what big teeth you have Mr. Wolf.”
With that the wolf jumps up and screams, “Will you knock it off, I’m trying to poop!”
Editing Tip(s) of the Day
Today tips are from Christa Allan, whose excellent article: GROWING GRAMMAR: WONDER WORDS (as in…I wonder which word to use?) can be found at the following blog: ginaconroy.com/groupblog/wordpress/?p=689
T-Shirt of the Day
These t-shirts are:
Charcoal (shown), Black, Cardinal, Navy, Military Green, Red, Royal, Brown: $21.99 for Sm-XL and $24.99 for 2X-4X Large.
White: $16.99 for Sm-XL and $19.99 for 2X-4X Large.
You can order by clicking on the image.
Other colors and products with the “out of bed” design can be found here: www.cafepress.com/jabetasresale/1474656
All designs can be found here: www.cafepress.com/jabetasresale
Photo of the Day
I have no information on this beautiful scenic photo. I just know that I would love to spend every day exploring this gorgeous setting. I wish people would give credit to the photographer when they post pics they find elsewhere. If anyone knows anything about this fantastic photo, please leave me a comment so I can credit the photographer and possibly add a link.
Today's Words: nihilism, nomenclature
nihilism
nomenclature
nihilism: \nī'ə-lĭz'əm, nē'-\; a revolutionary doctrine that advocates destruction of the social system for its own sake; the delusion that things (or everything, including the self) do not exist; a sense that everything is unreal; complete denial of all established authority and institutions.
nomenclature: \nō'mən-klā'chər, nō-měn'klə-\; a set or system of names or terms, as those used in a particular science or art, by an individual or community, etc.; the names or terms comprising a set or system.
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