Any geniuses out there?

quote:

---

Originally posted by Andrew B.:
My spatial awareness is SO bad that if I go on holiday and stay in the same rented house for a couple of weeks you could put me in a room on the top floor and I would have pretty much no idea which room was underneath me. In fact I even have trouble doing that in my own house and I have lived here for 5 years!

---

It always astonished me that everyone doesn't walk around with a basic physical map of the world in their head, from the planet level, right down to the position of plates in their cabinets.

I also don't know how my wife can navigate herself around, without knowing the relative positions of things. She seems to subsist purely with signs, landmarks, and rudimentary driving directions. If she misses one of her cues, she has almost no idea where she is in the universe. If she can't backtrack, then she'll actually lower herself to asking for directions. In fact, she once suggested that her father's place (120km to the west) is on the way to her mother's place (300km to the northeast).

quote:

---

Intelligence is a strange thing and IQ doesn't explain much of it.

---

Agreed! Ultimately, there are many kinds of intelligence, although I don't stoop to suggesting that "Everyone is intelligent in some way", because I know of many stupid people. (I also abhor the expression "People aren't stupid: they just do stupid things.")

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

IQ does measure some aspect of intelligence but there's far more to intelligence than IQ.

I often try to look at philosophical issues from an evolutionary perspective.

Scientists trying to understand about the intelligence and brain size of gorillas, compared their behaviour with that of other animals with a similar diet and living in a similar environment (some type of deer I believe). They concluded that the main use of the gorillas' larger brain was for far more complex social interactions within their gorilla groups.

Later observations of monkeys and apes led to the conclusion that relative brain size was related to the size of the social group to which the animals belonged.

So, applying this thinking to humans leads me to the terrible conclusion that the most intelligent humans are probably, horror of horror ...



... politicians.

Steve Margolis
defy convention - make music

quote:

---

"The College Application Essay"

---

That was one of the funniest things that I've ever read! I love good satire. That reminds me... it's been a while since I checked out The Onion

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

Mike

quote:

---

If she can't backtrack, then she'll actually lower herself to asking for directions.

---

That is one of the essential differences between men and women; when women are lost they ask for directions when men are lost (which they never admit) they continue driving till the gas runs out - and blame the inadequate signage.

cheers

Nigel

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(*)I spent 6 months of my gap year being a rocket scientist.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now Paul, you've got us all on the edge of our seats - tell us more!


"rocket" = elongated dustbin containing a large, semi-contolled fire.

Not exactly "rocket-science"

The real rocket science is usually the control system, navigation system, recovery system and payload.....

Cheers

Don

With sincere apologies to Paul R.....