The table on the Wikipedia page<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IQ_and_the_Wealth_of_Nations#National_IQ_estimates>says we're at 98, not 93. It's apparently taken from here <http://www.rlynn.co.uk/pages/article_intelligence/t4.asp>, which seems to have more entries.
-- Russ Abbott _____________________________________________ Professor, Computer Science California State University, Los Angeles Cell phone: 310-621-3805 o Check out my blog at http://russabbott.blogspot.com/ On Sun, Feb 14, 2010 at 10:42 AM, Douglas Roberts <[email protected]>wrote: > There are times when I do feel the need to turn to my Psittaciformes for > some genuinely deep, intelligent, considered discourse. I'm sure that will > come as no great surprise to you, Nick. > > I'd like to bludgeon home one more bit of fact that IMO supports and > justifies my low opinion of the aggregate level if intelligence in this > country: fully 47% of our fine US population voted for a presidential > ticket that had Sarah Palin down for Vice President. > > I'd also like to throw out another troubling observation: Whenever the > intellectual elite launch yet another discourse on one troubled aspect of > our country or another -- health care, economic reform, the educational > system, the political system -- they always go all academic on us. We get > deep, thoughty intricate, theoretical symposia which never touch on the core > issue. > > What is the core issue? The fact that the average IQ in the United states > is just a notch above 90. 93, according to this > reference,<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IQ_and_the_Wealth_of_Nations>and I've > seen others that support it. What I have not seen is what the > distribution of IQs for the US is, so I don't know how fat the left hand > side tails are, but I suspect the worse. > > Now, I suspect that the bulk of the FRIAM readership is, or at least > consider themselves to be several points above the US standard. So given > that, why have we never seen a discussion oriented around how to lead a > nation of dullards into a better social structure? > > I would argue, should such a discussion ever get beyond the topic of > political correctness, that we have arrived at exactly the optimal solution. > From the perspective of the power elite, of course. The rich, powerful > corporations like Bechtel, BWXT, the Washington Group, Grumman, Lockheed to > name but a few of the military industrial ones. United Health Care, Blue > Cross, Cygna, etc. from the health care sector. Likewise, the view as seen > by the politicians whom those very same corporate entities have purchased is > clearly pretty rosy. > > From where these guys sit, it's the perfect way to run a country. The > academics can blather all they want about theoretical optimizing solutions > to whatever they claim are the pressing societal problems, because meanwhile > the bulk of the populace are enchanted with Sarah Palin, the Party of No!, > Rush, Pat Robertson, and their ilk, and the status remains Quo. Plus or > minus a few nuances, George Orwell got it right. > > Then, there's the issue of cultural stupidity, which may or may not be > related to IQ. These are the ones that Pamela refers to as unable to think > their way past slogans they've been taught. This is a rich field for > research, publications, speaking engagements, but one which most academics > seem blissfully unaware. > > --Doug > > On Sun, Feb 14, 2010 at 10:44 AM, Nicholas Thompson < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> Doug, >> >> Parroting doug ===>We truly are a nation of idiots. We deserve Rush >> Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, and Pat Robertson <=== end parroting Doug >> >> I don't think one has to be stupid to engage in Dialogues of the Deaf. We >> do that sort of thing quite well in FRIAM, from time to time, and we are, ex >> hypothesi, VERY smart. >> >> Somewhere along the way, We lost our faith that there is a Truth Of The >> Matter. In the fifties, you had to believe that you were right, when you >> said something. Nowadays, you just have to believe you are plausible. (I >> blame the post-modernists myself ... but now this message is becoming an >> example of itself.) >> >> That having been said, are the Tea-Totallers any worse than the people who >> put McCarthy into office in the 50's? >> >> Nick >> >> >> >> Nicholas S. Thompson >> Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Ethology, >> Clark University ([email protected]) >> http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/<http://home.earthlink.net/%7Enickthompson/naturaldesigns/> >> http://www.cusf.org [City University of Santa Fe] >> >> >> >> >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> *From:* Douglas Roberts <[email protected]> >> *To: *The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group<[email protected]> >> *Sent:* 2/14/2010 9:05:07 AM >> *Subject:* Re: [FRIAM] Sources of Innovation >> >> Pamela, >> >> I think the healthcare issue goes way beyond just the usual corporate >> profit protection, pay for play political game. Look at how polarized the >> nation has become over just this issue alone. Look at how many people * >> don't* believe that the healthcare issue is really about healthcare >> insurance industry profit protection. >> >> We truly are a nation of idiots. We deserve Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, >> and Pat Robertson. >> >> Model that, if you like. The agents in the individual based simulation >> won't need much sophistication. >> >> --Doug >> >> On Sun, Feb 14, 2010 at 8:00 AM, Pamela McCorduck <[email protected]>wrote: >> >>> When Kennedy envisioned going to the moon, no lobby existed to fight >>> ferociously for the sole right to take the profits from going to the moon, >>> and the sole right to decide who gets to go. >>> >>> If you read the not-very-deep subtext in this fight, you will see that >>> it's not about giving better healthcare to Americans (which we desperately >>> need) but about protecting the enormous profits of the healthcare insurance >>> industry. It's dressed up in "right to choose," and "privacy between doctor >>> and patient," and "keep the government out of medical care," but it's really >>> about profit protection. From several different and reliable sources (one of >>> them a congressional candidate) I have heard that since early last summer, >>> the insurance and pharmaceuticals industries have been spending over $1 >>> million per day on lobbying. It continues. You can do the arithmetic. >>> >>> The media regularly reports on how much better, cheaper, and more >>> effective medical plans are all around the developed world. It doesn't >>> penetrate $1 million-plus per day. >>> >>> >>> >>> On Feb 13, 2010, at 3:55 PM, Jochen Fromm wrote: >>> >>> Where does all this whining about health care >>>> come from? Everyone in Germany has a health >>>> insurance, it is obligatory. There is general >>>> agreement here that the European (and esp. >>>> the German) health care system is better >>>> and more social than the one in the US. >>>> The USA obviously needs a better health care >>>> system. Where is the American optimism and >>>> the "i believe we can do it" spirit? I've heard >>>> that optimism and positive thinking is a typical >>>> American attitude. >>>> >>>> America is lacking a vision, something like >>>> Kennedy's vision to bring a man to the moon >>>> and back. Military and NASA won't do it >>>> this time. A vision or a common dream which >>>> would foster technological innovation. Schmidt >>>> mentioned "renewable energy" and green >>>> technology. What about a clean L.A. with >>>> fresh air? A large scale scientific initiative >>>> to create the first AI would be another one. >>>> America would have the resources to do it, it >>>> has the companies with the largest data centers. >>>> It should be proud of Google, Microsoft, >>>> Amazon, and Apple. It is difficult to understand >>>> why it disputes about health care so long. >>>> >>>> -J. >>>> >>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: Roger Critchlow >>>> To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group >>>> Sent: Saturday, February 13, 2010 6:54 PM >>>> Subject: Re: [FRIAM] Sources of Innovation >>>> >>>> [...] We're too busy defending ourselves from hedge fund vampires and >>>> health care ghouls to worry about growth. Say what you will about the >>>> undead, they steal their profits fair and square and invest them in the >>>> rule >>>> of law. >>>> >>>> >>>> > ============================================================ > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org >
============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
