I think I started reading Captain Capitalism about five or so years ago. He’s appeared here before. I generally read his books: most of them are useful, and practical. I disagree with some parts of every book, but this one… resonates.
Some years ago I was sitting talking to a relative. She’d looked me up on nz.politics. Yes, usenet. And she decided she would not hire me. Because I was not politically correct then, have never been politically correct. And explaining to her that — despite working for my employer — her job was not to select at my level would have been cruel.
So to save you reading the book, (though I would) I submit one paragraph.
I could solve the problems at my employer. But there would be blood. More efficiency, fewer jobs, and blood. Because I would put people where they function best: and that would not necessarily be where their contract says they should be.
I hate meetings. (Coffee helps. I means I don’t say what I think).
I have learned to watch sports. Ones I do not like. (I like cricket, because of the statistics, and Formula One, because it is basically engineering around rules). Because if you don’t know the football score, or what a Holden is, you cannot connect with blokes. And if you don’t know who the current celebrities are, you are out of the loop with most women.
I don’t really care for these things. But if I waited until I found friends with my odd interests, I would be lonely.
Oh, and my IQ is about two to three standard deviations above normal. This means I’m labeled as socially inept, particularly by midwits, and my kids (who are all brighter or as bright as me) are generally seen as odd or difficult by teachers.
We are not. Most of the time we are bored.
What Aaron provides is blunt advice. Get through the basics: you already know them. I agree that there are but three ways to survive: get qualifications that cannot be faked, or run your own business, or go minimal. I disagree with him about nihilism — he makes his usual error of thinking the religious are not as smart as he is (Aaron I am, and I am) — and his description of three ways of coping — booze, drugs and sublimation — misses the fourth.
Procreation. Raising kids is exasperating, difficult and challenging. Particularly if your kids are pushing the edge of the scale. Mine do. Two were raised in NZ and were kept away from drugs by their very cynical father: one was raised in North America and medicated into compliance.
So, I would add one more thing: putting a bright kid through the United States Industrial public education system is abuse. For they neither let young boys run, nor older boys play dungeons and dragons.
Approaching 4 SD to the right. Though past 2 SD, the skills actually being tested split, so everyone is generally just “smart” with specialized skill sets. The 160+ guys have supremely high pattern recognition more than much else. Supreme speed at the general cost of quality.
Though even among the hyper intelligent, it’s very easy to assume yourself too intelligent. A life of the Mind very easily leads itself into arrogance. The hyper intelligent aren’t as smart as they assume themselves to be.
As to the topic: there is a skill to *everything*. And I do mean that. Being frustrated with stupidity in a work environment is one thing, but ignoring that the environment has to taken in totality is to arrogantly place “efficiency” over all considerations. Which is why the very intelligent like to mostly be left to their own devices. It’s a lot more enjoyable and you don’t have to do things in a slightly instinctual manner. (Though it can be fairly easily learned, if one desires to.)
Well… at middle school my IQ was estimated at 140: I med school they tested everyone and gave us a range. Mine was 130-150. So between two and three SD. I think the test gets innaccurate above 2 SD on psychometric grounds — it is tuned to screen — and I know (I have kids who were called subnormal when performing at age 13 when age 8 in some areas) that you start getting gaps.
I concentrate on teaching social skills to the sons. And how to politely subvert teachers.
Oops, I forgot to put my information in. Switched this part of my life to Vivaldi a week back.
It’s easier if you’re female. Even so, you get a lot of flack… but usually from your classmates, not your teachers. Teachers like bright, compliant girls. Well, duh. At any rate, I’m not as many standard deviations from the mean as you are. (I can compare my brain to yours or my dad’s well enough – I am not as smart as either of you, though I’m smarter than most standard humans. Of course I deliberately chose not to continue training my brain rigorously – and yes, that did have something to do with it. Sometimes I regret that choice.)
What it is, it’s lonely. Finding people to connect with, who can run as quickly as you can, who are as passionate about *anything* as you are… it’s hard.
I’ve hidden so long I don’t know who *I* am half the time. The urge to comply, to please… meh. It does save trouble though.
Not sure. I know plenty of women who swallowed the credential koolaid and ended up single at 40. The few women I know who are geniuses are (a) bullied like hell by their female colleages (the guys generally like them and want to protect them) (b) delay having kids until it is too late.
The best models for bright women are Edith Schaeffer and Susannah Wesley.
Oh gosh yes. You ask around your bright female friends … women are very good at getting herd compliance, and we play dirty. I have been blessed with some bright and wonderful female friends so I don’t “hate all women” (which I hear too much, usually paired with ‘except for you, and you’re such a girly-girl, I don’t get it’). I have what I set out to get in life, and it’s a good life.
I never had a craving for school – I like school, and it was easy for me, it was a good way to have a “win”. But no subject ever grabbed me, except for Art, and I was too afraid to fail… so I found something easy to get my BA in, so I could go do what I did want to do, which was get married. “I’ve done what you all wanted me to do – now I can do what I want to do”. I slept through most of my senior year in college, trying to make the time pass more quickly. What a waste – I regret *that*.
I see this easy stroll in my son – very very rarely he’ll perk up and get interested. I just try to keep him well fed with the “whys” of life before the thing that he wants shows up. There was an entertaining flicker when the car showed up, the “oh I don’t want to learn to drive” turned into “will I be driving that?” in 30 seconds flat. -snicker-
But the blog did give me an answer to a question that’s been bothering me in regards to self and family, so you’ve done me a favor today. 🙂 What we need is more stimulation, not more work. Plenty of work. Plenty of passive entertainment. No, we need some fun. Active fun.
This is all very interesting but no help at all. My mum got told by some educator she knew that my IQ score was high (whatever that meant in the mid 60’s) and she would never have to worry about me doing well. I fit so much of this have never really achieved anything remotely great and wasn’t flash at school. Life does feel like grass some days – here today but gathered up and burned tomorrow; or a puff of smoke although it remains fascinating to watch it slide by. Thank God for the next life.
Hearts on earth say in the course of a joyful experience,
”I don’t want this to end.” But it invariably does.
The hearts of those in heaven say,
”I want this to go on for ever.”
And it will.
There can be no better news than this.
Well, I say that having an IQ is like having a height. It is not the number. it is what you do with it. And I also tell my boys, that if you have talents you are accountable: to whom much is given much is required.
But I am an evil, unreconstructed parent, who cares not a whit about the boy’s self esteem.