Wolfies post is the meat of the issue i have with people in general. The ignorant, spineless masses are ruled by the strong. Everywhere i look i see delusional dimwits and pseudo-intellectuals with their cafe lattes and thick books, pretending to understand something yet when confronted and questioned, they cower back to their little corner and call you "obnoxious" or "hater". This is the western world. The developing countries and the east are even worse off. They are mostly under a military dictatorship yet the great US of A and their allies heroicly go to defend freedom into countries that are more free than their trading partners? And people support them? Yeah... i care about all of you as much as you care about the insect you scraped off from your boot.
I know i'm ranting again and this is offtopic but i needed to vent after doing that vaunted "socializing" and being called a horrible person for being objective and intellectually honest. Another thing that makes me cringe is the other thread here about Dr Robert being blunt. The fact that people are amazed at intellectual honesty, something which should be the norm in such circles, is viewed as something special is just... sad, yes sad is the proper word.
I heard they found gold, other ores, and... lithium in Afghanistan. So needless to say... we wont be leaving anytime soon.
Remember that Batman movie with Ledger in it? The Joker said something very true and honest. "These people... will eat eachother." His goal was to show humanity how truely ugly it is. How you are nothing more than emotional children in adult bodies and given the proper stimuli you would all drop your false illusion of humanity and kill eachother.
There is no doubt in my mind that in reality, not batmans fictional world, people are good natured but controlled by fear and thus.. would abandon any honor and fight like the animals they are if they were afraid.
Fudile Japan had honor and integrity. Truely the people of Japan still share a lot of attirbutes with their ancestors. Not all of them ofcourse but some still remember to have patience and integrity. Something white people know nothing about.
Honor.. integrity.. Courage... Valor... To do what is right even though your emotions sway you otherwise. Instead of being so **** selfish.. to become selfless.
You can choose one of 2 ways in this world. You can choose to serve your faith or you can choose to serve the dollar bill. Because the world is run by either religion or money everywhere you go.
Money would be a metaphor for Satan or whatever evil deity you believe in. Religion would be a metaphor for leading a good life away from the evils of negative emotions.
I follow Zen in my approach to this world. Accept that instead of expecting nothing... I expect failure from everyone. So when you don't fail, as I expect you will, I am pleased and when you do fail... I expected it.
You're all weak as Hexi said. Emotionally weak... adult children who want everything given to them in a pampered form to protect their fragile feelings. To Hell with your stupid feelings. Deception in any form is a lie and if you can't handle the blunt truth.. then die.
Bunch of no will powered cowards. I'm so sick of hearing "I can't" and watching you weak, pathetic creatures just give up and quit. Don't any of you have a strong will at all?
That Jimmy person made me laugh. See how he tried to spit wishful thinking as something more than wishful thinking? He wants to believe so badly in something better that he convinced himself that his emotional BS was more realistic than logic.
Learn emotional maturity. That way instead of just getting angry when someone says something, blocking them out, and arguing with them... you actually listen to what they have said. Instead of fueling a false arguement brought about by your emotional state. Does that make sense?
I use psychology all the time. I play videogames with people and talk trash as I play.. why? Because I know an angry person is more wreckless than a focused mind. Blinded by your ignorant anger... you will react irationally in some manner. Giving me an edge I never needed.
See when people try to make me angry.. I only accept when I want to argue. I know what they are doing.. or at least I see what they are trying to do. A lot of times I play into games just to see where they go.
As someone who was raised in a combative and arguementative enviornment.. I like to fight both physically and verbally. I've been raised in such a manner that arguing is quite literally just a game to me. So is fighting and a lot of times I will taunt a person just so I can fight them. So, unlike you, when I talk trash... I want to fight. I come to bring war to your world not peace.
It's hard for real people to tolerate the incompetence of the rest of you and your false.. everything. Like people who want to argue and say mean things but don't really want to fight.. wtf is that?! You want to try and **** me off but when I offer you physical conflict.. well that's just too real. Oh no I wanted to talk trash and run away like everyother coward.. pfff...
I love ranting. :-)
I think you confuse logical reasoning with acting based on accumulated knowledge. They are 2 separate things in my opinion. I don't think you can train a mind to comprehend abstarct concepts like infinity for example. Either you get it or you don't. You can however learn new ways to look at things, to broaden your view but you might still not comprehend the whys, ifs and what thens. It's frustrating trying to make one see those aspects of concepts, they are just concentrated on the subject at hand. When one incorporates every aspect of possible outcomes, reasons and alternatives can you truly comprehend and that is what i consider true intelligence and it's something that cannot be trained or learned merely associated.
Also, i don't hate humans. I hate our society where the desired state is being mediocre, where everyone is a winner and being gifted is scorned upon.
i think that someone who thinks they can define reality is "dumb", to believe that reality is only what our senses can define is a ridiculous notion.
Lets stick to the assumption that intelligence is the ability to comprehend. in which case i believe it is perfectly possible to increase your intelligence, simply by forcing yourself to think and understand complex problems on a regular basis i believe will increase your brains ability to work in this way.
You guys remind me of these two girls I sat beside in biology. I usually ditched but not them. These were the brainy girls who went to class each day and took notes.. probably even studied together.
But not me... I am James Kirk. I don't go to class.. I was too busy out trying to get laid or risking my life for fun. People think it's because I don't comprehend danger. People think a lot of stupid **** when they can't grasp a concept.
So when wreckless endangerment sits down in his weed smelling clothing beside the prep girls.. they just knew I was doomed. Especially when you turn your test in over 30 minutes before the next person even finishs.
Even the teacher was trying to take pleasure in failing me. Too bad I got the only A in the class and they all had to curve off my grade.. Needless to say the girls were stupified. This punk that ditches class just showed them all up.
So now I have this person telling me he's going to get smarter by studying more. Same technique they used. I'm sure you will better yourself. Just don't set your expectations too high.
Funny wolfie, i could have written that about my school years. I never studied, never ever did homework, never prepped for tests and skipped 70% of my classes cause i was too busy getting high, drunk or both. Ahh those were the good days.
EDIT: For the record, i've never gotten lower than a B from a test in my life, apart from maths. I failed math because even though every answer was correct, i didn't write down the formula i used. There was no formula, i can solve college level math without a calculator or writng down equations, i solve it strictly in my head. All you need is the ability to focus on a single point without losing the whole, abstract thinking.
Hmm, I find this very interesting. Do you mind if I give you a math problem, I insist! Truly, if you can solve college level math problems without a problem and yet with no experience or help from internet, I salute you!
The following is not really a college level math problem, in fact it is pretty basic, but it's still very interesting if you can solve it without experience in the subject and without looking it up in the internet.
Here goes:
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http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/9885/squeaker2.jpg
A toy squaker has a diameter of 74cm and the crosscut has a diameter of 4cm, how much is the squaker's capacity/content?
tip: the crosscut is a circle
THE REST IS EXTRA (You can solve the question with the information above, but it would be unfair if I did not give you a few extra hints)
picture with crosscut:
http://img190.imageshack.us/f/squeaker4.jpg/
Another picture of the object:
http://img686.imageshack.us/img686/669/squaker3.jpg
http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/8263/squeaker.jpg
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I didn't want to give the hardest of problems since that would be a bit unfair if you haven't studied mathetmatics that far. I believe you can solve this one without relying on experience, but I would still consider it impressive. Normally they would require you to form a formulae but that would just require more work, and we don't have all day do we?
And I understand if you can't come up with a solution, I won't think any less of you. I am asking this out of curiosity.
Ps. This question is for Hexi, I know many people have studied mathematics and can answer the question, but I would like to know if Hexi can solve it.
Pss. It would be nice if you also mentioned how you came to the solution, but it's not necessary.
Oh, ok. Then it would be something like (2x3.14x37) x (2x2x3.14). Basicly you use the diameter as the height of a cylinder and the crosscut as it's base and calculate the volume as if it were a cylinder.
Actually no, that isn't correct lol. You would need to take into account the differential of the inner and outer diameters but you can still do it kinda like i posted earlier, with slight modifications.
Let's use a and b as the outer and inner diameters. (a+b/2)x(2x2x3,14).
EDIT: If i'm still wrong, i'll give it some more thought. Or just cheat and look it up from the internet lol. I hate geometry, never even tried to calculate such things.,
Just a slight modification there my friend, and it is correct. It is quite easy if you think what the object would form were it put in a straight line.
So, did i win a prize for almost getting it right by winging it? I've never actually calculated the volume of such an object. A ruler and a piece of paper would have been a great help as i would have straightened it out on paper and went from there heh.
But of course! Everyone is a winner. I'm not really one to judge or rate people, I imposed the question merely out of curiosity. Besides, I owe you and everyone else who bothered to reply for contributing to the topic.
Thank you!
Ps. I'd like to scribble up another problem to solve, but I'm afraid I could accidentally turn this forum into a mathematical puzzle corner! I am simply ecstatic when it comes to mathematics and physics.
Pss. How far did you study mathematics? You've at least had some experience in geometrics, I take it?
Nothing past the 9th grade. After that i went to study to become an eletric engineer but i got very bored of that field very fast. That line of studies didn't include geometrics though. More physics and math related to electricity, like resistance values etc but it's been a long while since i did any math or pshysics/chem problems and i have very little interest in either field. I enjoy history, sociology, philosophy and psychology more. Like i've said, humans are interesting, numbers are not. :)
EDIT: This forum and threads that are contained within are pretty free for all topics. It digusts me when someone comes declaring that a thread is going off-topic. I mean.. have those people ever had a conversation with another human being? Objectively? It's natural for the topic to go to places where it originally wasn't intended to go.
Hmm, I simply must ask this out of curiosity, how would you begin solving this:
http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/7365/wineglass4.jpg
I'm not expecting an answer, since I do not think it can be solved without education in mathematics, but I'm curious how you would begin solving the problem.
Thank you and sorry for going a bit off-topic.
First i would, somehow, solve the area of the thingy in 2d. Then the area of the top and go from there. I have never even touched integrals so i'm lost. I would need to study the basics of such calculus first to get anywhere. "To run, one must learn how to walk" or something. :P
I do not want to brag or anything, but I solved how to use integrals without anyone's help. Although I already had been introduced to derivatives by then. I made a test for function f(x)=2x, which has the derivative function of f'(x)=2, and it was fairly easy to realize that the 2x showed the other function's area from 0->x. After that it's only required to turn the process the other way around and realize that it works in every case. I thought of it as hopping through different dimensions, 1d, 2d, 3d, 4d, etc.
You have to use integrals in almost every college level math problem at some point.
Not a bad guess, anyway.
Thanks for replying Hexi, I appreciate it.
Ps. I'm going on a vacation for one and a half week, so I'll be back replying then.
Thank you for the terrific reply! It was very supplementary, and perhaps the whole debate has taken a wrong turn because of the wide list of definitions for "intelligent". I truly appreciate that you found the time to reply to the question with such a well-thought and well-written post.
Thank you again!
I guess what i've been trying to point out is that you can expand your knowledge and understanding to gain a more enlightened perspective and understanding of the world around you. If you take that as intelligence then yes, you can become more intelligent BUT every person has s limit to their ability to comprehend concepts. Not machinery, situational awereness or inanimate systems but concepts, ideas and, like i mentioned earlier, the whys, ifs and what thens of concepts and ideas. As an example, some people just cannot comprehend how studying history will enable you to predict the future. Some cannot comprehend why events across the world could ever affect them. Most people just don't have the brain capacity to automatically associate cause and effect of 2 seeminly unrelated concepts. You cannot train your mind to make bridges over gaps that you didn't know existed.
EDIT: A perfect example is the madness of global climate change. The whole idea is riduclous to those that know history and understand the chaotic nature of our planet. Instead they simply do not care, and happily bend over to the talking head on TV that tells them how they are doomed unless they give them moeny to "save the planet". Funny, it used to be "give us money to save your community from hell!!". Guess that stuff don't fly so well no more. Every person that believes that we are having a catastrophic influence over our planet is an unintelligent ignorant dimwit.
I guess what i've been trying to point out is that you can expand your knowledge and understanding to gain a more enlightened perspective and understanding of the world around you. If you take that as intelligence then yes, you can become more intelligent BUT every person has s limit to their ability to comprehend concepts. Not machinery, situational awereness or inanimate systems but concepts, ideas and, like i mentioned earlier, the whys, ifs and what thens of concepts and ideas. As an example, some people just cannot comprehend how studying history will enable you to predict the future. Some cannot comprehend why events across the world could ever affect them. Most people just don't have the brain capacity to automatically associate cause and effect of 2 seeminly unrelated concepts. You cannot train your mind to make bridges over gaps that you didn't know existed.
EDIT: A perfect example is the madness of global climate change. The whole idea is riduclous to those that know history and understand the chaotic nature of our planet. Instead they simply do not care, and happily bend over to the talking head on TV that tells them how they are doomed unless they give them moeny to "save the planet". Funny, it used to be "give us money to save your community from hell!!". Guess that stuff don't fly so well no more. Every person that believes that we are having a catastrophic influence over our planet is an unintelligent ignorant dimwit.
----- I think most people without mental defects are able of comprehending concepts. It;s not that people can't comprehend world history or that climate change has happened before (though I think it is fair to saythat if we can measure the effects ofcarbon monoxide from cars and cfc's etc and draw the conclusion they do damage the ozone etc, then it IS fair to conclude that it may be that climate change is happening and we are helping it along, acerbating it...)
Anyway it's not that the genral public aren't able to comprehend, they are just ignorant, they haven't sat down with all the possible data, findings, research and info and had the time to come up witha conclusion or a better understandign of the concepts as they are too busy with work, familly and other stuff.
But that's just it. They don't think critically and objectively about the information presented to them. Also, it's not that it damages our atmosphere, but rather that it binds more heat into it and that is the basis of the whole thing, which is a stupid argument to make. It's been hotter and colder on the planet than in our idustrial period and it seems like it's cooling again. There is no factual basis for the argument, no evidence to prove correlation. It's an assumption based on a hypothesis based on a theory. That's not science, that's having an agenda.
What i was trying to point out in my earlier post was that most people lack the important phase of new information being processed, the critical evaluation. Being too busy is ******** excuse for being ignorant. We have minds, start using them instead of being "too busy".