Trump Refuses to Sign Ethics Docs & 140 Women Murdered Every Day By Intimate Partner or Family
What I’m Discussing Today:
Kareem’s Daily Quote: What’s the best way to measure intelligence?
Donald Trump Not Signing Transition Documents Sparks Anger From Critics: If he did, he’d have to expose all the cronies giving him money in exchange for favors.
Musk's DOGE wants to slash regulations. Workers and patients may suffer, experts say. The dirtiest scam yet against the American people—and it’s government-sponsored.
U.N. Says an Average of 140 Women Were Killed Every Day of 2023 by a Partner or Relative: The erosion of rights and safety of women is the biggest civil rights matter we’re facing.
Trump Jr, Elon Musk take credit for Victoria Kjaer Theilvig's win as Miss Universe 2024: Bro Culture wants to flaunt its privilege in women’s faces. How attractive is that?
Kareem’s Video Break: “Ducky, this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship.”
Kareem’s Kvetching Korner: Are We Flushing Our Culture Down the AI Toilet?
Kareem’s Sports Moment: I want to be her when I grow up.
James Taylor Sings “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face”: His version cuts out Rex Harrison’s jealous complaining, but is just as filled with longing and vulnerability.
Kareem’s Daily Quote
Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.
Albert Einstein, genius
Einstein reportedly said this to noted psychiatrist Fritz Perls, to which Perls responded in his book Gestalt Therapy Verbatim: “But what is much more widespread than the actual stupidity is the playing stupid, turning off your ear, not listening, not seeing.” Of course, maybe when one chooses to “play stupid” by ignoring a problem, they are being stupid, because that only makes the problem worse. Therefore, there is no distinction between playing and being.
The problem with the word stupid is that we all mean something different when we use it because we each have a different standard of measuring intelligence—usually one that matches ourselves. A 2018 poll found that 65% of Americans think they are above average in intelligence. The study’s authors concluded, “The statement that a majority of people claim to be more intelligent than average is literally a textbook example of overconfidence and self-enhancement.”
Those who have a college degree or higher generally attribute their belief in their own above-average intelligence to their formal education. Those without a degree credit their intelligence with “street smarts” or “common sense”—intelligence earned through experience. They are both right—and wrong. A college degree should teach a person how to educate themselves for the rest of their lives by knowing where to look for information and how to scrutinize it for accuracy. Sadly, for many graduates, their education ends after tossing their hat into the air.
Street smarts/common sense is often an illusion. The person professing these sensible gifts usually are excusing their lack of logic and critical thinking. You don’t need a college degree for that, but you still have to learn what logical fallacies are and how to recognize them. That doesn’t come naturally.
The “human stupidity” Einstein references has nothing to do with formal education or lack thereof. He means human resistance to learning how to think critically by declaring oneself already smart enough. We think that being successful in business or accumulating wealth or having an advanced degree defines us as smart. Believing that actually indicates the opposite because it uses the logical fallacy of circular logic. That’s like saying blue is the best color of eyes because my eyes are blue. It’s also the bandwagon fallacy which is that because most others think that’s how we should measure smart, I will too.
I imagine a world where IQ is based on the ability to critically think, the curiosity to want to constantly learn more, and the passion and compassion to apply knowledge to benefit the community/society/world above merely focusing on enhancing one’s personal wealth.
I can dream, can’t I?