tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4760967123218143470.post8304743288252570128..comments2023-10-08T05:13:18.117-07:00Comments on wikifray: Five More Thoughts (Psycho Smart Ed.)WikiFrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07420433870074751645noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4760967123218143470.post-88181842254409367842007-04-05T16:36:00.000-07:002007-04-05T16:36:00.000-07:00Thanks TK. Tell you the truth, I just wish I coul...Thanks TK. Tell you the truth, I just wish I could underachieve at a higher level.Keifushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00287358319899471490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4760967123218143470.post-21208146722867734352007-04-05T13:10:00.000-07:002007-04-05T13:10:00.000-07:00Keifus - love your post.John - your presumably sar...Keifus - love your post.<BR/><BR/>John - your presumably sarcastic comment from the perspective of the blamers was right on.<BR/><BR/>Anon - you don't get it. Neither did Nietzsche, in whose philosophy plantation owners and corporate executives everywhere find intellectual succor. I wouldn't screen out a mate for being physically attractive. I might screen out a mate who so relied on being physically attractive that I could foresee an inevitable self-esteem spiral, as the cumulative effects of age and experience become evident.<BR/><BR/>Or who relied on the same, from me.<BR/><BR/>Once you lean too heavily on any crutch (become reliant on it to get by), the prospect it might be kicked out from under you becomes terrifying. This is where self-handicapping comes from; finding ways to avoid putting your abilities to the test, whilst retaining the ego-bolstering idea that they are there for you (if I'd only studied for that test, even a little, I would've aced it!). When you're beautiful, it becomes difficult to accurately assess what, exactly, people are responding to (and terrifying to face the prospect of finding out it was your looks, all along).<BR/><BR/>A few years ago, the mother of one of these immeasurably bright kids consulted with me (briefly). That girl had no peers. Anywhere. Her mother was attempting to help her avoid becoming one of the maladjusted circus freaks she kept running into, at the university programs who were courting her daughter. She talked a lot about the other parents she'd met - parents who had trained their children into being little performers, at their developmental expense, to feed their narcissistic appetites.<BR/><BR/>Those children are left wondering, deep down, whether or not their parents love them, or whether their affection is based on their performance. Sometimes, they'll even put this idea to the test - act out, develop a shameful problem etc. But adolescence is a scary time, and some of those tests can be catastrophic. Or deadly.<BR/><BR/>Anyway, nice post, Keifus.TenaciousKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16329335294478431462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4760967123218143470.post-63746709016485890732007-04-05T05:35:00.000-07:002007-04-05T05:35:00.000-07:00Thanks, curse!Sorry you're having a bad day, MsZ, ...Thanks, curse!<BR/><BR/>Sorry you're having a bad day, MsZ, but it's nice to see you back. (It's not Slate's server, is it?) May this pink monkey humbly make the suggestion that you take a <I>hammer</I> in each hand, and, well, you know.<BR/><BR/>KKeifushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00287358319899471490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4760967123218143470.post-48728014753872704452007-04-04T18:30:00.000-07:002007-04-04T18:30:00.000-07:00Being a "genius" doesn't make your life easier.Bei...Being a "genius" doesn't make your life easier.<BR/><BR/>Being bright paints you as a pinkish monkey in a sea of brown ones, but if you stand in the shade or at a certain angle, you can appear brown enough to get through. Genius makes you such a hot shade of fuschia there is no amount of machinating that makes you fit in.<BR/><BR/>And it's not like you can do anything about it. What you're calling genius is incredibly hard to hide. And you can't stop doing it. It's just the way your brain works. And you are forever running into people who just now notice something you've been doing for years. I work with a good friend of mine. Worked with her for over five years. She just noticed last week that I can write two different things at once with both hands. I was frantically trying to take notes in a meeting just like I always do, but you'd have thought I scalded her cat. <BR/><BR/>It's not like it gets you anywhere in the real world. I have a client on a closed system in DC right now having major problems. I can't figure out what he's done to that bloody bedamned server so that every time we try to install our latest upgrade it takes it out. We've been at this for three weeks and for all my soi disant "genius" I still look like a monkey fucking a football here.<BR/><BR/>And it doesn't change that last paragraph at all. There's always a compromise between the real world and the contents of your head. And the divide is much sharper this way. There is an expectation that all that wattage is somehow going to make any difference at all and it doesn't seem to.<BR/><BR/>And yes, I'm having an awful, horrible, no good, very bad day.MsZillahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12210761933432923847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4760967123218143470.post-31604194666369654172007-04-04T13:05:00.000-07:002007-04-04T13:05:00.000-07:00Dawn Coyote said... I agree that bright is a curse...<I>Dawn Coyote said... <BR/>I agree that bright is a curse....</I><BR/><BR/>mwahahahaha!<BR/><BR/>(Great post K.)brighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18001419921807363237noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4760967123218143470.post-51526545321139403012007-04-04T12:24:00.000-07:002007-04-04T12:24:00.000-07:00anon: don't ever change. john: you're getting dan...anon: don't ever change. <BR/><BR/>john: you're getting dangerous with that.<BR/><BR/>TP: much as I'd like to say I'm one of the pretty people...Keifushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00287358319899471490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4760967123218143470.post-10745548422147454512007-04-04T11:57:00.001-07:002007-04-04T11:57:00.001-07:00Would you/did you choose a mate screening out the ...<B>Would you/did you choose a mate screening out the attractive ones?</B><BR/><BR/>I didn't, but there are those who might suggest that my wife did!Robert Scheidlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07887312225745819128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4760967123218143470.post-67519078971725244972007-04-04T11:57:00.000-07:002007-04-04T11:57:00.000-07:00Yes, I'm kidding -- I thought it would be fun to w...Yes, I'm kidding -- I thought it would be fun to write like a Blamer for a while.JohnMcGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07476537916134121570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4760967123218143470.post-79710860990801968382007-04-04T11:49:00.000-07:002007-04-04T11:49:00.000-07:00hope you are kidding....Find me the parent that wa...hope you are kidding....<BR/><BR/>Find me the parent that wants ugly kids (saves them from being so cursed!)<BR/><BR/>We good looking people (should I say "us"? heh heh) sure spend a lot of time looking into the mirror.<BR/><BR/>As you can guess, I not only disagree with the morality which finds beauty wrong, I find such a view itself immoral.<BR/><BR/>Worse - I don't believe you'd practice what you preach. Would you/did you choose a mate screening out the attractive ones?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4760967123218143470.post-66963261203633462682007-04-04T10:59:00.000-07:002007-04-04T10:59:00.000-07:00"Good" looks are indeed a curse because those with..."Good" looks are indeed a curse because those with good looks quickly receive positive feedback from those continuing the patriarchy. <BR/><BR/>This praise becomes an addiction, leading the good-looking to tailor their appearance and behavior even more so as to please their oppressors. So hooked are they on this positive attention, that rareley do they question the source of it, and indeed resist attempts to remedy the system that (they think) has lavishly rewarded them for a genetic accident.JohnMcGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07476537916134121570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4760967123218143470.post-80865319125545675932007-04-04T08:42:00.000-07:002007-04-04T08:42:00.000-07:00brightness as a curse:in the same vein as looks, h...brightness as a curse:<BR/><BR/>in the same vein as looks, health and happiness are curses.<BR/><BR/>in the same vein that memorable fun experiences are something to be ashamed of.<BR/><BR/>in the same vein that living life to its fullest is downright selfish.<BR/><BR/>Nietzsche is rolling in his grave.....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4760967123218143470.post-12827816385756027282007-04-03T15:46:00.000-07:002007-04-03T15:46:00.000-07:00"...people confuse a freakish memory for meaningle..."...people confuse a freakish memory for meaningless trivia and a mediocre ability to construct sentences in English for intelligence...."<BR/><BR/>Well, it seems that alone would put you in the top 5% or higher!Robert Scheidlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07887312225745819128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4760967123218143470.post-61892788005532887872007-04-03T14:40:00.000-07:002007-04-03T14:40:00.000-07:00Thanks, y'all. Responses quite jumbled and out of...Thanks, y'all. Responses quite jumbled and out of turn:<BR/><BR/>As for meeting people, a caveat: I can't handle more than a handful of buds anyway. But I find it's important to connect now and again. And it's crazy all the lives that it's impossible to live, almost unfair. (Total loner sounds appealing sometimes, but truth is, I'm a misfit in that role just like so many others.) <BR/><BR/>ALso, there are a lot of downsides to meeting folks, especially if you're me. I gotta get 'em past a series of foot-in-mouth doofus tests. It takes a lot of patience on their parts.<BR/><BR/>John, I agree with that (although I read a related article--Lewis' prototype?--a while back and had mixed feelings about it). People end up where they do starting from a limited range of socioeconomic status. How many Newtons or Einsteins are lamenting in the third world?<BR/><BR/>Here's another thought for all the billions too, pretty close the savant thing. How many Newtons or Einsteins are working right now, without the chance to crack open crazy new fields...meaning, as the famous Bern patent clerk noted, and stated here with only half seriousness, we've already figured the less crazy stuff out.<BR/><BR/>And I also wonder if people (by which I mean "I") value genius more when it's out of reach. Wanting it where we ain't got it.<BR/><BR/>KKeifushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00287358319899471490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4760967123218143470.post-79002147911826134372007-04-03T13:49:00.000-07:002007-04-03T13:49:00.000-07:00I agree that bright is a curse. I will never be as...I agree that bright is a curse. I will never be as smart as I wanna be. At this point, I would settle for consistent performance. Where some people seem to have brains that burn evenly, like good stoves, mine is like a late fire: bright spots and embers and ashes all spread out. The hot spots can be interesting, but are rarely well-placed. Too often, I find my hands full of ashes.Dawn Coyotehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05878588090733942606noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4760967123218143470.post-73830225924581297172007-04-03T13:05:00.000-07:002007-04-03T13:05:00.000-07:00On 5, I just finished reading Michael Lewis's The ...On 5, I just finished reading Michael Lewis's <I>The Blind Side</I> which ended with a somewhat unsettling thought.<BR/><BR/>The protagonist is a 6'5'' 320 pound kid who can move. But it's only via a sequence of accidents that his talent is discovered, since he grew up in terrible neighborhood in Memphis. <BR/><BR/>And his talent was obvious. What if his talent was poetry, or stock trading, or speech writing, or programming? Indeed, how many people's talents are being wasted now?<BR/><BR/>And if that's so, might there be people who would be better at doing what I'm doing than I am? If we truly unleashed the talents of everybody, I might have to let go of the conceit that I have earned my middle class status through my own hard work and talent. We are uniquely positioned in history to have even our most narrow idiosyncratic talents developed and celebrated.JohnMcGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07476537916134121570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4760967123218143470.post-54815994799019007552007-04-03T12:22:00.000-07:002007-04-03T12:22:00.000-07:00"God help us: We're in the hands of engineers."Or ..."God help us: We're in the hands of engineers."<BR/><BR/>Or something like that.<BR/><BR/>1. I'm a natural athlete. I'm not bragging. I'd hold that being one held me back because I never had to practice or push myself. So I ended up just being good as opposed to great.<BR/><BR/>I wrote (and talked) my way through undergrad. When grad school came around, it was put up or shut up. So I shut up.<BR/><BR/>As for brilliant people, I truly do marvel at the writers of <I>The Daily Show</I> and <I>The Colbert Report</I>. And <I>The Onion</I>, obviously. And a few in the cast of <I>The Office</I>. I'll watch Steve Carrell and wish I were that good at something.<BR/><BR/>2. I get those "in the zone" moments when I write as well. Love those.<BR/><BR/>3. Sweet journal entry. Good for her, in every sense.<BR/><BR/>4. You are sooooooo <B><I>BUSTED!!!</I></B> My best friend and I have a shorthand that confuses new people. I don't care.<BR/><BR/>5. This might sound weird because I'm not sure how to phrase it, but I'd be content not to meet anyone new. I'd be fine with that.<BR/><BR/>Really good post, K.swittershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14271393212302533995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4760967123218143470.post-64633200739471406742007-04-03T12:17:00.000-07:002007-04-03T12:17:00.000-07:00Wow. Great minds (or in our cases, so-so minds) t...Wow. Great minds (or in our cases, so-so minds) think alike. I too have skated along my whole life. Fortunately for me, people confuse a freakish memory for meaningless trivia and a mediocre ability to construct sentences in English for intelligence. Turns out, that's good enough to let me coast through graduate school and to have a job where I make a passable amount of money, have a passable amount of freedom and leisure time, and get do do things that I find passably enjoyable. I'll never discover anything earth-shattering or have an ecological axiom named after me. If only I'd work a little harder.<BR/><BR/>I've also had that thought about all the worthwhile people I'd like to meet or get to know. It's very sad to me that I occasionally randomly meet someone with whom I just "click," (in a non-sexual way--that's a different deal), but with whom there is no chance of any kind of friendship. And I'm also like you in that I "meet" folks on the Fray, or here on the Wiki, and that connection seems to be there, but to me it sometimes seems like a waste or a missed opportunity. <BR/><BR/>Anyway, to summarize: again you have said what I was thinking, but much better than I would have. In my eyes, that makes you a fucking genius, so, just go with that.Archaeopteryxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10627784327758008867noreply@blogger.com