If only this were true in elections.
American society increasingly mistakes intelligence for human worth
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Re: American society increasingly mistakes intelligence for human worth
#12Behold, the most Hacker News post on Hacker News.
Re: American society increasingly mistakes intelligence for human worth
#13After all human history where jocks ruled the earth, they're now upset that nerds are becoming important?
You might be surprised by the intelligence of the ruling class from a few thousand years ago..
Re: American society increasingly mistakes intelligence for human worth
#14"The qualifications for a good job, whether on an assembly line or behind a desk, mostly revolved around integrity, work ethic, and a knack for getting along"* * also being male, White, straight, Christian ...As though the 50's were the bastion of fair hiring practices.
That's not a refutation of the article, unless you think that 50s-style "integrity, work ethic, and a knack for getting along" hiring practices inherently preclude women/non-whites/non-straight/non-Christian people. Your comment reads like you're just trying to score cheap diversity points against the standards of 60 years ago instead of engaging with the point of the article.
Re: American society increasingly mistakes intelligence for human worth
#15A meritoracy can reward qualities other than intelligence - integrity, talent, dedication, diligence, courage (both physical and moral), kindness, generosity, willingness to help others...
It would be nice, but I don't see it happening any time soon.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/peterubel/2014/12/15/is-homo-eco...
Peter Ubel writes: "The researchers paint a powerful picture of Homo economicus: “We see a person who is intelligent, driven to excel and to dominate other people, and capable of impulse control and of working toward long-term goals. In other words, Homo economicus is the prototypical member of the social and economic elite.”
And the social and economic elite think our society is a meritocracy, and that they deserve their wealth and place in society, and through their control of the media, have convinced most other people that this is true.
Re: American society increasingly mistakes intelligence for human worth
#16[deleted]
Re: American society increasingly mistakes intelligence for human worth
#17I'm having difficulty reconciling this claim with how I see American society judging the worth of political candidates. (Also in the journalistic outlets American society values the most.)
Re: American society increasingly mistakes intelligence for human worth
#18I grew up in a poor, working class, crime-ridden neighborhood of Brooklyn in the 1970s, and I remember being smart as a kid was a reason to harass, and sometimes beat on somebody who was seen as too smart in class. This wasn't happening in the wealthier, more educated neighborhoods in NYC (I had friends there afterwards). Although, all parents wanted their kids to exceed in both areas.
I think there was also some anger and negative fallout against college, since a lot of working class folks went to Vietnam, and saw college-educated protesters as disrespectful, and actually not so smart.
Re: American society increasingly mistakes intelligence for human worth
#19This hardly seems to be the case if you follow politics and talk to people about it.
Re: American society increasingly mistakes intelligence for human worth
#20I wonder how the stats and facts in this article would compare to other developed countries. I know it's not a comparison article, but more of a call to action for America, written by Americans, but I would still be interested in the comparison. Especially, since they mention a couple of world-wide examples in the Darwin Awards and reddit.