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Why People Dislike Really Smart Leaders

scientificamerican.com

331–336 of 336 posts

Re: Why People Dislike Really Smart Leaders

#331
post #304

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This isn't about the ambiguity. That's something else. This is about, for example, ethanol subsidies. Basically everyone who doesn't receive them thinks they're dumb. It takes more than a gallon of petroleum to produce a gallon of ethanol, it diverts productive farmland from food which makes food cost more for the poor (and everyone), it's an inefficient use of tax dollars, etc. Yet we continue to have ethanol subsid…

Of course it is ambiguous. You and the corn farmers both can make a case. I wasn't making a point about how lovable politics is, but why it's needed to the misguided character above who has reached a conclusion that "smashing" the system helps. The system is all that keeps you and the corn farmers from picking up a gun and removing ambiguity.

That's not what ambiguity means. Ambiguity is, for example, the CFAA. Nobody really knows what "unauthorized access" means, it's ambiguous.

Ethanol subsidies aren't ambiguous. Nobody seriously disagrees on what they are. People disagree on whether we should have them.

And there are issues where that kind of disagreement is purely subjective, like abortion. Purely a disagreement about principles rather than facts.

But there are also your Bridge to Nowhere type deals, like ethanol subsidies, that are contrary to objective fact. The bill is sold under a particular justification (e.g. reduce dependence on petroleum) and it factually does not do that. There is no principle to disagree about, it's objectively just pork, and the "facts" used by the proponents are lies.

The thing where lobbyists pretend there are zero objective things just because there are non-zero non-objective things is merely a dishonest tactic they use to paper over the unjustifiability of their preferred pork.

> The system is all that keeps you and the corn farmers from picking up a gun and removing ambiguity.

There is a difference between specific rules and the concept of having rules. Basically nobody is in favor of total anarchy or removing foundational rules like the illegality of murder.

But when your tax code is more than a thousand pages, it's past time to throw it out and start over.

Re: Why People Dislike Really Smart Leaders

#333

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The theory is that Israel punches above it's weight class in the tech/startup sector at least in part because most everybody there has at least some military training.

Interesting. I would speculate the high average IQ is a more significant factor.

It's a culture that deeply values education, trust, and team-work within families, community, and country, all of which contribute to collective success in military, civilian, and business endeavors.

Re: Why People Dislike Really Smart Leaders

#334

Looked up an IQ test to see if I'm too smart or too stupid to communicate. Apparently I'm too smart. Thankfully that can be fixed! Lead poisoning, here I come! I'll pick up my old weed habit just to be safe.

Don't believe online IQ tests...

It wasn't really an IQ test, it was the mensa "IQ test" where they tell you if you might be able to join mensa based on your results. Apparently it's within my possibilities. You can see it here:

https://www.mensa.lu/en/mensa/online-iq-test/online-iq-test....

Re: Why People Dislike Really Smart Leaders

#335
post #279
post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I didn't provide a definition of intelligence, I provided a description of it. The ability to win at dice is not intelligence. That's not a controversial claim. >Hitler ability to speak was not luck. Nor was it particularly intelligent. Plenty of people speak well. He just had a podium in front of the right people. People who wanted to hear stupid ideas delivered with emotion. If you stood him in front of his enemies…

What you wrote is not true. Hitler was very good at reading audience, adjusting speech to them and seeing how they react. His work and actions had impact on that movement sucess. I would not learn from Hitler, because his idea of sucess involves imperialistic war and multiple genocides. And his ideology praised ruthlessness as a virtue. Has nothing to do with whether he had speeking skill or not, whether he could pai…

I'm not saying he was stupid, I'm saying he wasn't particularly intelligent. I.e., not an archetypical example of an intelligent person.

Re: Why People Dislike Really Smart Leaders

#336

Earlier quoted context omitted.

... unless the sample being examined was selected for being above average in at least one of P or Q. In such a sample, P and Q will be anti-correlated. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkson's_paradox

Ok, that actually makes sense. If they are truly independent, they will be unrelated. However since P+Q=LeadershipScore, and all LeadershipScore are about the same, then a high P indicates a Low Q. The connection between the two only exists because of that third piece of information, LeadershipScore, being held constant. The only part I disagree with is that LeadershipScore will be roughly the same in reality, I thin…

It should be P+Q = L (another random variable) >= THRESHOLD_TO_BE_ACCEPTED_AS_LEADER
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