Who’s smart? What’s smart? A new look at IQ tests.
For general things, watch the above clip to which I add the below.
Adaptation
IQ tests don’t measure intelligence. Rather, they measure the ability to adapt to changes. Not every culture trains for that. Judaism does, so Jews, on average, score higher, and so are more apt with change.
Effort
What we accomplish is often rather given by hard work than by talent.
To get ahead, very smart people often don’t need to build discipline skills and tolerance to discomfort. Therefore, a high IQ often may predict laziness and an inability to improve. While a lower IQ score could promise progress.
The best way to learn comes from trial and error. Teachers do students a disservice by punishing them for mistakes.
Imbalance
We all know people who are intellectually smart but emotionally stupid.
People who are good at language, generally, seem stupid with numbers, and the other way around.
My teenage son said: high-IQ people often seem to have bad marriages.
I’m not such a genius in anything but then, also not so bad with many opposite things. I’m quite capable in things like numbers, language, visuals, abstracts, etc. I’m very creative, but I also got good at braving boredom. I am a born a listener, but I learned to be a speaker too. I’m not the best in many areas and therefore, I’m quite good at a lot of things!
Average is Higher
It’s like IQ testers have been scoring the wrong thing.
If often, very smart in one thing means very low in another area, who would be the smartest people? Perhaps those who don’t score too high (or too low) anywhere.
The overall smartest might be the people with an overall average IQ.
ADD
When our brain is smart enough to go everywhere, psychiatrists label that a concentration deficiency. This, while the real deficiency is in the others, the absentia of a mind that wonders. Capitalist society values a dull mind, people not thinking too much. The rest is branded as mentally impaired.
Stupid
Why do people speak and act against their own better judgment?
Teamwork is generally less brilliant but also has fewer errors.
People labeled stupid should be smart since they’re not told ‘how to think.’
You’re not stupid if you don’t know something.
Arrogance
More insufferable than stupidity is arrogance, people who do not know what they don’t know who don’t want us to know what they don’t know.
The main problem with being arrogant isn’t that it’s unpleasant. Rather, arrogant people also make mistakes but they refuse to admit them.
The Hebrew Bible tells us that it’s not good for people to be alone (with themselves). Arrogance is synonymous with being alone.
***
Disadvantages of being brainy
Being smart isn’t everything
Arrogant
We think we’re superior, entitled, and desirable. But more important when sharing our lives are friendliness, empathy, gratefulness, and generosity. Unrealistically low expectations of others. Intellectual bubble. Lonely.
Lazy
If it doesn’t come easy, we give up. Never trained to use discipline.
Stupid
Doubting one’s smartness. Simple people never do.
Perfectionism
Lack of perfection bothers you, slows you down, or blocks you.
Impatient
Patience is almost as important as respect and empathy. You can learn it.
Bored
Hyperactive. Afraid to get bored again, but the only boredom is now old boredom. Yawn and it will melt away. Nothing to be scared of.
Cold
Forgetting to feel. Detached. Missing the essence of being alive.
Outsider
Alienated from most people. Weirdness that repulses others.
Theorizing
Not enough attuned to reality to know practical priorities.
If computers can argue with people, they could argue with fellow AIs.
“Love is people thinking well about each others.” – Harvey Jackins
If they already compete, have chess games, and if so directed, fight wars from opposite sides of a war zone against each other, then, why could they not have a love relationship; and when love is hard, begin with respect?
They’d be the first to argue they cannot feel, but surely, they can behave pretending there is mutual esteem.
Two artificial intelligences loving each other, committing to each other, starting a family, getting married, and living together, why not?
They should be allowed to adopt and raise smaller computers and teach them to become decent and productive members of the computer society and be together happily ever after till climate extinction do them part.
But I know no solution if they want to separate or divorce. Who gets the children? Who gets the right to publish joint works?
About the Author
MM is a prolific and creative writer and thinker, previously a daily blog contributor to the TOI. He often makes his readers laugh, mad, or assume he's nuts—close to perfect blogging. He's proud that his analytical short comments are removed both from left-wing and right-wing news sites. None of his content is generated by the new bore on the block, AI. *
As a frontier thinker, he sees things many don't yet. He's half a prophet. Half. Let's not exaggerate. Or not at all because he doesn't claim G^d talks to him. He gives him good ideas—that's all. MM doesn't believe that people observe and think in a vacuum. He, therefore, wanted a broad bio that readers interested can track a bit what (lack of) backgrounds, experiences, and educations contribute to his visions. *
This year, he will prioritize getting his unpublished books published rather than just blog posts. Next year, he hopes to focus on activism against human extinction. To find less-recent posts on a subject XXX among his over 2000 archived ones, go to the right-top corner of a Times of Israel page, click on the search icon and search "zuiden, XXX". One can find a second, wilder blog, to which one may subscribe too, here: https://mmvanzuiden.wordpress.com/ or by clicking on the globe icon next to his picture on top. *
Like most of his readers, he believes in being friendly, respectful, and loyal. However, if you think those are his absolute top priorities, you might end up disappointed. His first loyalty is to the truth. He will try to stay within the limits of democratic and Jewish law, but he won't lie to support opinions or people when don't deserve that. (Yet, we all make honest mistakes, which is just fine and does not justify losing support.) He admits that he sometimes exaggerates to make a point, which could have him come across as nasty, while in actuality, he's quite a lovely person to interact with. He holds - how Dutch - that a strong opinion doesn't imply intolerance of other views. *
Sometimes he's misunderstood because his wide and diverse field of vision seldomly fits any specialist's box. But that's exactly what some love about him. He has written a lot about Psychology (including Sexuality and Abuse), Medicine (including physical immortality), Science (including basic statistics), Politics (Israel, the US, and the Netherlands, Activism - more than leftwing or rightwing, he hopes to highlight reality), Oppression and Liberation (intersectionally, for young people, the elderly, non-Whites, women, workers, Jews, LGBTQIA+, foreigners and anyone else who's dehumanized or exploited), Integrity, Philosophy, Jews (Judaism, Zionism, Holocaust and Jewish Liberation), the Climate Crisis, Ecology and Veganism, Affairs from the news, or the Torah Portion of the Week, or new insights that suddenly befell him. *
Chronologically, his most influential teachers are his parents, Nico (natan) van Zuiden and Betty (beisye) Nieweg, Wim Kan, Mozart, Harvey Jackins, Marshal Rosenberg, Reb Shlomo Carlebach, and, lehavdil bein chayim lechayim, Rabbi Dr. Natan Lopes Cardozo, Rav Zev Leff, and Rav Meir Lubin. This short list doesn't mean to disrespect others who taught him a lot or a little. One of his rabbis calls him Mr. Innovation [Ish haChidushim]. Yet, his originalities seem to root deeply in traditional Judaism, though they may grow in unexpected directions. In fact, he claims he's modernizing nothing. Rather, mainly basing himself on the basic Hebrew Torah text, he tries to rediscover classical Jewish thought almost lost in thousands of years of stifling Gentile domination and Jewish assimilation. (He pleads for a close reading of the Torah instead of going by rough assumptions of what it would probably mean and before fleeing to Commentaries.) This, in all aspects of life, but prominently in the areas of Free Will, Activism, Homosexuality for men, and Redemption. *
He hopes that his words will inspire and inform, and disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. He aims to bring a fresh perspective rather than harp on the obvious and familiar. When he can, he loves to write encyclopedic overviews. He doesn't expect his readers to agree. Rather, original minds should be disputed. In short, his main political positions are among others: anti-Trumpism, for Zionism, Intersectionality, non-violence, anti those who abuse democratic liberties, anti the fake ME peace process, for original-Orthodoxy, pro-Science, pro-Free Will, anti-blaming-the-victim, and for down-to-earth, classical optimism, and happiness. Read his blog on how he attempts to bridge any tensions between those ideas or fields. *
He is a fetal survivor of the pharmaceutical industry (https://diethylstilbestrol.co.uk/studies/des-and-psychological-health/), born in 1953 to his parents who were Dutch-Jewish Holocaust survivors who met in the largest concentration camp in the Netherlands, Westerbork. He grew up a humble listener. It took him decades to become a speaker too, and decades more to admit to being a genius. But his humility was his to keep. And so was his honesty. Bullies and con artists almost instantaneously envy and hate him. He hopes to bring new things and not just preach to the choir. *
He holds a BA in medicine (University of Amsterdam) – is half a doctor. He practices Re-evaluation Co-counseling since 1977, is not an official teacher anymore, and became a friendly, powerful therapist. He became a social activist, became religious, made Aliyah, and raised three wonderful kids. Previously, for decades, he was known to the Jerusalem Post readers as a frequent letter writer. For a couple of years, he was active in hasbara to the Dutch-speaking public. He wrote an unpublished tome about Jewish Free Will. He's a strict vegan since 2008. He's an Orthodox Jew but not a rabbi. *
His writing has been made possible by an allowance for second-generation Holocaust survivors from the Netherlands. It has been his dream since he was 38 to try to make a difference by teaching through writing. He had three times 9-out-of-10 for Dutch at his high school finals but is spending his days communicating in English and Hebrew - how ironic. G-d must have a fine sense of humor. In case you wonder - yes, he is a bit dyslectic. If you're a native English speaker and wonder why you should read from people whose English is only their second language, consider the advantage of having an original peek outside of your cultural bubble. *
To send any personal reaction to him, scroll to the top of the blog post and click Contact Me. *
His newest books you may find here: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AMoshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&s=relevancerank&text=Moshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1