opinions-humanity

(>s are quotes from someone else's web site)

> So I do not believe that people are smart or dumb. But I believe that our perceptions of ourselves shape what we choose to do, and what we choose to think, and how we choose to behave. I believe that we are more or less mental equals.

> Mark Twain said about virtue that if you lined every one up, and if their height were representative of their virtue, that some people would be an inch taller, and some people would be an inch shorter, but that all and all, the Saints and the Sinners alike, would be more or less the same height. (Mark Twain: What is Man?)

> I feel the same way about Intelligence, with exception of the retarded people.

Yeah! Exactly what I think. There's a few geniuses and retarded folks, but in general, some people are a little quicker or a little slower, but not that much.

My theory is that what makes people seem smart at this or that is just what they like to do. If they like to sit around and think about stuff, they'll get better at "abstract thinking". After a year or two they'll be a much better abstract thinker than others, but it wasn't due to an innate ability. Ditto for most other subjects.

-- bayle

rant about the media's drive towards consistency in people's viewpoints

i just read an article on Scott Ritter, former UN arms inspector. the reporter seems to like him, but criticizes him for contradicting himself something, especially over a change of viewpoint a few years ago. he talks about how he

he says stuff like

"But in mid-harangue, his peaceable side resurfaced. He was talking again about the Constitution and how Americans needed to honor their commitments to the United Nations. The Constitution defines what I have to do, he said.

I thought the matter might end there, but Ritter was still in turmoil. My heart's telling me to kill Saddam, or, I don't know, maybe my gut tells me that, he said. My heart's telling me to do what the Constitution says, but the gut's saying kill Saddam. And my brain has no clue which way to go here. It's just twisted. And I'm honest when I say I get up every morning and I just want to get the hell out of this. "

saying this is bad is ridiculous. i bet every one of the Founding Fathers had similar moments. this guy sounds like a super-patriot, of course he's going to question things.

---