Am I smarter than you?
posted by Chris Hopkins | January 6, 2010
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IcerocketWhat makes people think they are any smarter than anyone else? The same thing that makes anyone think that they know anything, thought. Do you know how a human brain works? At any given second every person on the planet is experiencing 5 billion signals, of which only a small percentage actually register in our brains. Then the billions of Neurons in our brains fire at the same time using the small percentage of signals we picked up and form a pattern out of them. That pattern becomes the thought that we have about what we experience. That is how your brain works. So what determines what signals we pick up? Or what patterns our brains make out of the signals? Your past life experience. So if only a small percentage of reality actually registers in our minds eye; and then our brain takes some pattern that it unconsciously recognizes out of that small amount of signals; and forms the thought we have about it; I ask again, what makes us think we are smarter than anyone else? Well I think the answer would be that we see someone do something or hear them say something and it registers in our pattern maker as something stupid. Although I doubt it registers for them as something stupid, until maybe after the fact. So I would like to propose something that I think will be hard for some of you to hear, you aren’t smarter than anyone. Yeah that’s right you aren’t and neither am I!
One thing I have noticed in the “counter-culture” and the “new age” movement is there seem to be a lot of fairly pompous people. A lot of us seem to think we know something everyone else doesn’t, and that this makes us smarter, it doesn’t. Are you smarter than a frat boy with a GPA of 1 that drinks every night and never thought a deep thought in his life? No you aren’t. What is the difference between you and him then, if you’re not smarter than he is? Well, that difference would be the small percentage of signals of actual reality that stuck in your brain, combined with your previous life experience and the pattern that your brain makes when it receives new signals. He has the same capacity for intelligence that you do, his brain just makes different patterns into thoughts based on new signals than yours. This doesn’t make you smarter than him. It doesn’t even make you different than him. The only difference between you and him is pattern recognition. I think it would do a lot of us a lot of good to remember this from time to time.
Why are there so many “stupid” people in the world? Well I hope I established that there aren’t actually any stupid people already. The reason that we make the mistake so often of thinking so many people are stupid would be because our society is geared towards dampening patterns that promote thinking for yourself. The school system doesn’t teach you to think for yourself. The government certainly doesn’t teach you to think for yourself. Unfortunately very few parents teach their kids to think for themselves either. The problem in this world isn’t stupidity; it’s that not nearly enough people think for themselves.
I think it’s fair to assume that most people like to feel good about themselves. Don’t you like to feel good about yourself? So if the problem isn’t stupidity, its education, how do we fix this? I don’t think the best way of fixing this is telling someone they are stupid. It certainly doesn’t make them feel good. Think back on your life and try to remember teachers you have had. Now think about the teachers you have had that tried to help you learn something; that tried to help you understand the problem at hand. I bet that you can remember at least one good teacher. Now try to imagine that this teacher when you came to them with a problem, instead of helping told you that you were stupid. Would that have made you feel good about yourself? Do you think you would have learned more? I doubt it. So if you have a problem with “stupid” people and they frustrate you, why don’t you try to help them learn? Try to help change the way that their brains recognize patterns and then turn them into thoughts. That’s what learning is; forming new patterns in your mind. So when you are presented with a new experience, or problem, you are more capable of conceptualizing it.
Obviously our school systems aren’t doing a very good job of educated people. It is our job as so called “intelligent” people to help other people learn. Don’t be mad at someone because they are a republican and shop at Wal-Mart; try to show them why you think it’s a bad thing. But also remember that it is just you that thinks it’s a bad thing, “different strokes for different folks.” I’m not trying to say that I’m “right” or that you are “wrong”; I’m just trying to point out what the thought (pattern) is that I have about intelligence and why it seems like there are so many “stupid” people in the world. There aren’t any stupid people in the world, there are uneducated ones. I’m also willing to bet that most of the most important impactful information that most the people that read this have received in their lives didn’t come from a school system. You probably found it in an obscure book, random podcast, internet article or documentary. So why should we expect everyone else to have been exposed to all this non-mainstream culture that we have? We shouldn’t, we should help it get out. Don’t complain about shit that you aren’t going to do anything to change. We should help other people learn something new, see a new perspective. I think we should put ourselves into the roles of teachers. Now remember your good teachers that taught you the most and how they didn’t do it by telling you that you were stupid; they did it by waiting for you to come to them with a problem and then they actually helped you learn.
Comments
eeeeeeeeeediots!
— Jan 07, 2010
dude...some people are just stupid. especially when you got yer period! they are more than stupid they are eeeeeeeeeeedioTSS!!!
Ravo- the surfer that never surfed!
but wait...
— Jan 07, 2010
but wait.....i am smarter than everyone else...did they not send that notice to your house? :-O :-p :-)
Ravo- the surfer that never surfed!
Life Experiences
— Jan 07, 2010
Your right life experiences definatley help educate us, do we want to take experiences that happen to us and learn from them? I know I do! Noam Chomsky wrote (okay I don't know specifics so ill give a watered down version) basically that the only thing that graduating college proves is that you were able to show how fully and successfully intergrated you became as part of a system, not necessarily that you are smarter than a non collegiate educated person.
The problem with presenting
— Jan 07, 2010
The problem with presenting a problem is that we don't have teachers that are willing to listen. They are just telling you what to do, from their own life experience, and not allowing for the full fruition of your own thought process where you are able to discover, if asking the 'right' questions, what the problem actually is. Your post raises some good questions, and your statements I can agree with.
For the teaching to be a beneficial endeavor, good questioning needs to be facilitated and encouraged, and the goal should be not to answer, but to wonder. Answers will come when the work is done (when this is, I don't know). The mind is a mystery and a wonder.
I agree, wondering is an
— Jan 07, 2010
I agree, wondering is an amazing thing. The best thing that any of us could ever teach anyone to do would be to think for themselves.
I think we're all retards.
— Jan 07, 2010
Who's smarter, me or frat boy? I'm not so sure. My brother is a frat boy and drinks much beer but gets great grades, is very concerned about the environment and global warming, has a good work ethic and wants to go to med school. All good for him. I try to tell him that aspartame is bad for him and he starts to babble about peer-reviewed scientific articles disproving it. Maybe he's right and I'm all brainwashed into thinking aspartame is bad for me.
My uncle who just visited from California, is genuinely retarded. And I'll say 'retarded' as in held back and not use a word that's meaningless, like 'special' (who's not? (then again who's not held back?)). He's mildly autistic I believe, has a speech impediment and such, and his mind has trouble with certain concepts. But on the borderline of being able to function, a bit like Forrest Gump.
What I enjoy watching is how other family members interact... my father (he's on my mother's side) interacts with him as if he's always trying to prove something, 'scoff' and lecture him in grownup talk; for example about how people in California shouldn't use charcoal grills because of the damage it does to the atmosphere. This he will hear none of: he sticks stubbornly to his diet of grilled meats, pizza and hot dogs. He has a way of bringing out self-righteousness in people. Others like my mom, are very patronizing and will refrain from using 'grownup talk' with him.
If you actually listen to him talk for a bit, you can tell there is a lot of really complex shit going on, and in the manner of autism, certain powers that normal people do not have. But there is a lot of difficulties and when his mental 'gears' are turning, you can really see it. He's obsessed with movies, and music, has pretty good taste in both... and he's always obsessed with the DVD 'extras' or the parts where the musician interacts with the audience, because in his words he likes to know what they are thinking when they create. But all this just humbles me. It's like people who are fluent in a certain language will think of others who don't speak the language as well as idiots and make fun of them when they try to speak it.
But on the subject you mentioned, I don't think that telling my uncle he's stupid will accomplish anything. So I don't. But I do think that if he were to somehow know how stupid he was, he would be less 'retarded' (held back less). That's real education, and it's a painful process.
And BTW one of the best teachers I ever had repeatedly told the class they were cretins and infected by cretinism. Especially me, because I was disorganized and showed up late to class sometimes stoned. The difference was, he really cared about his students and had a system, The Method. And teaching people to feel good even when they aren't accomplishing anything substantial or growing is more of a insult to any student. If it doesn't hurt you're probably not really learning anything.
Of course everything I've said here is slightly biased and the opposite is probably also simultaneously true.
Cheers,
Meade
I agree with you for the
— Jan 07, 2010
I agree with you for the most part. I do not however think that any of us are stupid, just as I don't think that any of us are smart. In the case of mental illness it is a chemical unbalance making life more difficult for the person. I've been around mental illness my whole life. I have a Mother and Brother with serious anxiety issues. An old roommate that had a brother with a learning disability. My dad has worked in mental health for 30 years and has a masters in psychology/social work. It isn't fair what happened to these people. I was referring to the rest of us, specifically the ones that "think they are smarter" than everyone. I used to think I was smarter than a lot of people, until I finally realized that none of us know anything, therefore how can I be smarter than anyone if none of us know anything. That also means you can't be stupider though. Really I think it's just important to help people and for people to think for themselves. I think the best way to help someone is to try to teach them 1. they don't know anything and aren't smarter than anyone else and 2. to think for themselves.
...
— Jan 09, 2010
I think a natural consequence of us realizing that we don't know anything is that we are essentially self-aware retards. Knowing that we are stupid, lets us loosen up our ego a little bit and actually listen to other people, who are similarly retarded, or actually smart, or may have discovered something by chance that actually works. But it's not even that simple, is it?
Of course when you say you realized that none of us know anything, I am taking that with a grain of salt and it is quite the blanket statement.
There are many ways that the mind can be addled, misguided, tricked, damaged, drugged, influenced, the list goes on and on. Some of it is external in nature (society) and some of it is internal (ego). By thinking for ourselves we cancel out some of the external errors, and by mistrusting knowledge we cancel out some of the internal errors and the tendency of errors to 'stick' in our heads as habitual thinking, and as a result of our stubbornness. But it's just rules of thumb.
Part of me thinks its more like play, play at being stupid and play at being a genius. Each one has it's place. Anyone who can genuinely help others to think for themselves gets my eternal gratitude.
Cheers,
Meade
Changing Our Minds
— Jan 08, 2010
It's amazing how much we are capable of affecting our experiences simply by changing our minds. We have so much potential power if we can only see beyond the veils of accepted wit and credentialed knowledge to learn from one another when some thought or idea resonates for us. Yes, there is a great deal of pomposity in attempting to be above another, or others. But keeping one another thinking and expanded beyond conditioned thoughts, that is truly revolutionary, one reason I love this site so much, and a huge part of what makes me continually fall in deeper and deeper love with you. You are such a remarkable teacher. I love this post baby!
excellent
— Jan 08, 2010
my boyfriend has this t-shirt from before i met him, i might have fallen in love with him over it...
it reads just like the image above "I'm with stupid" but the arrow points up.
the more i see, the less i know.
every problem i've encountered in life has been solved by changing MY perspective.
peace
nice
— Jan 08, 2010
I believe that mind only knows what it has experienced, and only draws from those things it has personally known to be true. That's why people become serial killers, a certain set of circumstances present themselves in just the right order, and the connections get made to form a certain conclusion. Thank goodness mine formed the ones they have. We are blessed.
I've enjoyed both your blogs and those of your lovely lady. You guys are an interesting couple and I am rooting for you!
"With great power comes great responsibility." - Stan Lee (via Peter Parker)
Thanks for the support! I
— Jan 08, 2010
Thanks for the support! I really enjoy her blogs as well, and I'm so happy I met her. I'm glad you are rooting for us. I hope that you already have something, or will one day find something like we have, it's been the most amazing time of my life.
Later when I made that
— Jan 08, 2010
Later when I made that reference about being "intelligent" all I meant was that if you think you are one of the smart people, and smarter than everyone else, than you shouldn't just think that and put other people down. That you should help people learn your perceptions in a very non abrasive way. I didn't mean that you actually were smart. It's a fine line that is hard to actually get across. I'm just trying to say that we should all be teachers, especially the ones that think they are smarter than everyone. If you believe you are truely happy then try to spread it and your perception of it.
everything is perception,
— Jan 08, 2010
everything is perception, there are not true smart people or dumb people, even though it seems like there is, simply our perception of the events we are thrown into.
then again, that is my perception and it could be equally askew...
NARAYANA
"There is no End that is not a new Beginning..."
a little deeper...
— Jan 08, 2010
I admire your patience, Chris. You're the stuff good teachers are made of. And I do agree that patience is necessary, but you've heard the expression 'You can lead a horse to water..." right? Some really good points have been brought up in this thread, obviously beginning with yours - I’d like to go a little bit deeper, if I may…
People are very attached to their "knowledge" - from their religion right down to their political party. Their opinion or belief right NOW represents a lifetime of programming. It's a big gamble for anyone to look at something that could prove their beliefs to be lies, their philosophy to be doctored, or even copied. It's a gamble because the amount of time one has invested in whatever idea has been a daily affirmation, a proclamation to the world that THIS is what illustrious YOU consider to be the truth, the real deal, no more searching needed. The ego HATES being wrong and it hates to be thought of as 'stupid'. But you HAVE TO be wrong at some point in order to discover the new truth. And truth is transient, so there never really is a solid definition of what that truth is. And what is the ego but the ring leading the bull around by its’ nose? The ego WANTS to divide and categorize because that’s exactly what it has been programmed to do. So until the individual is ready to see the ego for what it is, be willing to be wrong, the truth will be rallied against rather than embraced.
I’m not offering any of this as the new WHAT IS, but as a personal realization from my own experience. I’ve had the frustratingly ineffective sit-downs trying to get the proverbial horse to drink, but more often than not – it goes something like this:
"B-b-b-but where's the plane at the Pentagon?!" (me stammering because I can't believe it's this easy for anyone to dismiss their own faculties) "Can you show me ANY of the plane parts in ANY of these photos? Something!?"
Oh, that's just conspiracy talk. It disintegrated on impact like they said.
"Well then, why did building seven go down? Explain that for me, please."
Well, you know - from the other buildings that went down.
"Oh, right - the buildings that went down within their own footprints, just like controlled demolitions - the buildings that were DESIGNED to withstand SEVERAL planes of that size crashing into them. Those buildings...”
"Here, watch this footage of those buildings falling and tell me what those little explosions are all about - the ones going off ahead of the falling debris."
Well, you know - they can do anything with film these days.
It's an exercise in futility because many people are simply too afraid to look at the monster in the closet, or too afraid of anything challenging what they think they know – about anything! They've been programmed for a lot of years how to fear something. Religion taught them to fear God. Government taught them to fear terrorism, communists, or anything else that suited their agenda for the moment. And let's be frank about this - scary shit lies on the other side of the curtain. Sure, there's plenty of good on the esoteric end of things - but the veil obscurs both until the individual is ready to cast it aside.
My point is that only the individual can decide when they’re ready to face any of this information. Only the individual can take it upon themselves to question what they’ve been told NOT to question. Only the individual can muster the courage necessary to actually LOOK at some of the things they’ve secretly harbored suspicions about. Not everyone is ready to do so because our society is very much entrenched in this egoic, me, me, me perception. The labels that divide us by intellect, by religion, social status, race and so on are intended to divide. Therein lies the greater encompassing problem. If something is perceived as ‘different’, it’s subsequently placed into a category that the observer doesn’t even belong to. It’s dividing, you see? When you consider that just about every institution of thought or philosophy perpetuates this original lie of division through exhausting means of defining, it’s easy to see how it simply cannot be fixed until the “me’s” collectively change their perception to WE. That happens one person at a time, by embracing and vibrating inclusion, not exclusion; love, not fear or hate.
The work is to be done individually, by people such as yourselves – “Lead by example” has never been more applicable. 100th monkey, kind of stuff – you know?
Great minds in this forum – really excited to be among you.
Thank you.
— Jan 08, 2010
I agree with everything that you just said but I would like to point something out. There is a massive 9/11 truth movement. There is actually a show on cable television now with Jesse Ventura talking about 9/11. Now while there is still a lot of people unwilling to look at this and believe this, it's still a lot more prevalent than any Pearl harbor movement that was happening 60 years ago. And even though the universal health care plan that's been proposed sucks, it's still been proposed, that's a start. We have a black president that probably isn't going to change anything but it is still a big jump for America to actually elect a black president under a campaign built on the idea of change. We have a bill to audit the fed's which probably won't get passed but it's there. You're right there have been life times backing peoples belief's, but I believe those belief's are starting to lose their holds and that they are failing. Change is happening and I think we could do a lot of good in the world just by being there for people when they still need things to believe and helping to teach people. Thank you for your compliment and I too am so happy to be part of this Evolver community.
a bit more
— Jan 08, 2010
Do you think there's any similarity between the 9/11 movement and the new age movement, in terms of how it's being directed? I've seen Jesse Ventura's new show and frankly, something is just not right. I haven't been able to put my finger on it, but something about it doesn't sit right with me. It could be the vapid co-hosts or the way Jesse himself seems to be 'directed' in a certain way...like I said, can't quite put my finger on it just yet but the overall product is one of sensationalism, not journalism. The same applies with some other programs like Ghost Hunters. The people in front of the camera are actors, essentially - and not very good ones at that. The delivery ends up canned and the viewer isn't really left with a desire to learn more and an encouraged sense of suspicion, but a good 30 minutes worth of entertainment.
As far as our black president is concerned, perhaps you haven't seen the media push that's basically equating dissent with racism. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/05/AR200908...
The masses are all jazzed up about the first black president, but consider for a moment the kind of manipulation that's available to the people who put him there. The old defense of "racism" is not only effective in the minds of Americans, but something that can be used in order to quell the dissent of anyone or organization who seeks to speak against him and his actions.
As for health care, it's currently in the mix to imprison and/or fine anyone who doesn't pay...and for benefits that are slower than what most veterans have to wait for. No good. Just another reason to use military forces to address civil unrest and lock people up in one of the many detention centers all over the country. http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/09/army_homeland_090708w/
I understand that none of
— Jan 08, 2010
I understand that none of these things are going perfect. And they aren't going how we would like them to go, but the fact that all these things are happening just show that even bilderburg knows that the people want change. Sure it isn't going how we would like it to go, but it won't go how they want it to go either. I think you can either be optimistic about it and think about how change is actually taking place because they know it has to; or you can be cynical about it and be worried about the change not be exactly how we want, but it's there.
Not cynical....
— Jan 08, 2010
There's no cynicism in my observations, but I just can't bring myself to accept that the same people who stand behind a depopulation program are concerned about "what the people want" - if anything, the lies are becoming more frequent and even less believable, which IS a good thing for all of us because it's becoming harder and harder for anyone to explain away the actions of our governments, or simply be okay with it. The whole "Change you can believe in" and "Hope" campaign that Obama's financiers designed is painfully transparent now as nothing he promised has come to fruition. It's just further proof that our political system is nothing more than a puppet show to entertain the masses with the fraudulent idea that we have a say in the way our government is run. How many people were AGAINST the bailout? Most Americans were, but it didn't matter. Any participation in an argument that pits Democrats against Republicans, or liberals, conservatives, whatever - is perpetuating, and fueling the system that clearly does not work. "Change" must be exactly that for it to be considered change. If the only change is in the verbage they use to further extend their authority and control, I don't see how it can be considered a change.
I don't know what the solution is, Chris - other than what I've already stated. The change has to happen within the minds and hearts of the masses, not in the legal tidal wave of hidden agendas and leash-tightening amendments that are inserted into these bills of "change".
The first step is in seeing the deception for what it is, our faux-freedom for what it is and all of the contributing mechanisms that foster an inherent fear of each other for what they are. If we're all connected, yet afraid of each other - do you see how that will eventually destroy us? It's like a single person being deathly afraid of themself - that's GOING to take it's toll unless the person realizes how foolish and destructive that ridiculous fear is. Just as we must. I know that sounds like a really simple answer for a complexity of problems, but if you really scrutinize the details of all our worlds problems, I think you'll agree.
I'm eternally optimistic about the increasing number of people who are waking up. I helped to manifest the failure of the Copenhagen treaty, just as so many others did. I know there are people already up in arms about this recent underwear bomber and the subsequent actions that are trying to be pushed through. They're desperate (PTB) - and they're making mistakes, pushing more unbelievable lies...their grasp is failing. I'm helping it to fail by manifesting a different tomorrow where all life is honored equally, where the needs of the people are the first and most important priority.
I wish you peace, brother.
I'm with you man, our
— Jan 08, 2010
I'm with you man, our political system is a joke. I don't think it's changing anything. All I'm pointing out is how many of the things they are doing are changing and how much change it is trying to front like is happening to appease the people. I agree it's a joke and lying more and more, but I feel like this is when a animal is clawing a fighting for it's life. It knows it's out dated and that's why they are trying to look like they are changing. More and more people are waking up, it's amazing. I don't ever care what the laws are that are being passed they will always be to further "their" agenda. All I'm saying is that they are doing so much to try to appear to the people as to be change, which says to me that people more and more are demanding it.
little girls are smarter...
— Jan 08, 2010
at barbies...
i think we know about what we do, and are interested.... but then there's the question of how quickly we process information.. idk maaaan
whole sale eshop
— Sep 26, 2010
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