90% of the people I know are shamed by this little girl

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90% of the people I know are shamed by this little girl


Clever Littel Girl - Watch the best video clips here

 

This little girl surely qualifies as having more foreign policy experience than Sarah Palin

 

M

 

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 I have a sneaking

 I have a sneaking suspicion that her parents spend a lot of time trying to cultivate her brain development.  What a novel idea!

I would probably like children more if more parents bothered to educate them.

 

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It's quite nice to see.  I

It's quite nice to see.  I have a habit of buying educational gifts at early stages for my god-daughter.  Her parents love it but another friend tried to mock me for being "boring"...

 

Suffice to say his kid isn't very bright.

 

M

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 I get really aggravated

 I get really aggravated when people make children stupid.  It's part of the reason I work so hard to write about the scientific perspective of human nature.  People don't like thinking of "training" humans, but that's how nature works.

 

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I think that may be part of

I think that may be part of the unfortunate American tendency to treat intelligence with derision - notice how intelligent candidates are called "elitist" , how scientists in movies tend to be either evil, crazy or completely socially inept, also in Tv/movies intelligent people are usually portrayed as "nerds" - who are often unattractive and very undesirable to the opposite sex, etc. Why should something that's a positive trait be portrayed as negative?

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Quote:Why should something

Quote:
Why should something that's a positive trait be portrayed as negative?

Curiously enough... training.

It's not that Hollywood is actively conspiring to convince people of something they don't believe otherwise.  It's that the prevailing trend in our culture is to train children to believe that good clothes, expensive toys, sports prowess, and cutesy naivete about anything scientific are good traits.  When they grow up, these people believe what they were trained to believe as kids.  The cycle perpetuates itself without any need for a plot.

The fact is, clothes, toys, athleticism, and other non-intellectual things are sexual turnons.  Cultures tend to fine tune the relative merit of each, and reinforce the training we're getting from our parents.  It's not that we need to ignore everything but intellect, but it sure would be nice if there was a little more emphasis on smart people.

 

 

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Especially since a society

Especially since a society can easily be succesful without it's people being very attractive or athletic (assuming the members of the military are fit enough . ) But if a society is full of stupid and/or uneducated people it's a disaster nowadays.

 

Basically, if all of a sudden in the US we had no more athletes or models, it would diminish entertainment but not be that big a deal, but if we no longer had any scientists, engineers or doctors we'd be up that infamous foul-smelling creek.

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 Heh, the irony of it all

 Heh, the irony of it all is that there's nothing that precludes smart people from being athletic or wealthy or stylish.  I'm not the guy to comment on current tv because all I watch is the science channel and college football.  (Sports and intellect!!)  Even so, does anybody know of a current character who's exceptionally smart -- book smart, not common sense smart -- who's also sexy in more "Hollywood" ways?

 

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Hambydammit wrote: Heh, the

Hambydammit wrote:

 Heh, the irony of it all is that there's nothing that precludes smart people from being athletic or wealthy or stylish.  I'm not the guy to comment on current tv because all I watch is the science channel and college football.  (Sports and intellect!!)  Even so, does anybody know of a current character who's exceptionally smart -- book smart, not common sense smart -- who's also sexy in more "Hollywood" ways?

 

I can think of couple of Star Trek characters --- Seven and Dax. The cast of House is a good 35% Hollywood style hottie with brains.... can't think of any more off the top of my head.

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 Quote:I can think of

 

Quote:
I can think of couple of Star Trek characters --- Seven and Dax.

Haven't really watched much of this Star Trek.  I didn't know borg were smart away from the collective, but that's pretty cool if she's a smartie.  I don't even know who Dax is.  I think the Vulcan woman on "Enterprise" is pretty smoking, and I guess she's pretty smart.

I've watched House a couple of times.  I'm just not moved by medical drama.  Anyway, thanks for the input.  I now know of a couple of hotties with brains on tv.  Smiling

 

 

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One of the most shocking

One of the most shocking things I've heard about the attitude of at least some US parents, from a friend I was staying with in California a few years ago, who was involved with the local school, was that they didn't like the idea that their kids might be educated to be smarter than they (the parents) were...

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Awesome little

Awesome little girl.

Everything was great until I noticed that the cushion was right next to a window at 3:12 or so in the video.

Oh well. I guess I can't have 100%

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She just has a lot of time

She just has a lot of time on her hands to look at maps with her helicopter parents. I'll bet she doesn't even have a job.


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For some reason, the

For some reason, the discussion that has sidetracked to TV shows reminds me of something I saw a long time ago on Without a Trace.

One of the agents: We found a 50% DNA match, which means that it belongs to either of the parents

*Slams head into desk*

Helpful hint 1: If you are a member of the Homo genus, and the entity in question has a 50% DNA match to you, then it is a banana, not one of your parents.

Helpful hint 2: This is a very simple method which never fails for determining which parent the DNA belongs to:

1. Two X Chromsomes=Female

2. One X, One Y Chromosome=Male

3. Some other combination=Intersex

 

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Recently, when Palin was

Recently, when Palin was pranked by a radio station in Montreal pretending to be the President of France, when they told her their location she thought Montreal was a city in France.  Now there is a Montreal in France but it's the equivilent of a county.  Perhaps Palin can't see Quebec from her house so she didn't know Montreal is one of the largest cities in Canada and a site which America has invaded in the past.

But, alas, if things go well we won't have to mock her until 2012.


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deludedgod wrote:For some

deludedgod wrote:

For some reason, the discussion that has sidetracked to TV shows reminds me of something I saw a long time ago on Without a Trace.

One of the agents: We found a 50% DNA match, which means that it belongs to either of the parents

*Slams head into desk*


 

It's this sort of thing that stopped me watching CSI.  I'm sure it's all very dramatic and what-not but there isn't a single person on this earth that can convince me that gas chromatography is exciting or cutting edge science.  Nor will anything of any forensic worth be returned in the time it takes [Generic Main Character] to look out of shot.

 

M

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There are several reasons

There are several reasons why intellectualism has become so discouraged in Western culture. Capitalism like any other system has a selection process, and the culture that grows out of it will tend to encourage some traits and discourage others, not explicitly but subtly. So why is intellectualism undesirable in capitalist political-economy?

1. Freethinkers are less likely to be as obsessed with consumption as the ditzy blonde girl that dominates Hollywood teen movies. Therefore, the 'nerd' is the epitomy of a freethinking, un-consumer, who wears unfashionable clothes and big round glasses, is a social outcast. This meme has been selected for in a capitalist economy because not being like this, and conforming to fashion is seen as the ticket to increased popularity and social acceptance. This is not to say that freethinkers won't be consumers, but that typically freethinkers have bigger things to ponder on than whether they have the latest iPod or Nike trainers.

2. If too many people began to question it, it wouldn't work, same for any political-economic system, but particularly capitalism (since much of its market structures are based upon trust and confidence).

There are also factors which come in from the standard of education people receive. I had a terrible education, especially in Primary (equiv. Elementary) School, back in the early and mid 90s when the Conservatives were in power and idly letting everything go to shit. It's a well known fact that kids hate school, and I can see why, school was dull, boring and even when it doesn't barely try to educate kids (like it did in my day (my Mum's a Primary teacher and tells me it's a lot better now)) it's still hard to keep them interested. For many adults this boredom they suffered in school is translated into a dislike for anything intellectual. The boredom kids face in school also builds into peer-pressure against those kids who actually find learning enjoyable. Kids will always get bored in school, and the only solution is to build up a better education system so less kids get failed by it.

There are also some factors unique to America, particularly in its extraordinarily high levels of religiosity. Now I can't claim to know America, I'm sure most of you know it better, but I'd say that many Americans view Science as very much irrelevant to their religious convictions and will generally deny any scientific evidence that controdicts these convictions. Thus, science is disregarded by many Americans.

I do think though that this culture only goes so far and that there are many people who see intelligence as a good thing. I would even go as far as to say that it is as much a criteria for sexual selection as big muscles are (although probably not as popular). Now, I'm not the most popular guy with the ladies, I don't generally have the desirable traits of outward confidence or dickishness but the ones I have been out with have liked me for my brains (and probably my music). My friends too generally like me for my brain, and generally speaking I too am attracted both socially and sexually to intelligence.

 


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First of all~ THAT iS SOOO

First of all~ THAT iS SOOO CUTE!!! And kudos to that little girl, and to her parents, for proving that you're never too young to start learning.

My parents always told my siblings and I that we were intelligent from a very young age, but it was something that we took for granted. However, I had no first cousins until I was 13. Because of this generation gap, I've watched my cousins (who are now 8, 6, and 4) grow up not as a peer, but as an elder, if you will. (I and my siblings are 21, 19, and 17) I don't mean to imply that my aunt and uncle are bad parents, because that's certainly not the case. But I notice that where my parents were very adamant and selective about choosing educational toys and activities for their kids to participate in, these kids' parents were much more negligent with this type of thing.

The difference became apparent to me recently, as my dad took on a project to convert our old family videos from VHS tapes to DVD. We were going through some of the DVDs to make sure the content had transferred properly, and there was a lot from my early childhood that stood out to me in retrospect. I could do puzzles long before I learned to walk. I essentially taught myself to read - I had a collection of childrens' books on cassette tapes, and when I was 18 months old, don't ask me how, but if you asked me to play a certain tape, I picked the correct one out right away. The only differences between the tapes were the words on the labels - no picture cues or anything. Somehow I had figured out the alphabet code. I had a huge singing repertoire by the time I was 18 months old - I also had perfect pitch, but that's not necessarily something that can be cultivated. And this all interested me immensely - I had an attention span that didn't quit.

None of this had seemed all that remarkable to me before. But now that I've seen my oldest cousin struggling to read simple words at age 6, now that I've dealt with rather ADHD behavior (it's... exhausting), now that I've seen my cousins struggling to eke out a song with any musical skill at an age when I was already performing in my first voice recitals and plays, now I realize how much my parents actually did for my siblings and I.

I really do wish that people would take education more seriously. I don't even consider myself to be exceptionally smart - I often struggle to get through the undergraduate program I'm in, when there are others that have an easier time of it. (Granted, I'm at a top 20 school, and granted, I went to a fucked up Christian high school where I didn't receive the intense science background that many others here did.) But at least my parents always emphasized education, and at least they equipped me with the appropriate tools, rather than just relying on the education system to take care of things. (I would have been really fucked, seeing as how I spent the majority of my schooling at religious schools.)

I guess the parents are to blame, for not instilling educational values in their children, but also those children are at fault for not taking a proactive approach to their education, especially as they mature. My grandparents made it through Yugoslav concentration camps during WWII, and what they told their grandchildren was this: "They can take your home, your land, the clothes off your backs... but who you are and the knowledge you've gained - no one can take that away."  I wish more people saw it like that.


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There aren't many people who

There aren't many people who teach their children to be inquisitive and learn them how to think for themselves. Instead they teach their children how to behave more like themselves and often teach them to mistrust intellect and science.

Especially in the US there seems to be a very strong Rousseauan* tradition which deems intelligence and knowledge as corrupters of the simple, natural state of mind of men.

I wonder where I would be now if my parents were more like the parents of the girl in the video...

More importantly; where would the world be if all parents were more like hers?

 

 

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rousseau

 

 

 

 

 

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MichaelMcF wrote:It's quite

MichaelMcF wrote:

It's quite nice to see.  I have a habit of buying educational gifts at early stages for my god-daughter.  Her parents love it but another friend tried to mock me for being "boring"...

 

Suffice to say his kid isn't very bright.

 

M

I know it shouldn't be funny that his kid is growing up ignorant... But the way you said it... I couldn't contain my laughter.

 

I never recieved any learning toys as a child, but my parents were very helpfull in developing my young mind. My parents never used baby talk, and encouraged reading at a very young age. As a result , I was speaking with perfect grammer at age 1 and reading at age 2. I think some people are born gifted, but it has more to do with how the gift is nurtured. If more parents were like the ones in this post it would be the best of possible earths.

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As you see, this is what

As you see, this is what happens when children are kept away from the mindfucking demons called Teletubbies. People seems to consider children as innately dumb and becoming intelligent, but that's not precise. Children has a problem to gain a control over their body and emotions, but they can also show a very high degree of natural intelligence. I suspect that children are already intelligent, it's just not apparent until they gain a self-control, and a lot of that intelligence usually gets destroyed in the process.
In my young years I enjoyed reading a lot, and educational books about anatomy, prehistoric fauna, and contemporary fauna and flora. Including latin names. I remember the phrases from them even now. Survival, Perspective and National Geographic were my most favorite TV programs. I was the greatest smartass around. And jokes, oh, how I loved jokes. I remembered dozens of them and could tell them on every ocassion. Dunno if it's a common phenomenon, but it looked like everything I said caused all grownups around to be flabberghasted. It was kinda annoying, I was never sure if I said something wrong or ridiculous. If a mature person would say the same thing, they wouldn't even notice, but as a child I suffered by a constant attention.
But dear parents, step-parents, grandparents and so on, be careful with books. They are dangerously addictive. Don't forget the sports, don't forget to socialize the infant with peers. It has later a great impact on that person's sexual life.

Hambydammit wrote:

 

Quote:
I can think of couple of Star Trek characters --- Seven and Dax.

Haven't really watched much of this Star Trek.  I didn't know borg were smart away from the collective, but that's pretty cool if she's a smartie.  I don't even know who Dax is.  I think the Vulcan woman on "Enterprise" is pretty smoking, and I guess she's pretty smart.

7th of 9 was definitely very smart, I remember the episode when she was chosen for her intelligence to become a member of the Club of Thinkers - a club of space nerds who, needless to say, got beaten for abducting her. Can't say ass-kicked, some of them didn't have asses.

 


 

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She is ADORABLE. Thanks for

She is ADORABLE. Laughing out loud Thanks for sharing, I love those smart little kid videos. Too bad she knows more about geography than the average Joe.

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Hambydammit wrote: I get

Hambydammit wrote:

 I get really aggravated when people make children stupid.  It's part of the reason I work so hard to write about the scientific perspective of human nature.  People don't like thinking of "training" humans, but that's how nature works.

 

 

It pisses me off too. Children need mental stimulation that's not garbage television and McDonald's every night. Those things can be nice as treats, but the fact of the matter is if kids miss the critical period they can't too far later on.

This little girl is going to LOVE maps when she's older because her parents have made it fun and interesting for her. I'm so grateful that my parents took the time to take me to cool places like museums and parks instead of buying me cheap video games.

My mom told me when I was barely a year, they took me to the beach. My dad told me I had sand on my face, so I stuck my face in the sand. I was very literal. I hate babysitting because the kids eat greasy pizza, fries, play mind-numbing video games and whine constantly. I don't blame them. Their parents are essentially the reason they're so mindless. Go to work, stuff the kids full of junk and come home expecting the "schools" punched any sense into them.

I love watching videos of me and my sister. It always boggles my mind how different we were from many kids I meet today. My cousin is 8 and she can read novels VERY quickly. She's brilliant and I love it.

*Our world is far more complex than the rigid structure we want to assign to it, and we will probably never fully understand it.*

"Those believers who are sophisticated enough to understand the paradox have found exciting ways to bend logic into pretzel shapes in order to defend the indefensible." - Hamby


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I say, what a most

I say, what a most discomforting vignette!