Who am I?

[Oncle Boris]

Skywalker, don't mind them. Personally, I think you're very smart for your age, and probably brilliant.

I have no doubt that even in College or graduate school (how do you call it?) you'll rank amongst the best.

If you can care for some advice- if you take the science path, don't underestimate philosophy.

[Kuciwalker]

I like philosophy. I don't like it enough to major in it (over math and computer science) but I'll definately take some courses in it

[Oncle Boris]

Let me add: from what I hear, your parents sound quite rich. I supposed you did the mistake of getting interested to politics and philosophy before you reached the age of utter-parental-contestation, which means you are dtermined to stay an idiot capitalist for the rest of your life.

[Kontiki]

Originally posted by Oncle Boris
Skywalker, don't mind them. Personally, I think you're very smart for your age, and probably brilliant.

I have no doubt that even in College or graduate school (how do you call it?) you'll rank amongst the best.

If you can care for some advice- if you take the science path, don't underestimate philosophy.

He is brilliant for his age. He just needs to learn some things that only life can teach. Humility being one of the more major ones.

[Kuciwalker]

My dad is "rich", yes. My grandfather was "rich", yes. But it stops there, because my great-grandparents were immigrants from Russia and Eastern Europe, so it's not "old money". My grandparents and my dad made it on ability. I didn't have my beliefs imposed on me by my parents, I developed them on my own (especially wrt relgion - my mom's Catholic, and I was raised Catholic, but I figured out for myself that it was nonsense ).

[Oncle Boris]

Originally posted by Kontiki
He is brilliant for his age. He just needs to learn some things that only life can teach. Humility being one of the more major ones.

Not really. The point being, if you are to know who is better than you, you have to know who is not as good too- and sorting it out is not a sin. He'll probably run into some geniuses eventually, but I have no doubt that he will form the elite of the society, period, whether it turns out he is 'smart', 'brilliant', or outright 'genius-level'.

[Oncle Boris]

Originally posted by Kucinich
My dad is "rich", yes. My grandfather was "rich", yes. But it stops there, because my great-grandparents were immigrants from Russia and Eastern Europe, so it's not "old money". My grandparents and my dad made it on ability. I didn't have my beliefs imposed on me by my parents, I developed them on my own (especially wrt relgion - my mom's Catholic, and I was raised Catholic, but I figured out for myself that it was nonsense ).

By American standards, if your grandparents were rich, the money is quite old.

[Space05us]

I'm pretty sure that most Apolytoners felt similarly at your age. You'll get over it eventually.

Unfortunatly, this man speaks the truth.

I am sure that you will be just like a large fraction of other kids out there with a 'superiority complex'. When you get out into the adult world and discover that you are not so hot as you once thought, you will fall into depression, maybe followed by drug addiction and a lonely death (at your own hand perhaps?).

unfortunatly, so does he.

Why is everyone reacting so violently to Skywalker?
Are you all just jealous?

very, Im very envious of his youthful bliss. before I was jaded by reality I was the same kid skywalker is.

Oh how I miss my innocence, I was happy then.

[Kuciwalker]

My dad didn't get a free ride or anything. Do you know how hard the actuarial exams are? Plus, my grandfather isn't dead, so it's not like my dad has inherited a vast fortune or anything

[Space05us]

nah, Im still happy.

I need to buy a home and then go club me a wifey and make mini-mes, who will run around asking why the sky is blue and why the grass is green, they'll ask why dogss lift thier legs to pee, why they dont fall up instead of down, then one day they'll ask me to help them dig a hole to China

Honestly I cant wait to have a family!
(well I know enough to wait until I can afford it of course)

[Kontiki]

Originally posted by Oncle Boris


Not really. The point being, if you are to know who is better than you, you have to know who is not as good too- and sorting it out is not a sin.

Based on that, you could use a dose of it too. You may be smarter than most, but if you think in terms of being "better" than someone, you're an asshat.

[Oncle Boris]

Originally posted by Kucinich
My dad didn't get a free ride or anything. Do you know how hard the actuarial exams are? Plus, my grandfather isn't dead, so it's not like my dad has inherited a vast fortune or anything

He would probably be paying for a high-level tuition, if your father didn't have the means. Most grandparents tend to really like their grandkids.

So, the idea that capitalism is oligarchic still goes.

[Kuciwalker]

He did pay for his tuition

[Oncle Boris]

Originally posted by Kontiki
Based on that, you could use a dose of it too. You may be smarter than most, but if you think in terms of being "better" than someone, you're an asshat.

Bah, by then it's only semantic. Seriously, I'm a huge equality and human rights advocate, but- if humanity was to disappear and we had to pick 1,000 survivors, would you really want that they be chosen randomly?

[Oncle Boris]

Originally posted by Kucinich
He did pay for his tuition

Maybe, but had you or your father been lazy or un-money oriented persons, it's possible that you could not be enjoying what you are enjoying right now.

An example would be my brother, who isn't either terribly brilliant or terribly idiot, but lazy as hell. If he wasn't supported by my parents, he would working at a McDonald's. He just had the luck of being-born in a well-off family.

[Kuciwalker]

So? How is that different from welfare?

[Oncle Boris]

Originally posted by Kucinich
So? How is that different from welfare?

In that it's 'welfare money' redistributed with no objective of social equality at all.

[Kuciwalker]

Why can't I use my money to support other people, though? Hey, it's a nice thing to do! Just because it isn't as nice as you want it to be, doesn't mean it's bad

(btw, mutual trolling is fun )

[Oncle Boris]

Originally posted by Kucinich
Why can't I use my money to support other people, though? Hey, it's a nice thing to do! Just because it isn't as nice as you want it to be, doesn't mean it's bad

Huh... does paying taxes mean that you can't help people anymore?

[Kuciwalker]

Taxes reduce the amount of support I can give

[Japher]

I need to buy a home and then go club me a wifey and make mini-mes, who will run around asking why the sky is blue and why the grass is green, they'll ask why dogss lift thier legs to pee, why they dont fall up instead of down, then one day they'll ask me to help them dig a hole to China

Honestly I cant wait to have a family!
(well I know enough to wait until I can afford it of course)

Answers to all them questions, I have been preping myself ever since wifey started bring home Care Bares and Strawberry Shortcake Dolls

Why is the sky blue? Because made out of blue raspberry Icees!
Why is grass green? Because cows only see the color green and it allows them to figure out what is food and what isn't.
Dogs lift leg to pee? Duh, so they don't pee on their leg.
Why you don't fall up? Because it is really hard to jump down.

A little word of advice: Start digging that hole to China now.

[Oncle Boris]

Originally posted by Kucinich
Taxes reduce the amount of support I can give

It also reduce the amount of support others need.

[Drogue]

Originally posted by Kontiki
I'll never forget something one of my profs said during the first few days of my MBA program (paraphrasing):

Everyone here is used to being among the best. No one here did worse than the 90th percentile on the GMAT, everyone had good grades in undergrad, and most were the cream of the crop at work. But here, by definition, 50% will be below average, and it's going to shock you.

You're in high school, skywalker (or Kucinich). Rest assured, you'll learn modesty fast when you start running with the big dogs.

That's very true, for most people. They said that to my brother when he left school to go to Cambridge. Our school is a state school, it's non selective, and sends usually 1 or 2 students a year to Oxbridge. He was used to being top, but was also told to expect to find most people there to be at least as good. They weren't, and he just graduated top of his college and 8th of his year (of over 200) with a high first. As you say, when you get loads of people who are used to being top, 50% will be below average. However 50% will be above, and still someone has to be top. There are a lot of very bright kids. There aren't a lot of incredibly bright ones. IMHO, Skywalker falls into the latter catagory. I could well imagine him going to Harvard/Yale/Princeton and still being one of the top few people. There might be people better than him there, I'm sure he knows that, but he'll learn as much modesty as is needed.

Kids nowadays know pretty much what to expect, IMHO. Talking to people at the interviews for university, it's obvious they expect everyone to be at least as bright. They know they're good, but they expect everyone else to be. We're not under illusions that when the pool widens, we won't necessarily be the top dog anymore. However someone will be. I don't have much faith in the intelligence of many teenagers. My school was generally well rated, though non-selective, and many of the people I was with had problems with things that seemed simple. So the fact I was top of my classes doesn't count to much when comparing myself to others at university interviews, where there will be intelligent people. Sky knows that.

You are correct, many people will find it a shock, as the people will be brighter than those you're used to. But that doesn't mean that everyone with experiences like Sky will run into people better than him. He may remain at the top when he goes to College, and grad school.

I was expecting to meet people at least as good as me at the Oxford interviews, and while I met a few who were impressive, many of the people there could hold an argument, and had no knowledge outside their studies. Sure, they were getting straight As (everyone applying there is) but it was quite easy to tell which would get in and which wouldn't, in most cases. Talking to Sky, he'd be one of the ones that would.

He may learn humility, but personally I'd rather see more realists, who recognise their own achievments, than those who are scared to because people think they're bragging. Most people on 'Poly are intelligent, and have been top 10% in the education they've had (as evidenced by the how smart are you thread a while ago), but there are a few who are way ahead even of the Poly average, whether in terms of grades, IQ or general depth and breadth of knowledge. Sky would, at least for his age, be one of them, IMHO.

[Jaguar]

Originally posted by alva


Better face it Jag..., you're becoming 'n old git...

I'm officially the second youngest regular! w00t I guess.

[Drogue]

Originally posted by Space05us

Quote:

I'm pretty sure that most Apolytoners felt similarly at your age. You'll get over it eventually.

Unfortunatly, this man speaks the truth.

On the former, yes, on the latter, not necessarily. Most Apolytoners are very bright, and were in school and college. Most, when they got to college or grad school realised that there were other people just as smart as them. However some people at Poly are won't find that, because they're specially bright. Some didn't just go to a good college and do well, they went to a good college and did well 2 or 3 years before their peers, or graduated top of their class. Most apolytoners are quite far above average (IMHO), but that doesn't meant there aren't people who are even higher here, and as such, what happens to most Apolytoners, as mentioend above, wouldn't be true for them. Sky would be one of them IMHO. I don't agree with him on much politically or even philosophically, but I can see he's a hell of a lot brighter than most gifted students. I've very occasionally met ones that are doing college level math at that age, or ones that can debate politics and philosophy at that age, but never a 15 year old that can do both to that standard.

I'm sorry for the rants, but I know people believe statements likem those above, that there's always someone brighter, that most gifted people go through that. But there are people who are considered gifted even compared to other gifted people, who won't need to learn that when they go to college or grad school others will be as good, because they won't. Like the 13 year old doing his PhD in Math at Carnegie Mellon (IIRC). He did a degree in 2 years, and is expecting to have 3 PhDs by the time he's 20. He's not going to meet others who are brighter when he moves on, because there aren't any. Like Matt Dillon's character in Good Will Hunting. It's true what the professor says, that there are only a handful of people that can tell the difference between them, between a very gifted person and an absolute genius. Likewise, it is not as obvious to most people the difference between a gifted student and a very gifted student. Just because most gifted people eventually go to a place where all others are just as intelligent, either college or grad school or some such, doesn't mean they all will.

[Drogue]

Originally posted by Rogan Josh
I am sure that you will be just like a large fraction of other kids out there with a 'superiority complex'. When you get out into the adult world and discover that you are not so hot as you once thought, you will fall into depression, maybe followed by drug addiction and a lonely death (at your own hand perhaps?).

Actually, I'd find it more depressing knowing that I'd never meet someone who was as intelligent, who could converse on my level. There was a wonderful article written by someone I used to chat to about a link between incredibly intelligent people and depression. Knowing that they couldn't talk to people, because either they'd get bored, or the other people wouldn't understand them, could be depressing.

A large fraction of kids do have superiority complexes. A few don't realise they aren't so hot, because they are. Who's to say Sky will realise that? I'm suire sure he won't be just like that.

[Drogue]

Originally posted by Cruddy
but until you reach the stage where you can walk up to a prospective partner and flirt, make a pass and (who knows?) get lucky, you are NOT an adult.

Look at his thread on Alice

[Kuciwalker]

I Drogue

Originally posted by Jaguar Warrior
I'm officially the second youngest regular! w00t I guess.

By a few months

[Jaguar]

[nelson]Ha ha![/nelson] You're the third youngest.

[Kuciwalker]

But I know where you live