PRay TeLL, Dr. Hash

<p>Risk implies the odds of a negative consequence. You don't say, “the risk of becoming a millionaire,” but you don't want the risk of going broke. Stripping off that distinction, risk is simply the probability of something you don't want to happen. Even animals calculate risk to some degree, maybe not with the clarity that humans do, but tigers do not attack elephants unless the chance of...

<p>There are many smart people alive today who believe that our individual choices in life are overwhelmed by a kind of fate because our bodies are organic robots and therefore predictable in a probabilistic way. All human action is predicated on the peptides in our brains; control the peptides, control what a person thinks and does. Extrapolating this chemical programability: since computer...

<p>Most people in the past, and still many today, especially the successful ones, think their successes were preordained, as a reward for acts in a previous life perhaps, or as an answer to prayers, and there is little they can do to change it; their fate is sealed. This makes life simple indeed: rich people must deserve their fate just as much as the poor; there is no reason to prepare, and...

<p>Why is intelligence so stupid? Let's review:</p> <ol> <li> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Defining intelligence is actually much more difficult than first appears.</p> </li> <li> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Polymaths, people who are master of all things, are more fairytale than reality.</p> </li> <li>...

<p>One of the most surprising divides between ideologies, liberty versus Marxism, is the denial that authority exists. Doctors, lawyers, teachers, religious leaders, even parents, are obliged no special dispensation for their knowledge and achievements in a Marxist society, where everyone is equal and the obligation is on talented individuals to provide for the less so. People gain absolutel...

<p>Everybody's an expert at what they do, or at least thinks they are, and it's true: anybody who's been doing a job for 2 years is more expert than any new straight-A college graduate. Unfortunately, the competence that comes from doing something repeatedly gives a false sense of confidence when people think what they do is special, making them assume they are difficult to replace, but the...

<p>Of all the positives things the Internet has brought, one of the more insidious problems is the prevalence of self-proclaimed experts, and everybody thinks their opinion is just as valuable as anyone else's; just Google it, no expertise required. This has also led to a disdain for advanced degrees and professional licenses; who needs those, the Internet is more expert than any person coul...

<p>Let's say one of your life goals was to be wise, how would you do that? Would you climb to a mountain top and sit at the feet of a guru; someone who didn't bath, and spent all day contemplating their navel? That doesn't sound very wise. Would you read all the works of the great philosophers; people who were often in debt, and whose family lives were in turmoil? That seems even more unwise...

<p>In the spectrum of human achievements, some people's success can only be explained through amazing luck, or something we don't quite understand. Folks have always recognized this, and have attributed these extremes to "grace of God," or some other mystical aspect like karma. If you aren't a believer, if you are a science person, then how do you explain Donald Trump? "Meta&q...

<p>IQ is short for Intelligence Quotient, and purports to signify how smart someone is. Historically, IQ is obtained by dividing a person's mental age by their true age; 100 is average, meaning mental age is the same as physical age. IQ tests were original designed for children for placement into educational settings, and young draftees into the military. Its use on adults is highly question...

<p>Calling someone stupid has never been acceptable, and it certainly isn't now in our hyper-sensitive society, but that doesn't mean that stupid people went anywhere. Stupidity is usually defined as having less intellectual capability than everyone else. A<span lang="en-US">utistic people can be smart and still have low emotional intelligence, which is an important part of t...

<p>A polymath is a person who is excellent at several things: usually combinations like science, art & exploration; or sports, philosophy & math, and sometimes all of those. There were actually times in history when a polymath, also known as a Renaissance Man, could know all human knowledge, limited as it was; and everybody who looked could discover something new on their own. In the...

<p>Intelligence is a word that has no real meaning, or perhaps the old meaning has been lost to new priorities. Intelligence can't even be predicted accurately because intelligence is related to success in life but success is never guaranteed. Also, since people respond to different stimuli, a person's innate intelligence may remain undeveloped; for example, whether someone does well in scho...

<p>Let's review what people think about goals:</p> <ol> <li> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">It doesn't make any difference how they get it, people are admired for their money.</p> </li> <li> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Achievement is what you plan to do then do it.</p> </li> <li> <p style="margin...

<p>Out of the halls of literature emerges science fiction writer Robert Heinlein's alter-ego, Lazarus Long, a man that stays young forever and knows everything. He was an actor, musician, beggar, farmer, priest, pilot, politician, con artist, gambler, doctor, lawyer, banker, merchant, soldier, electronics technician, mechanic, restaurateur, investor, bordello manager and slave. The novels in...

<p>There is a lot of animosity towards the term “self-made man” by people who haven't made anything themselves. In fact, former president Obama famously said, “you didn't make that.” What he meant was that it takes a society to walk on the moon, but people on The Left interrpret it as meaning you are no better than anyone else, we are all equal, and what you do personally is inconsequential...

<p>Wisdom is knowledge, experience & self-awareness, the more the wiser. It seems logical that wise people would be admired but they are usually dismissed as being too educated or too focused on their work. It's odd that there are lots of fictional wise characters or wise people from the past, but few people alive today that are considered wise. In fact, the word “wisdom” is rarely even...

<p>Not so long ago, every community had the best athlete, the smartest student, the noted traveler, the accomplished musician, the successful business, but now in the interconnected world community, everyone knows there's 10,000 kids in China that can play the piano better, run faster, and easily multiply two 10-digit numbers in their head. This drastically reduces the chances of anybody bei...

<p>People have always made idols of their actors, musicians, sports stars and military heroes; it's something they wish they could do themselves, so they strive towards those goals with no resentment against the people who have already obtained them, along with the dream of meeting your idol when you finally succeed yourself. There's a lot of romance around being a winner; we give the lucky...

<p>People admire the rich because everyone also wants to be rich: the more wealth, the more admiration, and contact with a rich person could turn into reward for yourself: a job maybe, or inclusion in the Will. Unfortunately, only people who are currently rich get adulation; if a formerly wealthy person becomes destitute, they are pitied, and certainly have no entourage nor lingering credibi...

<p>The only thing more socially powerful than wealth is fame: people admire fame over all else, and are attracted to famous people because fame rubs off: if you have your picture taken with a famous person, that makes you somewhat famous. This is why famous people can attract a crowd without paying them to be there, and why famous people do well in politics. Also, fame is often conflated wit...

<p>Anybody can be rich: take the lowliest beggar and give them a winning lottery ticket, and they'll be a multi-millionaire tomorrow. There are no fixed steps to becoming rich: tens of thousands of people try the same thing but only the lucky ones get to be. You can just as easily lose your wealth at any time, so it's not a negative reflection on you if you're not rich. This means somebody e...

<p>Most achievements don't mean much anymore: education, travel, entrepreneurship; all have lost their luster for a variety of reasons, mostly to do with the Internet. Intellectual achievements no longer offer cachet because anyone can know anything by asking their phone: the Internet is your doctor and your lawyer. As for travel; the Internet can show you anyplace and anytime in the world i...

<p>What do most people want before all else: money; at least what money will bring, which is everything. Some pseudo-intellectuals say money doesn't buy happiness, but it does, and it also provides a sense of superiority, especially for males who equate money with better sex. Money is also status: the things, the clubs, the awards; and other people are intimidated by money; they assume rich...

<p>Let's review why nothing is more important to society than family:</p> <ol> <li> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Your life doesn't start until marriage.</p> </li> <li> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Divorce should be recognized for its positive aspects over the negative ones.</p> </li> <li> <p style=&q...