Living in a time of morons.

For the gifted, particularly the most gifted, the world can seem a dull place, sometimes. By this I mean that the most gifted people are accustomed to encountering people who don’t seem very bright (to them). For such people, life can be difficult in ways that few people understand. Many people will, of course, have no sympathy for the plight of the more gifted members of society. “So what?”, such people might think, if they can’t find people to talk to, who will understand them. Many people would dismiss their concerns as the meaningless worries of an “elite” or, worse still, “an elitist”.

Well, the irony of the world situation is that many of these people, who dismiss the gifted, and their concerns, will one day find out exactly how the gifted feel. I shall explain. You see, the modern world is in decline, owing to dysgenic fertility – such that the bright have fewer children than the dim and so the intellectual quality of human populations is in decline – and has been so declining since at least 1850, according to the research of Richard Lynn. Now, you might think, surely we shouldn’t be worried, since human evolution is slow? Well, no, it isn’t slow in this respect at all.

Our view of the world is limited by our own lifespan and what that has allowed us to see. However, it doesn’t take much time in a library comparing the literary works of say the 19^th Century, to the vapid effusions of many modern writers to be led to wonder if Man has degenerated over that timescale. Well, research shows that Man, has indeed fallen pretty far, in that time. Richard Lynn calculates that the mean IQ of English people has fallen 6.9 IQ points between 1920 and 2010. Helmuth Nyborg further calculates that Danish IQs have fallen 10 IQ points since 1850. So, we already live in degenerate times – but what is to come, is far, far worse than what has been.

Helmuth Nyborg has written a paper on the future of Denmark, entitled, “The Decay of Western Civilization: Double Relaxed Natural Selection”. His example is Denmark. Now, I am not going into the details in this first post – I shall revisit his work further in another post. I would just like to point your attention to a couple of choice items from his paper. He calculates that the phenotypic (expressed) IQ of the Danish population will fall about 21 points from 1850 to 2072 – that is, it will fall a further 11 points, by 2072. The underlying fall in genotypic potential IQ is 17 points or so over that period. Furthermore, by 2050 children with IQs between 70 and 85 will dominate the school system and will constitute the MAJORITY OF THE POPULATION, shortly after 2075. Now, I should remind you that children whose IQs are in that range are the kind of kids that, when I was growing up, would have been singled out in school as “slow” and “stupid” and subject to teasing over their dimwittedness. (Yes, school children can be cruel, I know.) I suppose that the only “silver lining” is that, in a time when most kids have such low IQs, they will no longer be teased. Then again, the teasing of the few bright ones will undoubtedly be more intense.

What does this mean for a young person who is not gifted, now, in the present world, but who is of above average intelligence? Well, it is simple. The mean IQ of the world population (because Helmuth Nyborg’s observations apply to the whole Western world, to a great degree…and there are similar problems in most of the rest of the world), will fall, to such a great degree, in their lifetime, that, when they get old, the world will seem to them, as it does to the gifted now. The young, but not gifted person, will get old in a time of morons. The average person in this future world will seem rather dim to the person who is now only a bit above average. The great irony of this is that many, who now have no sympathy for the social problems of the gifted, will face exactly the same social problems themselves as they get old. The whole world is becoming stupid, at an astonishing rate.

Of course, those who are now gifted, will be even less happy about the situation than they are now - but at least more people will come to understand the situation, of the gifted, from personal experience.

I am not looking forward to this demographic shift. Much that is great about Humanity, depends on higher intelligence – and that is precisely what is going to be in short supply, as I get old. It seems ultimately ironic that old people in that time, will be the brightest people – not the young, at all. This is the ultimate reversal of age stereotypes, of the senile oldies, and the vibrant, bright young things. It is the old, who shall be bright – and the young who shall seem “senile” to them. What a sad world is coming to us all – a time of morons.

Note: I am not denigrating those of low IQ. All who are human, can contribute in certain ways, to the world and may live lives of happiness that add to the quality of life of others. However, my concern is that the elements of civilization that require higher thought, are not accessible to low IQ people and these people are not able to contribute to the maintenance and advancement of civilization and society, in complex ways. They thus do not raise the world in which they live, technologically, scientifically or culturally. However, if they constitute the majority of people, they WILL LOWER IT. This is not to devalue them as people - but just is to note that they are not mentally equipped to contribute to higher civilization. The world is not improved, in any way, by increasing the numbers of low IQ people, until they constitute the majority of the population. Anyone who thinks they do, is just looking for an easy population to control and manipulate...but that is another blog post altogether.

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To learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 7 and Tiarnan, 5, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

There is a review of my blog, on the respected The Kindle Report here:http://thekindlereport.blogspot.com/2010/09/boy-who-knew-too-much-child-prodigy.html

Please have a read, if you would like a critic's view of this blog. Thanks.

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Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at:http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

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Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is athttp://www.genghiscan.com/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)

Power Balance and the dumb world of the 21st Century.

It is a good time to be an idiot, for one will never be without company in this dumbest of all worlds. Indeed, there is a new way to identify one’s fellow idiot. All you have to do is to look for a “Power Balance” bracelet on their arms. If they are wearing one, they are a definite idiot.

For those who have never heard of Power Balance or its bracelets, I shall explain. Power Balance launched a curious little product in 2007. It consisted of a silicone bracelet (a cheap material), with a hologram embedded in it (ie. a picture with some “3 d” properties), that, Power Balance claimed, “interacted with the body’s natural energy flow”. They further went on to claim that this totally inert, useless object, with no medical or technological properties at all, would boost the body’s “balance, strength and flexibility”. Exactly how an image was supposed to do this was not made clear. It should be noted, here, that there is no scientific means by which a hologram is going to be able to do any of the things claimed. It is just not possible. It is no more likely to turn you into a sporting superman than a photo of some random object. Furthermore, it is not clear whether “the body’s natural energy flow” has any real meaning, in the first place. Certainly, the “interaction”, of an inert image, with a meaningless “concept” is not going to do you any good, at all.

Oh, by the way, these bracelets retail for the astounding price of 29.95 USD. That to me, is an indicator of the level of intelligence of those who buy them: that they would pay so much, for so little, for, in fact, nothing at all. This price is actually quite useful since it allows us to gauge how many true idiots there are in the world. Sales of this product, or should I say “product”, were 35 million USD, in 2010, a steep rise from the 8,000 USD sold in 2007. Thus, Power Balance helped identify, for all the world to see, 35 million/29.95 = 1,168,614 total idiots, last year.

Now, I realize that my language is a bit strong, here. However, I feel that it should be. This is the 21st century. Basic science education is universal in the schools of the developed world (and most of the developing world). It should not be possible, in this era, to gull so many people, with a product that, plainly has no scientific basis at all. People should not be so gullible, when everyone receives basic science instruction. Yet, they are. This can only mean that they were not bright enough to absorb the basic lessons of their basic science classes. So, in fact, my strong language is not strong at all: it is a fair description of the mental calibre of anyone who actually falls for this, let us call it what it is, total scam.

It is very telling to consider the roll call of some of those who have been seen wearing these Power Balance bracelets. Seeing the names, prompted me to reevaluate my impression of some of them – and confirm my view of others. I will leave you to decide which category is which, for me. Famous wearers include Shaquile O’Neal, who is, apparently, utterly convinced of their magical properties, Robert de Niro and Gerard Butler. Clearly, whatever skill they might show in their respective crafts, these stars are not showing a high level of intelligence here, in falling for this particular ruse.

Just in case you are a believer in this magical product, I would like you to consider the admission Power Balance made, in recent discussions with Australian authorities who were concerned about the product: “We admit that there is no credible scientific evidence that supports our claims.”

There. That should be enough to kill that particular con. However, given the state of the world, I rather think that it won’t. It is more than likely that sales of Power Balance’s magical little holographic silicone bracelets will continue to rise. After all, they have only sold them to about a million idiots, in the last year. There are a lot more where they came from.

Indeed, on consideration, I would like to thank Power Balance for the public service they are doing, in labelling the world’s idiots, with such a readily identifiable mark, to save the rest of us the time needed to identify the idiots concerned through actual conversation. With the advent of Power Balance bracelets, one can now begin conversations at the appropriate level for the Power Balance bracelet wearer, thus sparing oneself those awkward conversational hiatuses that come when one has misjudged the level of company present and actually said something remotely challenging. Or, indeed, if you are a salesperson or anyone in business, you might choose to devote extra special attention to them. After all, they have proven that they will buy just about anything. Thus, it can be seen that Power Balance has completely failed to understand its own product. It is not a placebo effect masquerading as advanced technology at all. No. It is actually a social innovation designed to help people talk to one another at an appropriate level – and to smooth the course of business by marking out the most vulnerable customers. Pure genius.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 7 and Tiarnan, 4, this month, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

There is a review of my blog, on the respected The Kindle Report here: http://thekindlereport.blogspot.com/2010/09/boy-who-knew-too-much-child-prodigy.html

Please have a read, if you would like a critic's view of this blog. Thanks.

You can get my blog on your Kindle, for easy reading, wherever you are, by going to: http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much/dp/B0042P5LEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1284603792&sr=8-1

Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at: http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/

Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is at http://www.genghiscan.com/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen.

Hollywood is dying. The signs are clear. All you have to do is to have had the misfortune to watch Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen. I did. I wish I could get those hours of life back - for I sure did waste them.

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen is a very distinguished movie. It distinguishes itself by being, in fact, the worst film I have ever seen. Since enduring it, I have tried very hard to recall anything as bad. Even Japanese Godzilla type nonsense is not as bad, for at least the special effects are amusing, in their ineptness. Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen, is just inept on every level that it is possible for a story to be inept. The plot is drivel. The characterization doesn't even begin. The acting is so "cardboard cutout" that I began to wonder why, in fact, cardboard cutouts were not, in fact, employed instead of Shia La Boeuf and Megan Fox, both of whom showed little evidence of acting ability. However, it is difficult to know where to lay the blame: was it the director for not directing them...or the editor/director team, for choosing to show them at their worst?

My favourite parts (for all the wrong reasons) were when Shia "I won't trouble you by actually acting" La Boeuf, went into a strange twitching fit every time he had messages from his splinter of the Allspark (I know...sounds like nonsense, doesn't it? Because, of course, it is...) The twitching was so overdone, each time, so monstrously overacted that it was abundantly clear that neither actor nor director had the remotest idea of how real people behave. I shall remember that twitching for a long time to come.

Michael Bay is famed for not directing - he just blows things up. He is a man who doesn't make movies, he makes money. However, that is why Hollywood loves him: Hollywood exists not to make movies, but to make money. If Hollywood could make more money not making movies, but just pretending that they do - they would stop making movies immediately. Oh, dear, they have already thought of that: Michael Bay's work is the evidence.

This "film"...well, actually, "series of explosions", distinguished itself in another way: it put me to sleep TWICE, despite the noise and the chaos. Perhaps it was the repetitiveness of it all that did it. I actually fell to sleep TWICE in the final 30 minutes explosive finale. It was the sheer dullness of those dull, seen them before, robots, fighting each other, in dull, seen them before, ways. It was the most boring half an hour I have ever suffered in a cinema.

Sadly, this "film" is not the great failure it deserves to be. Indeed it did 583 million dollars at the box office (in the US, I believe) in the first 5 days. Thus, the world's film audiences are damned to receive a deluge of such nonsense, in the future. That which makes most money, is that which will be most copied.

The big question is: why does a film as dire and dull as Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen, do so well at the box office?

My only conclusion is that the human race, itself, is in decline. People have lost any vestige of taste or discernment that they once had - and now, they really do not know what a good film is. They don't recognize deficiencies of plot, characterization, acting, or directing. If it blows up, is brightly coloured and moves fast, they think it is great. The global film audience is basically at the level of a toddler, when it comes to film comprehension: they are excited by something visually stunning, even if it is mind-numbing as well. They don't notice their minds being numbed...because that is the permanent state of them.

I see little hope for an upsurge in public taste. Every passing year seems to see an incremental decline in what people are and in what they seek. A comparison of the public tastes of people in my childhood and those, now, reveals a perturbing decline. Of course, it may be Hollywood itself that is to blame by acculturating people to nonsense.

I cannot see any present mechanism that could reverse such a trend. The only thing that would work would be if Hollywood suddenly started losing money on Transformers X, or whatever it will be. Once empty "Michael Bay" type films start to lose money, then Hollywood will try something else. Oddly, people get what they deserve, in a way. If great films, with great acting and great writing and interesting premises, were the biggest films at the box office, that is exactly what Hollywood would be striving to make. So, you have the power to change the situation: seek out the best films that you can - and avoid the trash, and urge others to avoid the trash, too. In time, there may be a change...and great films may once more become dominant.
(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to:http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.IMDB is the Internet Movie Database for film and tv professionals.

If you would like to look at my IMDb listing for which another fifteen credits are to be uploaded, (which will probably take several months before they are accepted) please go to: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3438598/ As I write, the listing is new and brief - however, by the time you read this it might have a dozen or a score of credits...so please do take a look. My son, Ainan Celeste Cawley, also has an IMDb listing. His is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3305973/ My wife, Syahidah Osman Cawley, has a listing as well. Hers is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use Only with Permission. Thank you.)