IQ tests for all Presidential candidates, please.

It is time for American politicians – indeed, I suggest all politicians seeking high office – to have mandatory IQ tests administered to them. This would save America – or indeed any other nation – from electing that particular breed of charming, persuasive, self-confident, but ultimately empty headed type that politics too often seems to attract. (I am sure you can think of a few who fit that description, without me naming them). Such mental lightweights do not have the cognitive resources to make the best decisions, or to think with a long term enough vision, to guide any nation to long term security, success, growth and stability.

So, I propose that an independent, international body be established to administer IQ tests to all current or prospective politicians, of all nationalities. I am sure that there would be some interesting revelations were such an examination to be performed. This IQ information should be made publicly available, and be searchable online. It should also be reported in the mass media. Were this to be done, I am sure there would be very interesting consequences. The electorate would have to hold, in its collective mind, a measurement of the basic mental capacities of each candidate. The electorate would also have to make a judgement as to whether a particular level of cognitive capacity was enough for the job. Though, of course, there could be a mandatory minimum level imposed. In such a world, a politician who was dumber than the base threshold – say an IQ of 130, perhaps – would be debarred from being a politician at all. However, it would be probably be more interesting – though perhaps less safe for the country – to leave that decision up to the collective mind of the electorate (though the IQ of that, is not particularly high).

A system of mandatory IQ tests for all prospective politicians, particularly for Presidential candidates, would allow for much greater understanding of the true intellectual power of the people in question. Until now, the intellectual reputations of politicians, particularly Presidential candidates, have been established through canny media campaigns, which resemble consumer goods branding exercises i.e. the statements and promises made often bear no relation to reality or truth. The campaign for Senator Barack Obama’s run for Presidency is a case in point. The media made him out to be a genius of the highest order. He was praised for an intellectual power that was deemed unprecedented. I saw absurdly high estimates of his IQ floating around...ones that would have made him among the smartest of people anywhere. Yet, a close look at the intellectual achievements of his life, reveals a perturbing thinness of evidence. If he is truly a great intellect, he hasn’t done much to show it. In fact, he has done less to show it than many men of fairly average intellect do. This does seem to suggest that his true intellect, is actually much closer to that fairly average impression. For instance, he became President of Harvard Law Review, essentially through affirmative action by all appearances. (For those of my readers who are not familiar with “affirmative action”, this is the practice of selecting people on the basis of race, not merit, or innate ability. Typically in such “affirmative action programmes”, the threshold for a minority race applicant is much, much lower than for a majority race applicant. This leads to obvious problems with the performance of such people, on the job.) Now, as President of Harvard Law Review, one would have thought that there would have emerged from the young Barack Obama, a fount of articles, to be published in its previously august pages...not so. The young Barack Obama published nothing in the Harvard Law Review, apart, perhaps, from his own name. It seems that was the extent of his writing abilities at the time. This fact is very strong evidence that the young Barack Obama was short on both ideas and writing ability. Both facts are not indicators of any high degree of intelligence. Yet, still, the media made him out to be some kind of genius for being “the first black President of the Harvard Law Review”. In actual fact, his conduct as President of the Harvard Law Review reveals a very modest intelligence at work.

The most effective way to stop the mass media being used to create false impressions of the intelligence of candidates is for their IQs to be made publicly known, having been verified by an independent body, external to the United States, with no ties to any one competing nation. Perhaps this could be an all nation effort under the UN.

Were President Obama’s IQ made known, I really think there would be a lot of surprise in many quarters. For the first time, people would have objective knowledge of the quality of his mind – and I am certain that his supporters will be very disappointed by what that objective measurement reveals. However, it would be unfair to imply that President Obama, alone, is probably not as bright as his “genius” marketing made him out to be. It is just that, in his case, the disparity between legend and truth is likely to be greater than for most other politicians. This is partly because his intelligence has been exaggerated more – and partly because he is probably not as bright as certain other recent politicians, despite all the positive press about his mental powers (as if he were some sort of Marvel Superhero).

Other politicians, too, would surprise the electorate by the essential mediocrity of their minds. This is a good surprise, for the people deserve to know the quality of the people they are electing. Some might think that it is enough to know where someone was educated, to gain an indication of their intelligence. This is fallacious thinking because it assumes that all candidates for admission are treated in the same way. They are not. Some politicians – indeed, many – come from very privileged backgrounds and gained admission to prestigious schools on the basis of family connections and the wish for said institutions to curry favour with their families – or repay old benefactions and the like. So, admission to a prestigious school, for people of such privileged background, may be no indicator of talent at all. However, it is an indicator of a kind of political influence, which is not the same thing.

Another point to bear in mind: a person’s educational history bears the same correlation to their innate intelligence, as does their appearance. This correlation is 0.381, if I remember correctly. Thus, candidates boasting about their education, is no more significant than saying: “I have got a pretty face!”.

No. The only way to settle all the uncertainty about the mental abilities of political candidates is for them ALL to have MANDATORY IQ tests performed, under controlled, observed, videoed conditions (to prevent cheating), by an independent body. Until then, politicians will do what they always do: lie about their intelligence and abilities to convince the electorate that they have some special, or at least adequate, ability to govern.

That being said, if anyone has any inside knowledge about the IQ of any politician please comment below, with your evidence and source. Thank you.

Posted by Valentine Cawley

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Texas Governor Rick Perry should not be President of the United States.

Texas Governor Rick Perry has come out saying that he doesn’t believe in global warming.

"I think we're seeing almost weekly, or even daily, scientists that are coming forward and questioning the original idea that manmade global warming is what is causing the climate to change,", he assured New Hampshire voters Wednesday.

He went onto to say that he didn’t want to spend billions or even trillions of dollars because of an “unproven theory”.

Now, I don’t know about you, but it is quite clear that the world is warming up. I just have to compare memories of my childhood to the world as it has become, to see that. Furthermore, it is well known that we are pumping historically high levels of CO2 – a greenhouse gas which induces planetary warming – into the atmosphere. Most climate scientists are of the view that recent global warming is man made, as a consequence. The connection between CO2 and global warming is clear, strong and simple. The science behind it is well known and not difficult to understand. Yet, Rick Perry is a global warming denier: he refuses to see and to accept responsibility for (as a race) the changes taking place in the world. Therefore, if he ever became President, it is obvious that Rick Perry would do NOTHING to mitigate the human impact on global warming. America would continue to be, as it is, among the world’s most irresponsible countries, in the face of global warming.

Normally, I ignore American politics, since I have an instinctive dislike for the juvenile theatrics it represents. However, in the case of Rick Perry and his “I won’t do anything about global warming” stance, I feel that I have to comment. Don’t elect Rick Perry as President of the United States. To do so, would be to ensure that America continues to do irreparable harm to the future of the planet Earth and put in question, thereby, the fate of the Human Race, itself.

Mankind faces many problems in the coming decades. Global warming is just one of them. Peak oil, is another. Global food shortages are likely to be a third dire problem. The people of the world do not need a US President, who is able to deny the reality of these problems and deliberately do nothing about them. Rick Perry should not be President of the United States, because he simply doesn’t grasp the issues he would face, as President. It does seem likely, given his remarks, that, again, Rick Perry is not a very bright candidate from the Republican Party. America seems to specialize in dumb politicians: are there no intelligent people interested in being leaders in the USA – or are they all deselected, at some early stage, so we never get to see them?

An intelligent candidate would err on the side of caution, in the global warming situation. That is, an intelligent candidate would consider it wise to do everything possible to reduce the human contributions to global warming – that is CO2 release – simply because the risk of doing nothing, is simply too great. The possible consequences of unrestrained global warming, could put the whole human race in jeopardy. It is foolish to play political games, or to seek the business vote (through “not spending billions of dollars”), when the consequences of inaction are so severe.

The USA and the world do not need a global warming denier as President. What the world really needs is an ENVIRONMENTALIST, as President of the United States. So, definitely don’t vote in Texas Governor Rick Perry as President of the United States

Posted by Valentine Cawley

(If you would like to support my continued writing of this blog and my ongoing campaign to raise awareness about giftedness and all issues pertaining to it, please donate, by clicking on the gold button to the left of the page.

To read about my fundraising campaign, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-in-support-of-my.html and here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-first-donation.html

If you would like to read any of our scientific research papers, there are links to some of them, here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/02/research-papers-by-valentine-cawley-and.html

If you would like to see an online summary of my academic achievements to date, please go here: http://www.getcited.org/mbrz/11136175

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.

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 athttp://www.genghiscan.com/

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

Why are politicians so stupid?

I have often wondered why modern politicians are so stupid. At least, they say stupid things and that is evidence enough of stupidity, for me. It puzzles me, really, because when I read of great politicians of the past, quoted (for instance Winston Churchill), I am often impressed by the wisdom, wit or insight of their words. It seems that modern politicians are a lesser breed (quite literally) and have not the basic components of an intelligent mind, to call upon.

I am about to detail the thoughts of a modern politician. I want you to guess the identity of the politician concerned. I further want you to think of what level of political responsibility you would feel safe entrusting to a person showing this level of intellect.

Here goes. The LA Times wrote recently that a leading politician believes that dinosaurs walked the Earth alongside humans, 6,000 years ago. When challenged on this belief, the politician claimed to “have seen pictures with human footprints inside the dinosaur tracks”. This same politician has made enquiries of the library system on how to ban books. This same politician would like creationism (the belief that God made the Earth 6,000 years ago, complete with all life) to be taught alongside evolution, in schools. Pupils would then be able to make “an informed choice”. This same politician is remarkably uninformed about political matters and said on CNBC in July 2008: “As for that VP talk all the time, I’ll tell you, I still can’t answer that question until somebody answers for me what is it exactly that the VP does every day?” This same politician when asked about their apparent inexperience with foreign policy countered with: “I can see Russia from my house”. When challenged by Katie Couric on CBS News to give an example of a Supreme Court decision other than Roe vs Wade, this same politician said: “Well, let’s see. There’s, of course, in the great history of America rulings, there have been rulings.” In the same interview, this politician was asked to name a single newspaper or magazine that they read and replied with: “All of ‘em, any of ‘em that have been in front of me over all these years.” This leading politician was unable to name a single publication.

Wow. These are the thoughts of a leading politician. Now, answer me this: is the person who uttered these words showing a reasonably functioning intellect? Do you see evidence that they are intelligent and capable? Would you feel comfortable entrusting them with high political office? Answer this: are they profoundly stupid or wonderfully gifted?

Please come to a decision on these matters before reading on.

Those words were spoken by Vice Presidential candidate Governor Sarah Palin.

Think about that. She is VP to an old man, who has survived extensive torture. He might die at any time. If she is VP to his Presidency, she could end up as the President of the United States. Yet, on the evidence of her own words, she is an utter moron. She cannot think coherently. She cannot put together an argument. She is not able to answer the simplest of questions, informatively. She appears to be the dimmest politician I have heard of. She makes George W Bush seem like a genius. Indeed, I feel safer having someone of his intellectual calibre running the US, than someone of hers.

How could this happen? How could a woman bereft of intellectual function of even the most basic level end up as Governor of Alaska? How could she be running for Vice President of the United States? Something is wrong with the way politicians are elected in the US. The first consideration should be not how charming they are - but how smart they are. If they are not smart enough to do a good job, they shouldn't ever be in the running, no matter how many people like them. Sarah Palin is not bright enough to be Governor of Alaska, on the evidence above. In fact, she isn't bright enough to be a primary school teacher. (Imagine a primary school teacher giving those answers to a child...just imagine what you would think of that teacher.)

Now, I need to point out that I have NO political opinion regarding the US. I am not involved in who wins or who loses. I am not sure of the differences between Barack Obama, Biden, Palin or McCain...I am just a bystander who finds himself amazed at the stupidity of one of the candidates. Then, again, it should be noted that Senator McCain chose Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. That was an exercise in his wisdom or lack of it. The fact that she is none too bright seems to indicate that maybe he isn't either. You see, if you are bright, you don't choose a stupid running mate. So, I begin to wonder about both of them.

Then, again, Barack Obama has seemed a bit superficial to me, at times, in his answers - as if either he can't think too deeply, or is not well enough informed to do so. All of it leaves me rather worried. I would like to see the USA in hands of someone really, really, bright enough to do a good job. I don't want to see it in the hands of a populist airhead of any race, sex or creed.

The modern politician is a stupid being. That much is clear. However, what is not is why the people of Earth ever allowed this to come to pass. The pity of it is, I suspect, however, that the electorate is too stupid to tell the difference. Thus, stupid people, elect stupid leaders, who make stupid decisions and stupidly destroy the countries they lead. Then again, financial institutions seem pretty good at doing the very same thing. So, politics doesn't have a monopoly on stupidity.

I would like to see a higher value being placed on intelligence as a quality in leaders of all kinds. Then, perhaps, we might have a world in which countries function well and wisely - and the world doesn't face the kind of global financial crisis that it now does.

So, I vote for wit and wisdom. Unfortunately, I can't find too many candidates who qualify. They must be hiding somewhere - or perhaps, wisely, thought better of getting involved in politics or finance in the first place.

(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.

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