Is this how most people are?

It really should.

The way I see it is that survival of the fittest for humans has turned to our intelligence. Back in the earlier days of civilization, brute force was a viable method to establish dominance. If somebody had something you want, you took it. Strength and power was everything. The strong lead and the weak either followed or were destroyed.


In modern society, with all of our advanced tech, being strong isn't enough. It doesn't matter how big and bad you are, there are people with guns that can take you down, regardless of how physically strong you are. How do you establish dominance in such a society then? By being smarter than everybody else.

The way I see it, one's standing in society should be determined entirely by their intelligence. Those with lower intelligence should shut up and do what those with higher intelligence say. Those with high intelligence should be the "alpha" men and women of modern society. If you're an idiot, you shouldn't have a say in matters above you. Period.

well not really no. Look at that 150 IQ example and his inability to get girls.
"Since Im the smartest I can get nearly any girl" right? wrong. Same here.

in my catfishing fun I come across many incels some of whom are extraordinary intelligent yet cant get girls. Some of them probably also cant figure it out; why is it that they are 25-30 and still virgin.

It looks like you feel entitled to power simply because you think that you are the smartest.

In my opinion those who have been blessed with extra brain power are usually divided in two categories: those who admire their own brilliance and those who actually use it. Lets imagine its as black and white; at least in this example while in reality its obviously very greyish.

Admiring your own brilliance can be quite an interesting activity I agree but it doesnt get **** done.

If you want power then all you have to do is use your self proclaimed superior intelligence to take it There are many ways to take power, some of which are quite rare while others are common. Again lets discuss some very basic things about taking power. For the purpose of simplicity lets narrow it down to 2 ways: the Jedi way and the Sith lord way. (thats where the reference to the movie ends).

PS. one of the most unusual ways to get power is when it happens by "accident", one of the most notorious examples in history is the story of Napoleon Bonaparte who got power brought to him on a silver plate. Out of nowhere. Then he abused it to wage all kinds of expansionist wars where millions died and France got invaded. Yet contrary to Hitler he is buried in the center of Paris and you have to look down (to bow lol) for him to see his grave.. Obviously such things are rare.

The Jedi way: the predictable boring way. The Jedi way is when you improve yourself and work very hard so that people acknowledge you for your wisdom and seek your advice which they find mostly valuable.

PS. in most private companies the Jedi way doesnt work; in fact it turns you into a useful idiot. Neither does it make you wealthy. In fact such people in private companies are usually overqualified and are free of such amazing things like ambitions or have no social skills to get higher.

And then there is the Sith way lol, where you can get on top in no time at all or become a grey cardinal which is even better because having some puppet as a leader is as good as it gets in any group I will give some advice about the Sith ways later and it "always" works lol; irl, online etc.

I think you guys get dark a little too quickly. And I think your ideologies are dated. In today's world, we have several options. We can sell 'ourselves', as in our marketable skills, or we can sell 'something else'. If you don't like what I am selling, will I be free to sell another? If I am not free, I'd rather die. I think many people are compelled to think this way. But why?

"Humans aren't just greedy, rational and competitive (though there is some of that); we're also altruistic empathetic and cooperative", as if we could empower ourselves. "..But as long as nature is perceived as a mechanical infinite vending machine, the market doesn't perceive a need to maintain or preserve it."

An authoritative figure should be able provide structure AND security as needed, as the merchant should be able to provide product and diversity. "..Just because technology is possible does not mean it is desirable. Technology can either be useful or destructive, depending on its scale and purpose. The logic of the market doesn't make qualitative evaluations very well so, …citizens must help choose whether a given technology is socially and environmentally acceptable."

Fun fact: I made my own version of the Sith lord code that I live my life by. You know, the whole peace is a lie, there is only passion thing?

But yeah, I am certainly curious to see you explain your Sith ways. You have me very intrigued now

First of all: nobody is discussing "ideologies". And there is no such thing as "dated" when it comes to manifestations of the human nature in its best and its ugliest forms. The future can be found in history for that same reason. Thats also why many old movies while looking dated still carry a very relevant message. Is "the good, the bad and the ugly" a bad movie? Is greed in its raw form not relevant today?

Secondly: the topic of this discussion was how to grab power and not how to handle it.

I was talking about work (or work like) situations. I don't think being smart has "should work" as to relationships. Frankly my smarts is a major drawback in dating. I don't think being smart help in small talk conversations which are necessary for modern dating (and sometimes realationships). I think smarts are important for "getting things done" and so in a situation where getting things done is the purpose of why everyone is there... it frustrates me when people would rather go with the person who makes them feel good at the cost of getting things done.

I completely agree. I think it used to be that way, but perhaps due to media, everyone thinks that "their opinion" should be spouted and that because, it is their opinion, somehow the world needs to respect it. I can't tell if I should feel bad for these people or contempt. But either way I am growing utterly tired of ignorance stated in a haughty way being confused with something that should be responded to.

I thought you were referring to having power and not to getting things done. One can easily be the best generator of ideas or the best employee. Yet have no power on aby relevant level.

Im not sure where that quote comes from but to me it goes against democracy if they refer to elections and not letting some people vote. And when democracy dies then path to becoming something like Putin's Russia or Kim's North Korea is open.

What I meant by 'dated' is long ago. What I believe you are describing is a break from fudelistic or tyrannical rule. Societies that were underdeveloped, with limited knowledge or development of knowledge and intelligence (including freedoms and basic rights).

I am not meaning to downplay anything. Similar to the movies you are describing, phrases like "survival of the fittest" will always carry strong meaning. I was curious to hear more of this "Sith" persona, as I am sure you have a interesting understanding of. And what is the purpose of yielding power without knowledge of how to use it?

Sorry I involved myself.

The historical events are completely irrelevant in the point I was making. Yes if you look at them then obviously they need to be viewed through the right historical context. Yes back then many things were different yet the human nature wasnt. Culture surely was but not the nature.

Opportunistic minds will use any historical crossroads to grab power. The events themselves arent of importance. Whether its medieval dictatorship of the church where the religion was used as a tool to abuse the masses or nazism/communism in post WW1 Europe.

Or the climate change/overpopulation in some parts/droughts etc and what these events will bring to us in the future. "Colourful" figures will keep making it on top lol

Im too tired as its 2am :P

Valid points - I agree with all except one.

I would argue giving a bunch of people who lack intelligence and the capacity to think critically is the greater evil. Then again, it really doesn't matter because the rich and powerful just buy votes anyways so real democracy isn't even a thing.

Then again, all forms of government have flaws no matter what ideology. In every type of government type, there is always a group that loses something no matter what.

There always will be corruption as long as humans wield power.

While it is impractical for anyone to set a system where the intelligent make the decisions and the stupids have less of a vote... if it were able to be done *in a perfect world* I would be in favor of it.

I do feel like those in power have figured out how to use stupid people to have power. I think they keep allowing in people who don't know anything about anything into the country and then they use the media to make them think what they think and they vote accordingly. The same system seems to be in place with most people. Somehow they get through school but don't know anything about law or reality of things. Their major should be in Media because that is all they know.

I live in a condo and I am on the board and I am continually stunned at how stupid the residents are. They state things like -- you need to do this or that -- but they don't even seem to know (or care) that the board is constrained and directed by the condo documents. I am sure they haven't read them and I am also sure they CAN"T read them because they are 30 pages of legal speak and they are just too stupid to understand. This also goes on with the board. I asked them to read the Declaration of Trust and tell me what they wanted changed, no one has said anything. Because they don't know what they want changed because they probably haven't read it and if they did they don't understand it. Honestly, if they can't understand it, imho, they shouldn't be allowed to vote on something they can't understand... but of course, there is no way to implement that.

It's quite simple. The only purpose of both high school and college is to teach you how to be a good little robot and follow orders. They don't teach you how to think critically, nor do they teach you anything that would make you a threat, neither to the system nor the wealthy elite's bottom line. After all, you don't need to learn how to read legal speak to be a good little servant to the system. Learning legal speak would make you a bigger threat because you can learn to spot the powerful's lies.


I mean, why else do you think that many people with 4-6 year university degrees can't function doing anything productive without somebody giving them orders and telling them how to think and live? Why else do many jobs want you to have a college degree, even though you can learn the skills needed for many high paying jobs for free or cheap either at the library or on the internet? College educated people that have to follow orders and can't think for themselves are what I call "overly educated idiots".

Teaching people to think for themselves would put the powerful in check. The powerful need people to do their bidding to hold on to their power.

But yeah, it doesn't matter to me either way. Where me and Inaccurate seem to differ is that I have no interest in having power and controlling people. Controlling and manipulating people is too much work and too much of a hassle for my liking. I only resort to manipulation if my immediate survival is threatened. Otherwise, I don't care enough to bother.

I honestly couldn't care less about the system or society in general. Contributing to humanity means nothing to me. While I'm not completely selfish and still care about a very small number of people, I ultimately care about myself and my desires above all else. My only goal in life is absolute freedom and pleasure.

I plan on getting to where I can live a very comfortable lifestyle with less than 10 hours of actual work per week. I have several ways I can go about achieving this goal too.


Well before I'm 30, I will be at a point where I am living such a good life that people will envy me. While those who have hurt and wronged me my whole life are working their butts off for 40-60 hours per week being told what to do and how to live, I will be traveling the world, going on adventures, sleeping and waking whenever I want, eating whatever food I want when I want, having sex with attractive women whenever I want, going to tech and gaming conventions surrounded by friends several times a year, and playing my precious video games whenever I please.

That will be my revenge to those that have wronged me.

Agreed. Grad School too, none of these teach you anything they just take your money in exchange for a piece of paper that may or may not be worth anything. But, I found most of my knowledge has come after school (about 25+ years ago for me). I have been thinking lately that your single status may contribute to intelligence.

Friends who are married or have kids simply don't have time to learn anything. They work all day, get home and make dinner for the family, eat, maybe if they are lucky get to watch some show they didn't pick and then go to bed. On the weekends they typically do events to keep the kids happy. Same with men but they generally have slightly more free time.

While I have the 2 hours or so after work to look things up on the internet or watch a new documentary on Netflix etc.

I often see age discrimination at work because it is believed (and sometimes true) that the older you are the less you want to learn anything new. Well I see this different.. it isn't about being old.. it is about being old and having spent your life not learning. You have spent 20+ years not learning (taking care of the kids) and so of course it is hard for you and you don't want to do it.

While because I am single I have the time and desire to look at things and investigate things and I have been learning my entire life.

That might be the common denominator when I see people that are checked out... they are too busy to think critically. I couldn't live like that.

No kidding.

People are so overworked that they really don't have the time to learn.


I've said this once and I will say it again: Forcing people to work 40-60 hours a week is the core problem with society. People working so much is the reason why we have a bunch of idiots and crazy people running around.


If people could spend more time learning and enjoying their lives, things would be better for everybody.

Agree. I heard a stat today that people are having less and less kids... I think this is because it is just too much to work 40 hours and and have tons of kids. Something has to give.

I also think that around mid life, society would be wise to start encouraging people to take sabbaticals. Like they go back to school or something. I think people become burned out and a 3 year sabbatical would help people recharge for the next phase of their life. Greedy corporations won't like it.

Most people I know have decided not to have kids or have only one, and yes, a lot of it has to do with feeling like they don't have enough time or energy. Economic concerns are another reason.

I am married.My husband and I don't have children by choice. I work from home, so I have more time than those that have to commute. Still I don't know how I could do it.

The few people I know with more children seem to either have significant family support, money to hire a lot of help, or both.

The sabbatical idea sounds good. Although, like you say, corporations would never go for it!

Yeah, hiring help is the way to go if you can afford it. The only way I will consider having children is if I have the money to hire nannies and maids to do all the boring stuff like change diapers and clean up after the kids so I can spend my life enjoying it.

And what is funny on that regard is that so many "normies" give people crap for wanting to hire help, either with children, or chores. People would rather do the same boring repetitive tasks than buy their time back if they can afford it.

When I can afford it, you bet I am hiring other people to do the boring **** that I have absolutely 0 desire to do so I can live my life to it's fullest.

I very partially agree with you. What I mean is, I support school for learning the basics. I think that college is something that you should be able to enjoy and it shouldnt be 4 years, it should be 2. The first two years of my English Lit degree were a waste of money. All I did was take classes that didn't apply to my major- foreign languages, a very hard math and various electives. It would have been way cheaper to just focus on the English Lit for an intense 2 years.

Yeah I am not against the idea of schooling by any means. I agree education is important.

I am against how the both high schools and colleges are structured. People should be encouraged to think critically and question information, no matter how potentially controversial said information is. I am against telling people how they should think and act just so they can conform, which is pretty much what schools do these days.

For the record, I am a student myself, all be it a community college student working on a 2 year web development degree. I only became a student because I was homeless a couple of years ago and needed a job but nobody would hire me and I couldn't get an apartment because they want a verifiable income and what little money that I did make wouldn't pass income verification so I was pretty much forced to become a student. If I had the choice, I may have chosen otherwise.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with community college! many times you get equal or better professors more dedicated to their work because they do not have the tenure cushion. My son went to community college and earned an associates and then transferred to a 4 year school. The SAME education for a lot less money.

Agreed.

People down both community colleges and trade school, yet don't realize you can get jobs that pay really well through them without ever going to a university.

For example, I had a friend that went to a trade school in my area to study to work in IT. He finished in a year and got 2 certifications. He immediately got hired into a good company. He started at about 30 grand per year. About 2 years later, he is making close to 60 grand a year off working enterprise tech support (the guys that provide tech support to help fix those big servers that large corporations use and company networks with thousands of users) and he only gets 2-3 calls a day at most. He goes up to work in his PJs and takes a gaming laptop and literally plays WoW and watches Twitch streams all day in between calls lol.

Also I know another person that makes a 6 figure salary as a software engineer without ever even setting foot in a university. He only earned an associates and that's it. He even admitted the job is easy because he just Googles half of his problems.

Keep in mind that I live in a real low cost of living state so those figures that I mentioned would actually be higher in a major city where cost of living is double to what it is here.

So yeah, I don't see a need to go to a university.

Yes! Guess what? I met my husband in college and we married when I was 20. He graduated with a Geology degree. Went to work at an environmental company- realized he hated office politics and environmental work. Quit, enrolled in a union (IBEW) school for teledata installation. Then Journeyman's school. Got hired out of the hall at the biggest Ivy league school in the nation and they offered him permanent full time. He now works as a network technician, loves his job and his degree did nothing for him. I have an English Lit degree and would love to be a teacher....someday however I have three kids so I stayed home with them. STILL waiting for the day that I can benefit from my degree.

I heard being a community college adjunct isn't that bad of a deal honestly. I know a couple of professors that teach part time (one I am kind of close with even) and they say that it really isn't that hard or stressful to teach 2-3 smaller classes part time. There isn't a terribly large amount of work involved and the pay is decent enough for the time committed. If nothing else, they seem like happy people.

I admit, it has even crossed my mind to teach before, just because it would be kind of cool to do something meaningful without having to work over 40 hours per week. I just don't want to deal with the stress and pressure of full time work, which is why I have this obsession with self employment lol. Working part time as a teacher would be kinda cool though if I had the patience to stick out university.


So maybe that's something you can consider in the future? It might suit you