Well, it’s Friday, the end of fun with fake food week. Don’t worry, for those who enjoyed it, I have a few more. Today we focus on intelligence, or lack thereof, in society. Our teenager had an issue with drinking WAY too much water. I believe we talked about it. Funny part was, whenever she told someone of limited intellectual means, the response was “so what, it’s just water.” Whenever she told a smart person, they started with “that’s not good for you.” then they went into the reasons why. So the QOD is…Do you have a single question that you can ask people to determine whether or not they are an intelligent, thinking human?
What is the temperature of ice?
Greetings,
Yes I do. All I have to do is ask about their Chess Game. It is impossible for someone of low intelligence to play a good game of chess. I know that there is no scientific basis for this but my own experiences show this to be true.
“Do you follow politics?” Then just let them go.
Give me an example where you used critical thinking (due diligence) to determine the veracity of an important topic on which the government has a stated position.
I agree with Cynical30.
Mention anything about current events ( don’t make it political argument ) see how they respond.
Being a software developer, I speak with a lot of people who ‘have problems’. You can’t begin to imagine how stupid many people are.
I was once sitting in on a meeting, this corp wanted my help to purchase a key piece of software. This software was a web application – that runs from your browser. So the CFO (a CPA) asks “Can your software print checks?” The demonstrator said yes. Then the CFO asks “So once we print a check – you mail them?”. I had to explain to the CFO that the check would print on our printer.
@Foxguru- I think you are attempting to be clever, but I cannot be sure. Ice can be any temperature between absolute zero and zero degrees centigrade.
Perhaps, you meant to ask what is the temperature of an ice and water mixture?
DRUD you’re in the 10% of people who know the answer. Typical responses include
I don’t know
zero
32 degrees Fahrenheit – usually said in a very confident manner
Oh…I see your purpose. I was thinking you were attempting to ask an overly simple question that most people can’t answer.
In a way, I guess you were. 🙂
I always liked – Is it possible to lose at tic-tac-toe?
I have learned most people have no sense of direction . Just walk up and ask someone which way is north?
@Nicklethrower, is it possible that an intelligent person might just find the game of chess boring?
@PA Mike, of course it is, unless perhaps both players are trying to lose (I admit I’ve never analyzed the game from that perspective).
My favorite litmus test is “What do you like to read?” This eliminates the approximately 90% of the population that does not read for pleasure. You also get further information from the quality of their answer.
From a recent trip to Starbucks:
Me: “Can I get some salt & pepper for my Guda breakfast sandwich?” (It has eggs & bacon.)
Barista: “No, salt is bad for you.”
Me: “Dude, you are telling me that salt is bad for me when you are selling mocha lattes w/ whipped cream & chocolate sauce that is 400 calories all suger.”
Barista: “Salt is bad for you.”
Me: (looking to see if there is daylight between his ears when he turns to get my tea) “Do you know that your blood is 0.9% salt? That is where “normal saline” iv fluids comes from.”
Barista: “Salt is bad for you. Except on our salted carmel macchhiotos, where it is okay.”
Me: “Can I get a bit of that salt for my breakfast sandwich?”
Barista: “No, salt is bad for you.”
Me: “Are you aware that a low salt diet may actually be harmful for your health?”
Barista: “No. Salt is bad for you. Next!”
Sigh. Now I always carry a little baggie of salt and pepper mixed together in case I encounter another Zombie Health Nazi.
(Do not ask me about the time I was stopped by the cops and they saw my little baggie in the glove compartment when I was getting my proof of insurance.)
What is a UFO? (hint: answer is in the first word of the acronym).
The gasoline powered internal combustion engine was developed by about 1860. Scientist understood the principles and advantages of a high compression engine burning injected light oils but nobody could build one that didn’t self destruct. I once told a shop class this story of how several American companies had failed but Rudolf Diesel succeeded about 1897. His engine was so powerful and efficient that it was used in ships, farm equipment, transportation, electric generation, submarines and even aircraft. Then for no apparent reason in 1913, he jumped off a ship at night in the North Sea. When I asked “Who invented the Diesel Engine?” on the next test, it was obvious a lot of people weren’t listening and couldn’t think either because they wrote “Ford”.
Basically, any reasonable questions will do fine.
It’s how the person answers the question that demonstrates intelligence, not the question or the answer in itself.
@AnarchoPagan
It could be that someone might find chess boring. A chessboard is the only challenge between two people that, in my opinion, pits brain vs. brain. It isn’t a game of chance and a good player can tell you why he has made his move and what he is planning to do next. In the end, the math behind the game is just staggering. Check this out:
The number of possible chess positions after White’s first move is 20 (16 pawn moves and 4 knight moves). There are 400 possible chess positions after two moves (first move for White followed by first move for Black).
There are 5,362 possible positions (White’s second move) or 8,902 total positions after two moves each. There are 71,852 possible positions or 197,742 total positions after four moves. There are 809,896 possible positions or 4,897,256 total positions after 5 moves.There are 9,132,484 total positions after 6 moves. From move 7 the possible positions stabilize as chess lines end, even from move 2 some chess lines end. There are +-10,921,506 total possible positions after 7 moves.
@AnarchoPagan – If both players know what they are doing the game will end in a tie each time.
My question is: What is the last non-fiction book you’ve read?
I’m not even surprised anymore when someone says ‘I don’t read’; sad really.
@BigStupid
Not at all. The game of chess is like a boxing match. The first player to gain the initiative runs the game. I can tell someone exactly what I’m going to do because there is nothing they can do about it. With so many possible combinations, it makes much more sense to limit my opponent to one or two possible moves in response to what I’ve just done. If I force them to constantly react then they can never put together a winning attack.
In the game of chess, the slightest advantage leads to victory and it can be something as simple as forcing my opponent to double up a pair of pawns. Sometimes, it is all the advantage I need to win.
@NickelthroweR – Sorry, was referring to tic-tac-toe. Quick reply, not specific enough.
As to chess, I generally agree with you that it is a true battle of minds. I believe it has fallen out of favor due to the desire for instant gratification and limited attention spans – too few are willing to engage in a game that won’t have a winner decided in a couple of hours (and can take months/years if played through correspondence).
Who buried Moses?
BigStupid, guess my answer wasn’t clear; if player 1 is trying to lose, and player 2 is trying to win, it is possible for player 1 to lose; my question is, if both players are trying to lose, does the game always end in a draw?
NickelthroweR, I agree chess is a brain-to-brain challenge, but there are others, the game of Go comes to mind. It just doesn’t appeal to me as a game, because in my opinion, eliminating the element of chance also eliminates much of the excitement; chance after all is a feature of the real world. It is also so abstract as to be divorced from its historical origins as a war game; my hobby was historical simulation gaming. Also, it is a brain-to-brain challenge only within a very restrictive environment, chess uses a unique skill set that doesn’t translate to other games, and I think the skill is not strongly correlated with general intelligence. At any given moment, there might be 50 “legal” moves, but you “limit your opponent to one or two possible moves”, meaning of course that a good player will immediately reject most of the possible moves as counterproductive.
DRUD and Foxguru
At what temperatures does water transition from a solid to a liquid and from a liquid to a gas?
bb says: I have learned most people have no sense of direction . Just walk up and ask someone which way is north?
Wimmen have a horrible sense of direction, even when you point it out several times, they will still get it wrong the next time.
Hagar – The bible says Satan and the archangel Michael disputed over the body of Moses. We’ll have to check with bb to ascertain who finished the five books of Moses.
El Coyote…wrong answer.
Deuteronomy 34.5-6
5. So Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord.
6. And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor; but no man knoweth of his sepulcher unto this day.
As to who wrote the books of Moses, that has been argued for ages.
ASIG,
At what atmospheric pressure?
“Who will pay off the National Debt?”
(any positive answer indicates Economic Zombie-ism, minimal intelligence and lack of math skills)