Superior intellect/ "conspiracy theorists"

just me said:
Do we all hold false beliefs?
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Almost certainly so, and sometimes that is intentional. and with purpose, and most times that is in ignorance. I’m not sure how any (mature) human could avoid holding false beliefs.

i have sometimes thought that a good reason to let go of belief, and rest comfortably in to-the-best-of-my-knowledge and ambiguity and remain open to learning and being wrong and overturning the internal soil.

Inasmuch as it can’t be avoided, I wouldn’t worry about it, but at the same time, regular self-questioning with a critical thinking approach is almost always worthwhile.

That said, my sense is affective states and psycho-emotional schema have just as much to do with beliefs as do facts, and likely much more, depending on the timing and context of the novel neuronal excitation and imprint.

Cheers,
Ian
 
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just me said:
It was a gun manufacturer that played a large role in the Union attacking the south. Repeating rifles were made to help them dominate those in the south with single shots......
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The Civil war started when the United States Amy Commander of Fort Sumter verbally attacked elements of the Confederate army under the command of Col James Chesnut Jr. That attack was a refusal to surrender the fort which was built on land owned by the Government of the People of the United States of America. The war began with artillery fired at a US Army fort at 4:30 AM on April 12 1861.
On June 24 1836, two years and two months later, at the battle of Hoover Gap US Army Cavalry Colonel John Wilder launched an attack commanding a mounted infantry brigade armed with Spencer repeating rifles that he had financed the purchaced of himself it was their first use in a major engagement of the war. The US Military was resisting the implementation of the repeating rifle out of sheer stupidity and only changed its course at the direction of the President, who had to relieve Gen James Ripley of his post as head of Ordnance Department for the US Army when Ripley refused the comply.
 
False beliefs. Someone told me they were going to come and go fishing with me. I acted with joy. When I got home, I asked my wife why people say such things. I'll give them the opportunity should they actually reach out, though. This is not a false belief. I've been told that so many times by so many people. I will take what they said in hope, but this usually ends up in good faith gone bad until we learn. I do not like using first person, but it seems necessary sometimes. I have no false beliefs.

For whatever a person's reason to say things, my hope has drawn thin. Yes, there are those subjected in hope that bring us happiness. There are those who say things just for their own use. There are those who say things for another's information. There are those who mean well, but why say something they have no intentions of doing? Why not say something like, "Maybe we can go fishing sometime"? When I think on this, I reflect on some people that mean no harm. It can literally hurt someone if they are told someone is going to do something with them and don't do it. That is because they believe them.

I do believe what I say. Some material things might make me happy, but they are more or less something to do to pass time by with. Maybe it is something given by a parent or friend. Maybe it is for memories? We must do things to maintain our integrity of life, and we must keep the brain thinking. I look for something in hope, and may spend years to find what I am searching for. The hunt is more important to me than the material thing. What a macho man, asking someone to reveal the beauty they see in something. I seek to make people think, and to learn with them. Macho? Maybe not, though it would be wise not to anger me. This I have heard from the mouths of others. I have learned to manacle most anger.

I have a passion about what I believe. Call it intuition? Madness? Experience? Sometimes we know what we know. If one feels differently, then so be it.
 
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just me said:
Is it not a conspiracy to try and destroy faith and religion?
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No, because it’s out in the open, and publicly discussed, as would be reasonable.

No worries, as faith and religion are what certain humans do, for a number of reasons. They will never go away. The people or the practices.

Cheers,
Ian
 
 
slant said:
What I've noticed is that people who are often labeled as conspiracy theorists often just have superior intellect vs the majority of the population. They can see that everyone but them and a select handful of people are sheep and inferior in terms of understanding the world around them. Those of you who have this superior intellect, why do you think you've been gifted with this? Good genetics? Better critical thinking skills? Better critical thinking skills? If you don't think it's superior intellect and knowledge that has put you in this position opposing society, what is the explanation?
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While I know to be in the ten percentile of several things, the term "sheep" takes on a spiritual meaning and I would not like to call them sheep. Someone beat me to that. Think He referred to us all as sheep, not ten percent something else. I dare not call them inferior, and do not see them as such.

Why do I think I was gifted with this? To give me the ability to understand the difference in my thoughts and others'. To help whoever I can, help my friends, help even those who do "not need help". To preach and prophesy. Protect and counsel.
To learn to listen with discernment of the spirit. To try not to judge the world, but to speak as I am lead. Maybe to be a watchman of sorts? God knows. To try and act when asked, and speak when asked.

Good genetics? My Grandmother would complete the crossword puzzle every day in the newspaper. She helped raise nine children, and they all turned out pretty good. We were mostly on the poorer side, but rich with life and love. My uncle was a preacher, Father a minister of music, and everyone was blessed. I learned from them the value of life, the respect of life of all kinds, and chose not to go to the special school they had planned for me: I wanted to learn normal people and stay in the background(infj). Do not know, but I am thankful for them. All of them.

Better critical thinking skills? Yes, but as I said it was a gift. Quick critical thinking skills. Yes and yes.

If you don't think it's superior intellect and knowledge that has put you in this position opposing society, what is the explanation? I would ask you change the word "opposing". @slant
 
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oppose
ə-pōz′
intransitive verb
  1. To be or act in contention or conflict with.
  2. To be hostile or resistant to; try to prevent.
  3. To set as an opposite in position.
I do not think to be in any position opposing society by these meanings.

If we could compare our differences in intellect and knowledge by using ten cups, it would seem more appropriate. When using "ten percent", we could think of those as having full, or almost full, cups. Imagine a cup half full or half empty: we could use this as the fifty percentile. When we are born, we do not fill these cups ourselves. We can look at each cup as what we are born with, so there should be neither boasting nor worrying.

Up at the plate in baseball, we do not know where the pitch is going. We do not know the speed the ball will be traveling, we do not know whether it will be spinning or a knuckle ball, we do not know if it will be straight or curving, and we do not know our ability to hit each ball.

Sometimes the baseball will be traveling almost 100 mph. We have to make a quick decision to bring all this into play. A knuckle ball may drop a foot right at the plate. A curve ball may trick us at first, until we realize it to be traveling a bit slower. A changeup may make the pitcher look like he is throwing 100 mph with his motion, but it might be traveling 90 mph. Different brains may react many different ways, but there are some of us that can turn a fast ball or other into a homerun. These people who can do this are special. Maybe they will be told to bunt or take, so they must follow instructions while batting. A sacrifice fly may be asked of us to bring home a person on third base.
It is called a team for reasons.

We applaud and enjoy watching these people. We do not oppose them. We can look in the past and see other teams applauding and rolling over while watching Larry Bird when hot playing basketball years ago.

Why would someone oppose the gifted, and why would the gifted oppose those others in society? We may have those who excel, and those who fall behind. This is not always by choice.
 
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Conspiracy is defined as a secret plan by a group to do something harmful, or unlawful.

Conspiracy theories don’t always concern actual conspiracies. They do tend to focus on secrets, which have social capital.

In the abstract, knowledge can prove to be an advantage, or power. To possess knowledge and to be able to put knowledge to work toward a desired end is a statement of power dynamics. The ability to possess, utilize, and manage power influences agency and autonomy, which can serve as a measure of one’s position in the social hierarchy.

So knowing a secret might change your position in a localized social hierarchy. It might provide a means for ego validation, either by means of feedback from others, or serve as a proof of one’s superior abilities, social or cognitive, which could be interpreted as a rightful, or deserving elevation of position in the social hierarchy.

So for some, conspiracy theories serve a real purpose. And I only described a couple of reasons. There are surely others, one example being our nature as social creatures. One has to have something to talk about, no? (dead silence from the INFJ crowd, lulz :p)

I’m sure there are conspiracies out there, and secret plans, and all manner of skullduggery, big and small, some more foul than others. That’s because that’s what humans do. With each other, and to each other.

Inasmuch as I can’t know those things, or can’t be bothered to find out, or do not possess the time, resources, or skill to do so, I don’t spend much time worrying about them. Especially so because their impact over time on my life has been small—except former friends and lovers who engaged in infidelities, and even then, I don’t have the sense they wanted to hurt me. In fact, I’m reasonably sure they didn’t consider me whatsoever. :rolleyes:

Also, studying this in a rigorous manner would be very difficult given the scarcity of individuals with bell-end cognitive skills.

The median IQ of a human being is 100. Shall we test those one sigma deviation to the right? Two sigma deviations? Three? Four? And what of those poor souls who are greater than four sigma deviations to the right of the median? How might we find them?

Maybe we would find some Dunning-Kruger-like phenomenon, where moderate deviation would yield a propensity to trade in conspiracy theories, and greater deviation would serve as a functional threshold where one would become aware of the degree of one’s ignorance, and avoid engaging in such speculation and imaginings all together.

Of course, this is all so reductionist, and is almost certainly affected by other psychosocial and psychosexual needs, schemas, and fears. Also, it’s been clinically verified that being smart only benefits you socially to a point. Beyond that point, individuals experience a reduced quality of life and loneliness.

It doesn’t matter what you know, or what you can cognate, if the others won’t associate with you, and are very clear about you not being welcome in their group.

So as with all things, there are functional limits.

Cheers,
Ian
 
I have found over many years the ability to connect with just one or two people can create a social benefit, when they know who to share things with. They are not being used, but rather being helpful for all. Some folk will come to you when a situation is at hand, hoping for direction or something that would lead to an end to the situation. It can lead to an abrupt end while still happening. I call these close and trusting people outlets who are concerned for society and safety. While I do not personally like to call the world "society", others may use what they relate to. Guess them to be similar to messengers. Keeping your identity on a need-to-know basis, we find ourselves helping while staying in the background. We find happiness for all, and the loneliness is much overlooked. We have found our own place in society, though not known to most, and have shared the intellect and gifts with them all.

Watching one's words take action moments later, we find ourselves fully persuaded we are in the right place. The only burden in sharing our spiritual feelings and knowledge we may not fully understand comes from responsibility. We overlook obstacles and see a plain course of action almost simultaneously, which leads us to believe in the gift and not ourselves. Maybe we are the messengers, and the clarity is coming from a greater power other than ourselves. I believe so. I know so, at least from me. I take no claim for those words, as I am just listening and taking action like I should. We also find it to be of paramount importance what we think and what we say, as our words and thoughts create. They must be from a Creator.

I have been told to pick up a piece of broken glass when young. Instead of stopping to pick it up, I ignored and was lazy. The broken glass was left in the sand. My brother, following me, cut his foot pretty badly on the same piece of broken glass. After many situations like this occur, we learn to not just hear but to act: preventing situations we could have prevented had we listened to the words and acted upon them. It is not who we are, but what we do that matters mostly.

I will not divulge things that are, to me, off the records concerning myself. There should be no classified documents involving a messenger, as it might greatly influence others' ways of thinking. They must choose for themselves.
 
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