The longest thread ever

[bundabergdevil]

How could that happen? Everyone knew it was flat back then! I heard it from Kyrie.

A teacher cousin of mine is convinced he’s partly to blame for an uptick of flat earth questions in her 8th grade science class.

[wilson]

speaking of world history (which I happen to enjoy) I'm currently reading the new, most excellent biography of Sir Francis Drake entitled In Search of a Kingdom: Francis Drake, Elizabeth I and the Perilous Birth of the British Empire.
Pretty fascinating to read about some guy circumnavigating the globe in the 1500s...

I had a professor in grad school who was a rather renowned expert on Drake. I wrote my term paper for his course on Drake's work as a privateer for Elizabethan England.
Drake was a fascinating guy...there should be a movie.

[wilson]

A teacher cousin of mine is convinced he’s partly to blame for an uptick of flat earth questions in her 8th grade science class.

I think this is actually a chicken-or-egg thing. There's been an uptick in recent years of tongue [sort of]-in-cheek flat earther material on Hikory Dikory Dok or whatever inane social media apps the youths are using these days, and Kyrie is pretty well tapped into that zeitgeist. I think he started his flat-earth stuff as an intentionally inscrutable nod to that tongue-in-cheek joking, and then it got away from him a little bit. I believe he always intended for people to not be totally sure whether or not he was joking, but also that he underestimated the extent to which people would take it seriously, especially the aforementioned youths whose ability to incisively discern sarcasm is rudimentary at best.
I too have seen an uptick in flat earth comments/questions in my class in the last few years, and although I'm known for my everyday humor in the classroom, that's one thing I refuse to joke about or give a whole lot of breathing room in my teaching. It has jumped the shark in the sense that there are people now unable to recognize any joke about it, who've genuinely lost their ability to see how absurd the notion of a flat earth is.

[Phredd3]

It is impossible for me to agree more. The truly intellectually advanced are humble, willing to share their information and open to new ideas.

I have also met a number of intellectually advanced folks, including some Nobel laureates. I would not say that the bolded is particularly true. In fact, I attended a gathering held in honor of a world-famous musician who had sponsored the lecture at which a certain Nobel laureate had given the keynote address. The latter seemed a bit miffed that the mere musician was getting more attention than he was.

In my experience, a good number - probably the majority - of extremely gifted folks are, indeed, humble. A rare few are not humble in any way. And a substantial group of others have learned to use humble words and maintain humility to most outward appearances, but while nevertheless maintaining a rather high opinion of themselves. In other words, I don't think humility is particularly a signature trait of the gifted. It seems to occur with rather normal frequency.

[bundabergdevil]

I have also met a number of intellectually advanced folks, including some Nobel laureates. I would not say that the bolded is particularly true. In fact, I attended a gathering held in honor of a world-famous musician who had sponsored the lecture at which a certain Nobel laureate had given the keynote address. The latter seemed a bit miffed that the mere musician was getting more attention than he was.

In my experience, a good number - probably the majority - of extremely gifted folks are, indeed, humble. A rare few are not humble in any way. And a substantial group of others have learned to use humble words and maintain humility to most outward appearances, but while nevertheless maintaining a rather high opinion of themselves. In other words, I don't think humility is particularly a signature trait of the gifted. It seems to occur with rather normal frequency.

Internet board hot take: Nobel Laureates are also likely a subset of extremely gifted people that may skew humble based on their career pursuits but extremely gifted people also occupy finance, business, political and other realms that may skew less humble than the laureate pool.

[aimo]

Maybe he was attracted to salt from the roads due to winter storms?

We were thinking pollen on red plastic = sugar-coated candy.

[ClemmonsDevil]

I had a professor in grad school who was a rather renowned expert on Drake. I wrote my term paper for his course on Drake's work as a privateer for Elizabethan England.
Drake was a fascinating guy...there should be a movie.

Bundabergdevil's wife thinks he has a Golden Hind. Or so he claims.

[ClemmonsDevil]

I have also met a number of intellectually advanced folks, including some Nobel laureates. I would not say that the bolded is particularly true. In fact, I attended a gathering held in honor of a world-famous musician who had sponsored the lecture at which a certain Nobel laureate had given the keynote address. The latter seemed a bit miffed that the mere musician was getting more attention than he was.

In my experience, a good number - probably the majority - of extremely gifted folks are, indeed, humble. A rare few are not humble in any way. And a substantial group of others have learned to use humble words and maintain humility to most outward appearances, but while nevertheless maintaining a rather high opinion of themselves. In other words, I don't think humility is particularly a signature trait of the gifted. It seems to occur with rather normal frequency.

Almost all of my interactions with these folks is confined to people who take care of babies. I have had one of these super advanced folks postulate that perhaps people who take care of babies are just nice folks. So I made a generalization and it probably wasn't correct. If virtually all of my interactions have been good, that is perhaps not true of the wider world. Although I was piggybacking on Bostondevil's experiences too. Maybe I know nice people and you know jerks? 😉

[ClemmonsDevil]

Internet board hot take: Nobel Laureates are also likely a subset of extremely gifted people that may skew humble based on their career pursuits but extremely gifted people also occupy finance, business, political and other realms that may skew less humble than the laureate pool.

Yeah this. I should have kept reading

[wilson]

Almost all of my interactions with these folks is confined to people who take care of babies. I have had one of these super advanced folks postulate that perhaps people who take care of babies are just nice folks. So I made a generalization and it probably wasn't correct. If virtually all of my interactions have been good, that is perhaps not true of the wider world. Although I was piggybacking on Bostondevil's experiences too. Maybe I know nice people and you know jerks? ��

I know quite a few a-holes who have generally well cared-for babies.

[Bostondevil]

I have also met a number of intellectually advanced folks, including some Nobel laureates. I would not say that the bolded is particularly true. In fact, I attended a gathering held in honor of a world-famous musician who had sponsored the lecture at which a certain Nobel laureate had given the keynote address. The latter seemed a bit miffed that the mere musician was getting more attention than he was.

In my experience, a good number - probably the majority - of extremely gifted folks are, indeed, humble. A rare few are not humble in any way. And a substantial group of others have learned to use humble words and maintain humility to most outward appearances, but while nevertheless maintaining a rather high opinion of themselves. In other words, I don't think humility is particularly a signature trait of the gifted. It seems to occur with rather normal frequency.

All of the Nobel laureates I have met were given their prizes for either physics or chemistry. My hypothesis is that since research in the scientific fields requires much more collaboration than the other fields where one might win a Nobel prize, scientists are more likely to be humble because they know they didn't get there completely by themselves. Are there big jerks in science? Absolutely.

It's kinda like what I see in the theater world. I have long maintained that the hardest people to deal with in theater are playwrights. I have a friend who argues with me that actors beat playwrights. We have however reached a compromise. I have conceded that on the whole actors do need more attention but mediocre playwrights, those that have had just enough success to think they have more talent than they actually do have, are insufferable. Insufferable. My friend agrees. I have met many a Harvard scientist who acts the same way. For more than a few Harvard science types, the pinnacle of their careers is getting tenure at Harvard. In the world of science, they've made it to the NBA, but they aren't starters and will never come close to being an All Star. For many of them, it's a bitter pill and it turns them into jerks.

[ClemmonsDevil]

I know quite a few a-holes who have generally well cared-for babies.

I'm not talking parents. I'm talking neonatologists. I'm a fantastic parent and also an a-hole.

[wilson]

...I have met many a Harvard scientist who acts the same way. For more than a few Harvard science types, the pinnacle of their careers is getting tenure at Harvard. In the world of science, they've made it to the NBA, but they aren't starters and will never come close to being an All Star. For many of them, it's a bitter pill and it turns them into jerks.

I'm interested to hear more of your thoughts here. Are they mad about "missed" notoriety, or what? The average tenured Harvard professor in the hard sciences makes something like $250-300k per annum, which is a downright fortune in an academic career. Do they just think the rest of the world should find them more important, or something? I will say, tenured professors in any field are one of the dourest, most sullen lots I've ever encountered, but getting tenure at an Ivy would seem to clearly qualify as having "made it." To me, it seems that many of these people are determined to see a glass as 5% empty, rather than 95% full. Sheesh.

[wilson]

I'm not talking parents. I'm talking neonatologists. I'm a fantastic parent and also an a-hole.

Yeah, I was mostly messing (and thinking of a couple of particular a-hole/parents who happen to be on my mind at the moment).

[wilson]

I'm not talking parents. I'm talking neonatologists. I'm a fantastic parent and also an a-hole.

Also, you're definitely not an a-hole. I still owe you for, among other things, companionship and a nice meal in Charleston when I was broke and bored and lonely.

[ClemmonsDevil]

Yeah, I was mostly messing (and thinking of a couple of particular a-hole/parents who happen to be on my mind at the moment).

Me I assume?

[ClemmonsDevil]

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/...d-chicken-legs

What's on the docket for tonight. As always, recipes are General guidelines and I put different stuff in here but this is really tasty stuff.

[budwom]

I had a professor in grad school who was a rather renowned expert on Drake. I wrote my term paper for his course on Drake's work as a privateer for Elizabethan England.
Drake was a fascinating guy...there should be a movie.

Then I think you'll really like this book...thoroughly researched, very entertaining in its detail...

[Phredd3]

Maybe I know nice people and you know jerks? 😉

Well, being as I am a jerk, and it is a cosmic law that like attracts like, you're probably not wrong.

[ClemmonsDevil]

Well, being as I am a jerk, and it is a cosmic law that like attracts like, you're probably not wrong.

Hahaha! We should hang out!!!!!