THINKER'S ALMANAC - November 6

How can a car help us understand the relationship between IQ and thinking skills?

Subject:  The Intelligence Trap - de Bono’s car

Event:  The Torchlight List: Around the World in 200 Books is released, 2013   

An intelligent person is never afraid or ashamed to find errors in his understanding of things. -Bryant H. McGill

The human species is getting smarter.  This is the conclusion drawn by philosopher James Flynn, who documented that Intelligence Quotient (IQ) scores have risen at a rate of about three IQ points per decade.  This is not just a claim made by a lone philosopher.  Stephen Pinker reports in his book Enlightenment Now that this increase in IQ -- known as the Flynn Effect -- has been confirmed by “a meta-analysis of 271 samples from thirty-one countries with four million people” (1).  While improved nutrition and education no doubt contribute to the Flynn Effect, IQ is still just a number, and it could be a number that spells trouble, even for those who have high IQs.  

The writer and lateral thinking advocate Edward de Bono warns of what he calls the intelligence trap.  Smart people get so used to “being right” and making instant judgments that they become inflexible in their thinking.  They also can become arrogant, unwilling to look at alternative points of view.  For these people thinking becomes a passive verb:  “I AM smart.”  A more healthy approach is to make thinking an active verb:  “I think critically.”  

Image by Jiří Rotrekl from Pixabay

For de Bono, the relationship between IQ and thinking skill is best illustrated by a car analogy.  The horsepower of a car is to IQ as the car’s driver is to thinking skills:  “The car may have a powerful engine, a smooth gear box and a wonderful suspension.  But the skill of the driver is something different . . . In no way does the power of the car ensure the skill of the driver” (2).

De Bono’s analogy is concisely summed up by the character Dominic Toretto in the film Fast & Furious (2009) when he says, "It doesn't matter what's under the hood. The only thing that matters is who's behind the wheel.”

Although he is encouraged by the phenomenon of rising IQ scores, James Flynn, a university professor, was discouraged by a trend he saw in his students:  fewer and fewer of them were reading books for pleasure.  On November 6, 2013, he published a book of 200 book recommendations that he called The Torchlight List.  The title was inspired by his Uncle Ed, who read at night in his bunk using a torch, or flashlight, while serving on a naval ship during World War I.

Certainly reading makes you smarter, but Flynn's main desire for his students is liberation:  “I want them to be free.  I want them to be able to understand the world, rather than just be swept along by the river of time with no real comprehension of what is happening to them.”  No matter how high your IQ is, you will be humbled by the intelligent insight you gain from books:  “. . . you can enter a magic realm in which people are more interesting, informed, amusing, and intelligent than anyone you encounter in everyday life” (3).

Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason:   How does de Bono’s car analogy help explain the intelligence trap?

Challenge - I.Q. Intelligence Quotations:  What is the best thing that anyone ever said about intelligence?  Do some research on quotations related to the topic of intelligence.  Find a quotation you like, write it down, and explain why it stands out for you.

Sources:  

1-Pinker, Steven.  Enlightenment Now:  The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress.  New York:  Viking, 2018.

2 - de Bono, Edward.  De Bono’s Thinking Course. New York:  Facts on File Publications, 1982.

3 - Flynn, Jim.  The Torchlight List:  Around the World in 200 Books.  New York:  Skyhorse Publishing, 2013.

THINKER'S ALMANAC - November 5

How can the image of a runner on a treadmill help us understand the nature of happiness?

Subject: Affective Forecasting - The Lottery

Event:  Birthday of psychologist Daniel Gilbert, 1957

In every permanent situation, where there is no expectation of change, the mind of every man, in a longer or shorter time, returns to its natural and usual state of tranquility.  In prosperity, after a certain time, it falls back to that state; in adversity, after a certain time, it rises up to it. -Adam Smith

On this day in 1957, Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert was born.  In 2006, Gilbert published the international bestseller Stumbling On Happiness, presenting the latest psychological research on happiness.  The ancient Greek philosophers called it eudaimonia, a word that means well-being, fulfillment, or realizing your potential.  It’s hard to define the word, but as Gilbert explains it’s even harder for us to recognize it in our own lives.  For example, you might presume that winning the lottery would make you ecstatically happy while suffering a catastrophic and debilitating accident would make you terribly depressed.  A 1978 study, however, revealed surprising results.  Recent lottery winners rated their everyday happiness as 3.33 out of 5, while recent accident victims averaged 3.48. (1).  The conclusion that Gilbert draws is that we are just not very good at predicting our own emotions, a psychological phenomenon he calls affect forecasting.  

Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

The prescription for us is to realize that we live on a “hedonic treadmill,” the tendency that humans have to return to a relatively stable level of happiness whether encountering positive or negative life events.  Picture a person running a treadmill:  whether the treadmill is set at a high speed or a low speed, the person on it stays in the same place.

Knowing this might bring some solace; however, it’s no guarantee.  In Arthur Miller’s classic play Death of a Salesman, the aptly named character Happy, takes a stab at some affect forecasting when talking about his day job: 

All I can do now is wait for the merchandise manager to die. And suppose I get to be merchandise manager? He’s a good friend of mine, and he just built a terrific estate on Long Island. And he lived there about two months and sold it, and now he’s building another one. He can’t enjoy it once it’s finished. And I know that’s just what I would do. I don’t know what the hell I’m workin’ for. (2)

In his book The Happiness Hypothesis, psychologist Jonathan Haidt explains that ancient sages have long urged people to quit the rat race.  Both Buddhism and the Stoic philosophers taught the importance of focusing on our own internal thoughts and reactions rather than the vagaries of external forces, such as chance and fortune.  As Haidt further explains:  “Both doctrines are based on an empirical claim, a happiness hypothesis that asserts that striving to obtain goods and goals in the external world cannot bring you more than momentary happiness.  You must work on your internal world” (3).

Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason:  What is affect forecasting and the hedonic treadmill, and how does this relate to the 1978 study comparing the relative happiness of lottery winners and accident victims?

Challenge - Don’t Worry Be Happy:  What is the best thing anyone has ever said about happiness?  Do some research on insightful quotations on the subject.  Pick the one you like the best, and explain why you like it.

ALSO ON THIS DAY:

November 5, 1605:  A plot by Guy Fawkes and his fellow conspirators was foiled on this date.  The goal of the Gunpowder Plot was to set off explosives hidden under the English Parliament.  Each year on this day, the British people celebrate “Bonfire Night,” setting off fireworks and burning effigies of Guy Fawkes.  Celebrate failure.

Sources:  

1-Dahl, Melissa. “A Classic Psychology Study on Why Winning the Lottery Won’t Make You Happier.”  The Cut  13. Jan. 2016. 

2 Miller, Arthur, 1915-2005. Death of a Salesman. New York: Penguin Books, 1996.

3 - Haidt, Jonathan.  The Happiness Hypothesis. New York:  Basic Books, 2006.

THINKER'S ALMANAC - November 4

How can thinking about fishing make us better persuaders?

Subject: Persuasion - Roger’s Fish Hook

Event: Birthday of Will Rogers, 1879

. . . you need to convince your audience that the choice you offer is the most “advantageous” — to the advantage of the audience, that is, not you.  This brings us back to values. The advantageous is an outcome that gives the audience what it values. -Jay Heinrichs

On this day in 1879, American humorist, actor, and cowboy Will Rogers was born.  Rogers made 71 films and wrote more than 4,000 nationally syndicated newspaper columns (1).  In all the thousands of words that Rogers spoke or wrote, one line stands out as perhaps one of the greatest analogies of all time, an analogy that sums up the reasoning and psychology behind successful persuasion:   “When you go fishing you bait the hook, not with what you like, but what the fish likes.” 

Image by Christo Anestev from Pixabay

Roger’s analogy brilliantly sums up an ancient persuasive principle known as “the advantageous.”  When trying to persuade, resist the temptation to appeal to your own advantage; instead, frame your message in a way that appeals to your audience’s advantage.  In other words, instead of focusing on what is good for you, climb into your audience’s skin and try to see things from their point of view -- what’s good for them.

The advantageous is taught in narrative form in the opening chapters of Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird when Scout recounts her first day of school.  Seemingly everything that could go wrong, goes wrong for Scout, especially when it comes to her relationship with her teacher, Miss Caroline. As Scout tearfully recounts her run-ins with her teacher to her father, she declares that she doesn’t ever want to return to school again.

At this point, Scout’s father, Atticus Finch, shares a valuable lesson with her:

`First of all,' he said, 'if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view — until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.' (2)

Atticus, a lawyer, understood that winning over a jury requires more than just arguing your case; instead, it requires understanding your audience’s point of view -- their beliefs, expectations, and desires. 

Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason:  How does Will Rogers compare effective fishing with effective persuasion, and what does this analogy have to do with the advantageous?

Challenge - A Correctly Baited Hook:  What is an example of speech where the speaker employs the advantageous?  Do some research on important speeches.  When you find one that you like, analyze the relationship between the speaker and his or her audience to determine and explain how the writer appeals to the audience’s interest.

ALSO ON THIS DAY:

November 4, 1918: Poet Wilfred Owen dies in battle. (See THINKER’S ALMANAC October 4.)

November 4, 1979:  On this day New York Times columnist William Safire (1929-2009) published an article on the “Fumblerules of Grammar.”  Each of Safire’s fumblerules states a rule while at the same time breaking it, such as:

Never use prepositions to end sentences with (see THINKER’S ALMANAC - December 17).

Sources:  

1-Will Rogers Biography.  Biography.com 4 Nov. 2019.

2-Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. 40th Anniversary ed. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1999.

THINKER'S ALMANAC - November 3

What happened to Marie-Olympe de Gouges two years after she wrote ‘The Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen’?

Subject:  Women’s Rights - Marie-Olympe de Gouges’ Declaration

Event:  The execution of Marie-Olympe de Gouges, 1793

Woman, wake up! The tocsin of reason is being heard throughout the whole universe. Discover your rights! The powerful empire of nature is no longer surrounded by prejudice, fanaticism, superstition, and lies. -Marie-Olympe de Gouges

A major achievement of the French Revolution occurred on August 26, 1789 when The Declaration of The Rights of Man and of the Citizen was adopted.  This document failed, however, to recognize the equality of women, an important detail that was not overlooked by writer and playwright Marie-Olympe de Gouges.  In response to the Rights of Man, Gouges published The Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen in 1791.  Gouges minced no words in her Declaration, saying, “This revolution will only take effect when all women become fully aware of their deplorable condition, and of the rights they have lost in society.”

Gouges challenging the male sex to live up to the ideals of the Revolution and of the Enlightenment. She also challenged conventional views.  She argued that just as nature manifests the harmonious cooperation of the sexes, so too should the laws of the state.  In an incredulous tone, she berates the male sex for his irrationality: 

Bizarre, blind, boated with science and degenerate -- in a century of enlightenment and wisdom -- into the crassest ignorance, he wants to command as a despot a sex which is in full possession of its intellectual faculties.

In words that eerily foreshadow her fate, Gouges demanded the same rights to free speech that men had:  “No one is to be disquieted for his very basic opinions; woman has the right to mount the scaffold; she must equally have the right to mount the rostrum, provided that her demonstrations do not disturb the legally established public order.”

For having the audacity to demand equality and for speaking out, Gouges was silenced.  Arrested in July 1793, she was sent to the guillotine and was executed on November 3, 1793.  Her influence and spirit lived on, inspiring Mary Wolstonecraft’s Vindication of the Rights of Woman and Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s Declaration of Rights and Sentiments, which was signed in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848.  Women in France were granted the right to vote as equal citizens in 1944.

Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason:  How do the long term consequences of Marie-Olympe de Gouges' Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen (1791) compare with Elizabeth Cady Stanton's Declaration of Rights and Sentiments (1848)?

Challenge - Rushmore of Women:  If there were a Mount Rushmore featuring the four most influential women in history, which four women would you select and why?

Sources:  

1-Marie-Olympe de Gouges. The Rights of Woman, 1791.

THINKER'S ALMANAC - November 2

As victorious generals paraded through the streets of Rome, something was whispered in their ears to keep them humble.  What was it?

Subject: Mortality - Memento Mori

Event:  National Write Your Own Epitaph Day

Death smiles at us all, all a man can do is smile back. -Marcus Aurelius

It’s the one universal, the one reality that all must face.  Whether rich or poor, a king or a commoner, we all are mortal.  Everyone dies.  Or, as Jim Morrison said, “No one gets out of here alive.”  There’s an ancient story that comes to mind called “The Appointment in Samarra”:

A merchant in Baghdad sent his servant to the public market. When the servant returned, he approached his master trembling with fear.  “Master” he said, “When I was in the marketplace, I was jostled by a woman in the crowd.  I turned and saw Death looking at me in the face, and she made a threatening gesture towards me.  Please, Master, please allow me to take one of your horses and flee from this city to Samarra so that death will not find me and so that I can avoid my fate.”  The merchant granted his servant’s request, and within minutes the servant was galloping away to Samarra.  Next, the merchant went down to the marketplace and saw Death standing in the crowd.  The Merchant approached Death and asked, “Why did you make a threatening gesture towards my servant?”  Death replied incredulously, “That was not a threatening gesture; it was a start of surprise.  I was astonished to see your servant in Bagdad, because I had an appointment with him today in Samarra.”

Image by Milos Duskic from Pixabay

Some, like the merchant, try to forget or avoid this inevitability; however, there is an ancient tradition of embracing it, not to be morbid but instead to be proactive.

In the Roman tradition it’s known as memento mori, and it’s even on the calendar:  January Third.  In Latin, memento mori translates, “remember that you must die.”  The phrase was put to use in ancient Rome to prevent leaders from falling prey to hubris.  When a Roman general was paraded through the streets after a victorious battle, a slave was strategically placed behind the general in his chariot.  As the general basked in the cheers of the crowd, the slave’s job was to whisper in the general’s ear:  “memento mori” or “Someday you will die” (1).

The Stoic philosophers embraced memento mori as a reminder of life’s transience and of the importance of making each minute count.  Instead of fearing death, philosophers like Epictetus tried to reframe it, saying, “Death and pain are not frightening, it’s the fear of pain and death we need to fear.”  For centuries, an entire genre of art works has been produced around the memento mori theme, usually depicting a skull and an hourglass (2).

Memento mori is not just for Roman generals or Stoics, however.  After he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2003, Apple Founder Steve Jobs gave a moving commencement address at Stanford University, reminding graduates that facing our mortality is no morbid exercise; instead, it is motivating:

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something. 

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.  (2)

One sure way to face mortality is to take a walk in a cemetery, perusing the gravestones and reading the epitaphs.  Today, November 2, is the perfect day for such a ruminative stroll because it is National Write Your Own Epitaph Day (3).  It’s a day to remember your mortality but also to consider what words you will leave behind to the living.  How might you distill the wisdom of your life into a single concise aphorism?

Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason:  How did the merchant’s reaction to Death in “Appointment” differ from Steve Job’s attitude towards death, and how does this relate to momento mori?

Challenge - Words To Leave Behind:  Do some research on epitaphs.  Then, carefully craft your own epitaph.

Sources: 

1-Crosby, Daniel. Memento Mori – The Ancient Roman Cure for Overconfidence. 7 Nov. 2013.

2-Jobs, Steve.  Death is Very Likely the Single Best Invention of Life.  The Guardian. 10 Oct. 2011.

3-Nationaltoday.com “Plan Your Epitaph Day – November 2, 2021.”