:iagree:
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67 when I checked, Bella. :geek:
And there are quite a few very effective facebook groups that focus on special interests. The trick is, as with this group, to control entry by invitation and filtering. I'm involved in a few pro musician groups, and FWIW they're a lot more effective and professional than the ones on Linked In and elsewhere.
The OP doesn't seem to have grasped that Bella's intention isn't to have a free-for-all, because that would either fall flat or degenerate quickly, as he rightly says. We all know that.
It's a good idea and I hope it succeeds.
It isn't that intellectuals are perverts...
Instead, one of the common traits really smart people have is intense curiosity (about everything, like...really...nothing is boring to them. A lecture about an in depth analysis of dirt is THRILLING. Learning about any aspect of the world is what they naturally are drawn to).
Also, they don't allow what they think to be limited by what society says is "ok". So if they are sexually curious about BDSM... they go and explore it. If they are curious about trannies...they go and explore it. If they end up liking it, they just go with the flow. The entire stress over "omg, society says I shouldn't think this way" is something they learn to get over pretty early in life.
Being extremely intelligent is something that will isolate a person (even at a young age). If you read about geniuses, you see just how alienated they felt growing up. They just can't relate on the same level to their peer groups. College running around getting drunk? Probably not something they find "fun" (and something not even college students think is so fun for so long).Quote:
Well that could be because lots of true geniuses are very eccentric and anti-social.
Growing up socially outcast kind of inhibits their social growth though. They just lose touch in how to deal with social situations (because their lives are spent learning and doing their own thing, not learning the social expectations of how to behave at a pool party :|
The thing is, they also start to figure these social things out as they get older (just a bit behind the curve... though they do kind of catch up in a decent way). So as they approach 30s, 40s, they seem less "crazy" and have learnt that their intelligence is something they need to kind of "dumb down" around others (since it makes other people uncomfortable).
Being extremely smart isn't all roses and sunshine. People see it as a negative generally. They see the desire to debate issues as the desire to argue and cause trouble. "No one likes a know-it-all....even if he is right".
An curiosity about everything is to me one of the key conditions of being really alive.
"The unexamined life is not worth living" - Plato
I really enjoyed this post. Naturally, intelligence is subjective- what we consider intelligent is in the eye of the beholder, but I agree with a lot of what you wrote. To me being curious and open is a mark of intelligence, since it denotes a willingness to engage with the larger world.
I also agree intelligent people are more likely to ignore societal convention and approach the world on their own terms.
Unfortunately, intelligence is intimidating, and to add to this, openness is as well. It's too bad that we begin to learn social norms through negative experiences and begin to self censor. I think anti-intellectualism is on the rise, and while some of it is warranted ( I know plenty of academics, for example, who are considered "smart people" but lack manners, social grace, and empathy), I think it's also a reflection of the uncertainty and anxiety many people feel currently. To go off on a bit of a tangent, I've recently gotten into watching Breaking Bad and it is a great commentary on both anti-intellectualism and academia's own isolating self awkwardness. To sum up, this cuts both ways, and I find a willingness to engage with life and create positive life experiences is the true mark of intelligence, rather than book smarts or technical know how.