Is You Smart Like Me?
 

Hey this is a forum for random, idiotic discussions, right?

Dogs must think we are Gods. We open doors. We drive cars. Dogs can't even understand our thought processes. They just know we're WAY smarter than they are.

As I move around in this world, I notice that other people have varying amounts of understanding. I might be in a discussion where a problem is raised, facts are discovered and solutions offered. Half the people in the meeting will understand nothing more than what the other people said. Of the remaining half, half of those people will imagine solutions. Then, it will take them some time and discussion to work through the various difficulties inherent in each of the solution alternatives.

A small proportion of people who might be in this meeting will, when the problem is first described, imagine the solution, or the two or three solution alternatives, most likely to succeed. Knowing, at a mental glance, the problems that will need to be overcome with any particular solution choice.

Some peoples' brains work WAY slower than some other peoples' brains. Anybody notice this?

Heck, everybody does. When the discussion is happening, the smart folks are the ones that the others are glancing toward throughout the meeting. And it will be one of the smart ones who makes the comment that essentially ends the meeting.

It's like there are a few humans, and the rest are dogs that look like humans and can open doors like humans.

I like dogs.

Around here, most folks attending those meetings are there looking for food. We must provide food to first attract them, then to hold their attention at all. No food; they leave. Exactly like my dog. You might be on to something here...

Do not eat chocolate from Japan - it tastes bad.

Myers-Briggs explains it all, if you are so inclined.

I already knew the answer.

Re: Is You Smart Like Me?
 

Cats sure don't. ;)

Okay, I'll give you that one.

Newbies love to inject smart things to say - the silence afterwords is just peer training.:cool:

a jar full of pennies will make more noise than a jar full of dollar bills.

50% of all people are under 100 IQ!

We all have our strengths. We might be able to open doors but, dogs can lick their own balls.

...........and voted for Bush.:D

i tend to avoid meetings at all cost, because the way my brain operates, there's big risk of ending the meeing with a no-no comment

like some manager going "any questions?"

spawning the inevidable " eeem yeah ,so , when is this thing going to start taking off like you boys said it would , instead of costing us money, nothing working and the facts proving that the techies were right from the start??"


then an ackward silence .....with a muffled scream from the PHB
and the speaker making a run for the door, mumbling something bout , gotta run , plane to catch ...

Huh??

Re: Is You Smart Like Me?
 

I've thought about this and had discussions about this very subject with a coworker of mine. Initially it's difficult to imagine how the thought processes or brain function of two people can be SO different, but really it's not any different that muscle capacity, bone structure or even color of skin, hairs, eyes. It's just another organ that develops based on genetics. Just because they all probably look similar doesn't mean that on a cellular level they are the same.

I've met people that later on I wonder, "how did they live to be ## years old?" It's amazing sometimes.

I like to think that my dog is actually smarter than some, she just doesn't have the capacity for speech or opposable thumbs.

What is it, something like 75% is between 80 and 120?

is there a correlation between those that do all the talking and their paychecks as compared to the "silent" types.

Because there's not necessarily a correlation between intelligence/brain function and paycheck.

+1

AIn't that the truth. I think of the patter song in "H.M.S. Pinafore" about "Now I am the leader of the Queen's Navy".

So true....

But on the other hand, I hate being looked at like that at nearly every meeting.

Just yesterday we had one with the entire buying department and me, and they all really like this new software we looked at and then silence and all 8-9 of them look at me to get my opinion.

So I pointed out that the stuff that they thought was amazing seemed obvious to me, and what about these 3-4 drawbacks. Then also what about these 5 or 6 solutions to those, and this possibility of modifying it so this and that worked better, etc.

After the blank stares I just said I'll install a demo of it in a few weeks and they can see how it works in real life.

But yeah, I know the feeling real well.

Sounds just like me, except that I live to make those comments. :D

Indeed. I suspect the correlation is inverse. The less you say, the smarter they think you are.

Seriously though. I watch folks in meeting now, more closely than I used to. Some of my favorites are absolutely reliable. One of our very best construction managers says nothing, leans back and is actually a short distance from the table. Lots of others are leaning OVER the table, talking. This guy just sits, and picks his moment. No earlier than halfway through the expected meeting period. When the discussion is on a seque moment, he'll move his body a bit, and briefly ask a question. The question steers the discussion. If the discussion continues appropriately, he won't need to say anything else. If not, he may need to speak another time. When the meeting is over, I notice that he controlled the discussion, without having to do the talking. And everyone leaves thinking he was the smartest guy in the meeting.

Seriously though. In my original post, I was just reflecting on the difficult mental calisthenics that some folks require in order to make all the connections between the problems, the facts, the solution alternatives and the likely fallout from the alternatives. And some folks see all that.....pretty much at a glance.

Another way of saying this is that a small percentage of meeting attendees will essentially have it all figured out five minutes into the meeting. The other 55 minutes are spend educating the others, and bringing them through the five-minute thought process.

I wish I could lick my own balls....

dogs are cool

well , i do too ,
but i have to balance living the life with earning the paycheck...

It sounds like Rob understands. It's like watching an entire football game.......in slow motion.

SUpe has a point. There is an old adage:

"A fool may be seen as a wise man provided he keeps his own counsel."

I bet what impresses them the most is when you blast off into the sunset, about two inches off the ground. You should wear a cape, but it would probably just burn on the expansion chamber. ;)

WOOF WOOF, WOOF

If only I could drive one of those little shifters to the office, that would be pretty cool.

No cape today, just wearing my sunglasses and have my hood pulled over my head. Yep, came to work as the unabomber, and it actually seems to unsettle a couple people, even better.

Too bad there are no meetings today for me to sit in and play with poker chips in an irritating manner.

Re: Re: Is You Smart Like Me?
 

Genetics AND exercise. Without exercise, brain function slows way down no matter how fact it functioned when you were 20.

What? You can't? Am I the onl...nevermind. ;)

This is why I despise meetings. Even informal 2-4 person meetings at my desk. I show them 2-3 solutions to a given problem (airframe structural design on a CAD/Catia workstation) and inevitably the lead will ask me to create some pictures on paper so that everyone can understand. I'm showing them solutions in three dimensional space and they need two dimensional pictures on paper to understand anything. Drives me nuts.

The blastoff maneuver is old hat to them now, but the guys still marvel at my ball-licking capabilities.

I'm fairly typically male in many ways, and one of them is how very early I get my shopping done. I'll be stopping at the grocery store for candy. Which reminds me.........I hope to find a bag of Smarties. I love Smarties. I'm guessing they make you smarter. Right?

Yes, you do understand. Mark, they need to THINK about it for a while. Then after the thinking period, they'll come and ask you to implement the solution you liked best, because that's the one they like too. :rolleyes:

+1

...we often have Japanese staff visit and they bring some of the most, um, "unusual" treats. Usually small crackers or wafers, no English on the package. I take 'em home and dare my small kids to "eat the mystery FISH cookies from Japan! Yum!" :D

I like dogs.

Dogs are great!

I'm having trouble grasping the concept of a smart bureaucrat.

Makes me think of those dumb cop movies where the whole squad stands around doing nothing I guess until Wesley Snipes or whoever the hero is walks in and tells everyone what to do. :rolleyes:



I like thta "jarful of pennies..." saying. I'm adding that to my repetoir.

Oxymoron?