Month: December 2017

excellent article Exponential correlation of IQ and the wealth of nations Is it any coincidence high-IQ countries, high-IQ stocks, and high-IQ asset classes, going back decades, have outperformed low-IQ ones? Positive correlation between national IQ and GDP per capita: Note how they measure it by GDP per capita instead of total GDP. This is an… Continue reading Exponential correlation of IQ and the wealth of nations

Shared narratives are beliefs unique to smart people, that cross ideological/political divides. Shared narratives are a subset of ‘intellectualism culture’. Some examples: –Facts and accuracy precedes values –Correctness is more important than consensus –The general sense that society neglects its smart and talented, such as in public school –Revulsion of reductionist discourse that tries to… Continue reading Shared narratives: summary and examples

The Wealth, Intellectualism, and Individualism series, which describes how since 2008 society has been radically transformed socially, culturally, and economically, for both good [1] and bad, continues. Part 7 was published in January 2017, so it’s been awhile. The entire essay, at 15,000 words, was finished in late 2016, so some parts, such as about… Continue reading Wealth, Intellectualism, and Individualism, Part 8 (interlude)

The compelling case for working a lot less Even on a global level, there is no clear correlation between a country’s productivity and average working hours. With a 38.6-hour work week, for example, the average US employee works 4.6 hours a week longer than a Norwegian. But by GDP, Norway’s workers contribute the equivalent of… Continue reading The compelling case for working a lot less (if IQ is high enough)

This article by Bryan Caplan went slightly viral: The Flynn Effect vs. the Greatest Minds in History What do rising IQs really show? I remain undecided, but here’s an argument that strongly inclines me to pessimism. To wit: When I read the smartest thinkers from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, they seem roughly as… Continue reading The Flynn Effect vs. the Greatest Minds in History (analysis)

Even liberal magazine The Atlantic admits that Trump isn’t going anywhere: The Odds of Impeachment Are Dropping, thanks to strong support within his party: Among Republicans, Trump’s approval rating has held remarkably steady. The week Mueller was named, according to Gallup, Trump’s GOP support stood at 84 percent. In the days after Donald Trump Jr.… Continue reading Notes: The Odds of Impeachment Are Dropping

The tots, or as I call the alt-bimbos, are symptomatic of the alt-right and far-right being infected with democracy and majoritarianism. They are trying to superimpose western liberal values onto an ethno-nationalist framework, which is counterproductive, incongruous, and absurd. Second, as Roosh and others observe, the tots are merely regurgitating and appropriating concepts produced by… Continue reading Black pills and tots

In the post Adulting, Responsibility and Collapse, Meta-Nomad takes a stab at ‘adulting’ and what he perceives as the decline of personal responsibility: I’m getting ever closer to the point wherein my posts no longer need a ‘Why?’ as to their creation, that said, the seed that spawned this apocalyptic assemblage was a piece of… Continue reading Normie Conservatism vs. Alternative Conservatism

This article went viral a few weeks ago: Mr. Money Mustache, UBER Driver In summary, after factoring in costs, his earning were about $7/hour, and he concludes it isn’t worth it: But in the end, it was hard to stay motivated to keep doing this experiment. There is just usually something better to do than… Continue reading Mr. Money Mustache does not understand Uber or libertarianism well

Over the past month or so, there has been a lot of attention about Eliezer Yudkowsky and how he purportedly ‘advised’ the Bank of Japan (BOJ) pursue more aggressive monetary policy, which they heeded, called ‘Abenomics’, which “…refers to the economic policies advocated by Shinzō Abe since the December 2012 general election, which elected Abe… Continue reading Eliezer Yudkowsky schools the Bank of Japan