What's on your mind?

[Travelers.Soul]

It's true. I have a master's degree but that is not a mark of intelligence. I have known many "intelligent" people who had a lot of book knowledge without any horse sense. I have also known people with high school diplomas that were more intelligent than the people I sat in class with. A degree does not make you wise anymore than the lack of one makes you a fool.

 

[LoveDivine]

Nope. I just read a lot, and have accumulated a sizable personal library. I lack the funds for college, and figure I can jumpstart my education with reputable books and lectures which have been made available online free of charge. Family drama has also necessitated my staying at home. All in all, it's a fine situation... but I still muse about the Lyceum experience. Perhaps sometime. A degree would be fun... but maybe that's pride, I don't know.

I understand. Personally, I don't think your desire for a degree is motivated by pride. I would consider it more a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment. It's true that a degree doesn't really matter but it's nice to have your study and knowledge recognized.

 

[LoveDivine]

Which is why I always hated that standardized tests in high school and college always seemed to have such importance placed on them. I fared pretty badly on the GRE exam in my sophomore college year, which was a requirement to get into vet school, but I personally feel I am more intelligent (not to say that conceitedly) than my performance on that test suggested. I mean, I could write long essays well if I weren't expected to think critically and write out something decent in less than forty-five minutes. But I guess that was all part of the objective, to see if I could think and write fast enough in a time-based situation. Still, I call shennanigans. And without googling it, I pretty much doubt I spelled that word correctly.

Veterinary school is probably harder to get into than med school. At least it is in Ontario where I live. I actually considered that field too but decided against it when I realized how tough it was to get into. Plus, a one day test doesn't account for nerves or a person not being at their best mentally. Some people are better test takers than others are. I think they should look more at your grades in your undergrad than your GRE. Your grades show a pattern over a longer period of time.

 

[Toro]

I think that the most successful people typically are businessmen. They just seem to be shrewd and know how to problem solve and market things. Not everyone has that ability. I am not a fan of Obama, but he definitely is very intelligent. His intelligence though is more of an academic or intellectual type. He lacks a lot when it comes to common sense and making good decisions. I don't think he is able to solve problems or formulate solutions well. So, I guess you could say that people who accomplish things and get things done must have a gift when it comes to critical thinking that others (even intellectuals) lack.

A classic example would be the absent minded professor. Maybe a brilliant researcher or scholar in his field but incapable of functioning normally in the real world, lol.

See, I just dont see Obama as intelligent. You take away his teleprompter and the guy cant string together a full sentence to save his life.

I believe he has intelligent people behind him telling him what to say, but thats not a mark of the mans intellect itself. It just means he comes off as sounding it.

As for common sense verse intellect. Ill take common sense any day. Id rather be able to function in the streets and in the real world than to excel behind a book and fail outside of them.

 

[LoveDivine]

See, I just dont see Obama as intelligent. You take away his teleprompter and the guy cant string together a full sentence to save his life.

I believe he has intelligent people behind him telling him what to say, but thats not a mark of the mans intellect itself. It just means he comes off as sounding it.

As for common sense verse intellect. Ill take common sense any day. Id rather be able to function in the streets and in the real world than to excel behind a book and fail outside of them.

Haha, please don't take my last post as support for Obama. Truthfully, I worded that in the most PC way possible. I was trying to give him some credit despite my opinion of him. I think his problem is more insincerity than it is lack of intelligence. Politicians generally sound stupid because they never say anything real or are ever truly passionate about something. They just spout off rhetoric and cliche statements that they think constituents want to hear.

I'll never forget when Senator John Kerry was running for president. I remember him giving a speech in Boston and trying to pass himself off as a big baseball fan. He was getting a lot of applause until he mentioned that his favorite Red Sox player was Manny Ortiz. Lol. It was obvious he never watches baseball.

 

[SarahsKnight]

I am reading this book on Kindle right now that was one of R.L. Stine's "Fear Street"-based books he wrote geared towards teenagers back in the day. My older sister Brooke had a small collection of them in her room when we were children and I always had this secret jealousy toward her for, believe it or not, in my eyes being "braver" for being able to willingly house her own collection of horror-based books and read them without getting nightmares of death and blood and evil spirits like I unfortunately did all of the time when I barely even actively tried to mess with the kind of media that those dreams stemmed from. But eventually, whenever she was away and left her door open, I would often try to take a deep breath and sneak in and read a few pages from one of the many Fear Street books on her shelf, to challenge myself into not being negatively affected by them.

I wonder if she ever read The Second Horror as a teen, which I am reading this moment and find myself strangely thinking it pretty entertaining for what it is. It's pretty hardcore for being aimed at an underage audience, anyway. This poor kid Brandt moves into the legendary haunted house or whatever on Fear St. with his parents, and things are going pretty well for him in his new social life at school where he has like three pretty girls who all lightly compete for his attention and the other guys admire his athletic ability. But man, back at home the ghost of the girl who died in the book before him at the hands of the "evil" in the house, named Cally, is playing some pretty sadistic games with him without fully letting on that she's always there in the house watching him and making sinister plans of all sorts because basically as a ghost she's angry and hates everything now. Starting with triggering the spear on an ornamental statue in the living room and spearing Brandt's cat. And then unleashing a rabid raccoon on him in the attic. And you know this poor kid is going to make the unwise decision of inviting one of the girls who likes him over for dinner and Cally's going to make sure something happens that at the very least puts her in the hospital. And why are there always attack rats in the cellar?

I guess this would be a good example of that term, nostal-trash (nostalgia for something from your past that you no longer believe is honestly good when it comes to movies, books, etc., but still you can't help but like it mostly on account of sentiment).

 

[William67]

See, I just dont see Obama as intelligent. You take away his teleprompter and the guy cant string together a full sentence to save his life.

I believe he has intelligent people behind him telling him what to say, but thats not a mark of the mans intellect itself. It just means he comes off as sounding it.

As for common sense verse intellect. Ill take common sense any day. Id rather be able to function in the streets and in the real world than to excel behind a book and fail outside of them.

Like Joe Biden.

 

[SarahsKnight]

Veterinary school is probably harder to get into than med school. At least it is in Ontario where I live. I actually considered that field too but decided against it when I realized how tough it was to get into. Plus, a one day test doesn't account for nerves or a person not being at their best mentally. Some people are better test takers than others are. I think they should look more at your grades in your undergrad than your GRE. Your grades show a pattern over a longer period of time.

Welllll, you're right. I had always heard that too. The thing is, even if I had done well on the GRE, I'm not sure my grades would have been acceptable enough. I barely graduated cum laude with a 3.52, which of course I personally am grateful for, but still, I doubt a vet school would have accepted that GPA unless I simply aced every other requirement necessary.

At first I was a little reluctant to let go of the idea of becoming a veterinarian because I had wanted to be one ever since I was four or five years old and was fascinated at seeing my cat Sneakers' teeth being pulled by her doctor. But then, I discovered that i was strangely fascinated by chemistry and had the drive to study hard in those classes despite their natural difficulty. And then I learned that it was actually a chemistry lab class in college where my parents met, so, I suppose that explains now why I have been working lab-related jobs ever since I graduated from school.

 

[Toro]

Haha, please don't take my last post as support for Obama. Truthfully, I worded that in the most PC way possible. I was trying to give him some credit despite my opinion of him. I think his problem is more insincerity than it is lack of intelligence. Politicians generally sound stupid because they never say anything real or are ever truly passionate about something. They just spout off rhetoric and cliche statements that they think constituents want to hear.

I agree, however. A man of intellect would know that the people want real. They are tired of the same garbage every term. You have a man (or woman) stand up in front of the American people that ISN'T just spouting some cliche garbage and you WILL get their attention.

Even if all they do is stand up, look at both Dem. and Rep. and say "Who cares whose fault it is.... lets work together to FIX it instead of acting like school children pointing fingers."

I am neither Dem. nor Republican because I believe they are BOTH the problem and BOTH parties need to be torn down and force hopefuls to stand on their own merit and not based on some blind devotion to one party or another. Where if Jesus were running for President opposite Hitler. One of them under the Dem. flag and the other Rep.

If you (general you, not you specifically) would vote Hitler in because he is under your party's flag....... you too are part of the problem.

I for one would LOVE to be president even though I know Id be taken out because there would be SOOOOOOO many people that didn't like what I had to say. I am NOT PC in anyway.

 

[Toro]

Like Joe Biden.

Even he is a puppet.... I was not referring to those with hands up their butts as the "intelligence" behind the man.

 

[William67]

Even he is a puppet.... I was not referring to those with hands up their butts as the "intelligence" behind the man.

I know. I was being facetious. Unfortunately, most of those behind him are so far to the left that a slight puff of air would make them full blown communists.

 

[LoveDivine]

Welllll, you're right. I had always heard that too. The thing is, even if I had done well on the GRE, I'm not sure my grades would have been acceptable enough. I barely graduated cum laude with a 3.52, which of course I personally am grateful for, but still, I doubt a vet school would have accepted that GPA unless I simply aced every other requirement necessary.

At first I was a little reluctant to let go of the idea of becoming a veterinarian because I had wanted to be one ever since I was four or five years old and was fascinated at seeing my cat Sneakers' teeth being pulled by her doctor. But then, I discovered And then I learned that it was actually a chemistry lab class in college where my parents met, so, I suppose that explains now why I have been working lab-related jobs ever since I graduated from school.

Aww, that is sad Chemistry is cool too though. I wanted to study that too before I ended up in hygiene. Basically, I ended up picking hygiene at the very last minute. Console yourself that pet dentistry is not as fun as it looked when you watched poor Sneakers at the vet. I have experience with human dentistry (loads of fun at times) and I used to clean my hounds teeth with an old dental instrument I had. I would have to put him in a headlock and almost wrestle him to get his teeth clean. I only did this because he was prone to issues and the vet said he needed dental work.

 

[Toro]

I know. I was being facetious. Unfortunately, most of those behind him are so far to the left that a slight puff of air would make them full blown communists.

I figured you were, but still had to clarify in case someone actually thought I was referring to such people.

I dont ever look in the spot light if I want to see the ones pulling the strings.

 

[Hawthorne]

I understand. Personally, I don't think your desire for a degree is motivated by pride. I would consider it more a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment. It's true that a degree doesn't really matter but it's nice to have your study and knowledge recognized.

Yes, I think you've hit on it.... it's fulfilling to learn, but having a paper which verifies that knowledge is a satisfying thought. Thank you for clearing my murky thoughts!

I used to clean my hounds teeth with an old dental instrument I had. I would have to put him in a headlock and almost wrestle him to get his teeth clean. I only did this because he was prone to issues and the vet said he needed dental work.

Good grief! I'm pretty sure standard procedure is to put the animal under before dental work... and, it seems, with good reason.

 

[SarahsKnight]

Console yourself that pet dentistry is not as fun as it looked when you watched poor Sneakers at the vet.

Yeah, I don't actually remember the experience in detail when I saw it. Just that it happened and it was that day on the way home that I announced to my parents that I wanted to be a "cat dentist" when I grew up.

As a little kid, I probably couldn't actually process in my brain that Sneakers was miserable as this was happening to her or some other kind of uncomfortable aspect involved in pulling an animal's teeth, just that it looked childishly fascinating to me.

 

[SarahsKnight]

And you know this poor kid is going to make the unwise decision of inviting one of the girls who likes him over for dinner and Cally's going to make sure something happens that at the very least puts her in the hospital. And why are there always attack rats in the cellar?

EDIT: Yep. Ten pages later, he sure enough does just that, and Something Bad Happens (tm*).

 

[LoveDivine]

Yeah, I don't actually remember the experience in detail when I saw it. Just that it happened and it was that day on the way home that I announced to my parents that I wanted to be a "cat dentist" when I grew up.

As a little kid, I probably couldn't actually process in my brain that Sneakers was miserable as this was happening to her or some other kind of uncomfortable aspect involved in pulling an animal's teeth, just that it looked childishly fascinating to me.

I agree that it is fascinating. On a slightly different note, one of the dentists I work for now was called into a zoo many years ago to do a root canal on a tiger. I guess the tiger had an infected tooth and was in a lot of pain. Apparently, the anatomy of a tiger's tooth is very similar to a humans, just a much bigger tooth. He told me it was the greatest experience to get to work on the tiger (he was put under of course)

 

[SarahsKnight]

On a slightly different note, one of the dentists I work for now was called into a zoo many years ago to do a root canal on a tiger. I guess the tiger had an infected tooth and was in a lot of pain. i guess the anatomy of a tiger's tooth is very similar to a humans, just a much bigger tooth. He told me it was the greatest experience to get to work on the tiger (he was put under of course)

Hah hah. Well, I would hope the tiger was sedated, otherwise I'd say your boss is the kind of hardcore that all guys only wish they could achieve.

I'd be surprised to learn that a feline tooth is at all structurally similar to a human's, though.

 

[SnowyMacie]

See, I just dont see Obama as intelligent. You take away his teleprompter and the guy cant string together a full sentence to save his life.

I believe he has intelligent people behind him telling him what to say, but thats not a mark of the mans intellect itself. It just means he comes off as sounding it.

As for common sense verse intellect. Ill take common sense any day. Id rather be able to function in the streets and in the real world than to excel behind a book and fail outside of them.

Haha, please don't take my last post as support for Obama. Truthfully, I worded that in the most PC way possible. I was trying to give him some credit despite my opinion of him. I think his problem is more insincerity than it is lack of intelligence. Politicians generally sound stupid because they never say anything real or are ever truly passionate about something. They just spout off rhetoric and cliche statements that they think constituents want to hear.

I'll never forget when Senator John Kerry was running for president. I remember him giving a speech in Boston and trying to pass himself off as a big baseball fan. He was getting a lot of applause until he mentioned that his favorite Red Sox player was Manny Ortiz. Lol. It was obvious he never watches baseball.

I agree, however. A man of intellect would know that the people want real. They are tired of the same garbage every term. You have a man (or woman) stand up in front of the American people that ISN'T just spouting some cliche garbage and you WILL get their attention.

Even if all they do is stand up, look at both Dem. and Rep. and say "Who cares whose fault it is.... lets work together to FIX it instead of acting like school children pointing fingers."

I am neither Dem. nor Republican because I believe they are BOTH the problem and BOTH parties need to be torn down and force hopefuls to stand on their own merit and not based on some blind devotion to one party or another. Where if Jesus were running for President opposite Hitler. One of them under the Dem. flag and the other Rep.

If you (general you, not you specifically) would vote Hitler in because he is under your party's flag....... you too are part of the problem.

I for one would LOVE to be president even though I know Id be taken out because there would be SOOOOOOO many people that didn't like what I had to say. I am NOT PC in anyway.

I know. I was being facetious. Unfortunately, most of those behind him are so far to the left that a slight puff of air would make them full blown communists.

I don't think that I've come across politician yet that I actually support. My biggest issue is bi-partisanship, which isn't popular with any political party and thus not popular with any candidate. Apparently, I have this insane notion that democrats and republicans are supposed to work together.

 

[SarahsKnight]

... Okay, I know this is probably of little to no concern to anyone hanging out in this thread right now, but I really have to say this.

A few pages later in the night after Brandt's date with one of the girls he likes goes wrong at his house, the kid actually finds Cally's old diary that apparently even as an evil ghost she has still been updating, hidden away in his bedroom. And he finds she wrote the words "I made Jinny bleed. Abbie is next." (And I imagined right after that Cally writing the words "tee hee!" like an evil girlish giggle even though that wasn't actually in the book.)

How much you want to make a bet Brandt is stupid enough to actually bring Abbie into his house at one point in the future, anyway? If so, then even for his typical schlock R.L Stine is putting forth some bad writing here (unless of course it was his active goal to make the protagonist have - as Toro said sometime earlier - "the I.Q. of an almond").