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View Full Version : More evidence that knowledge does not equal intelligence


Jess Hawsen Arown
03-05-2017, 09:59 AM
http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/07/living/harvard-debate-team-loses-to-prison-inmates-feat/

Not that we didn't already know that as witnessed by the far left educators that infest our schools.

HalvOnHorseracing
03-05-2017, 10:36 AM
http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/07/living/harvard-debate-team-loses-to-prison-inmates-feat/

Not that we didn't already know that as witnessed by the far left educators that infest our schools.

How is that evidence that knowledge doesn't equal intelligence? You mean the Harvard players knew a lot but weren't too smart? Or the the inmates didn't know that much but were really smart? Or that all our really smart people are locked up in penitentiaries while all our less intelligent people are at Harvard and Yale preparing for jobs as Supreme Court justices and Presidents. And how does debating about whether illegals should be denied a public education correlate to intelligence?

Since the inmates also beat West Point, does that mean the far right educators at that school are no more intelligent or knowlegeable?

First thing the right wing does is whine about how liberals call them stupid. But it' ok to call liberals stupid because, well that's actually a fact.

Dave Schwartz
03-05-2017, 11:02 AM
IMHO, the real point of the article was lost in the tone of the O.P.

After the debate, Carlos Polanco told the Wall Street Journal that he would never want to keep a child from attending school but that he was grateful for his chance to attend Bard College in prison. "We have been graced with opportunity," said Polanco, 31, who is in prison for manslaughter. "They make us believe in ourselves."

Talk about a case for rehabilitation!

There is a young man that I have been mentoring for 2.5 years. He works at a medium-security prison as a corrections officer.

I have been amazed at what he has told me about what prison life is all about at the medium and minimum level.

My view of prison has - like many of us - been guided by pop culture. That is, all that I "know" about prison life I got from watching TV shows and movies - a less-than-reliable medium.

I imagine prison as an ugly, miserable place, much like the environment of galley slaves a millennium or so ago.

He tells me that where he works has very little violence, because as soon as violence is exhibited, the inmates are shipped off to maximum security - a place that probably DOES match what pop culture shows us.

He says that there are so many programs available for inmates to better themselves and that special credit is given for those who avail themselves of the opportunity.

Another interesting thing is that inmates are not required to work! However, if they choose to work, they get a credit of 1 day sentence reduction per 3 days of work! If it is harder work, such as working in a field that can go up to 2 per 3 day, and dangerous work (such as fighting wild land fires) is 3/3!

In addition, there are similar credits for months without behavior reports.

Being active in self-improvement programs also comes with sentence reduction.

All very fascinating and encouraging for non-violent offenders.


It would appear that pop culture teaches us wrong so often. Another example is that automatic weapons are all over the crime scenes of America. In case you don't know, that is just not true.

In fact, a few years ago esteemed PA member, Ralph, told me that there were NO crimes with automatic weapons! Not "very few" but "NONE!"

I spent 6 hours or so searching the web and could only find ONE incident since 1956! That was the bank robbery in SoCal about 20-25 years ago where they perpetrators had full body armor.

HalvOnHorseracing
03-05-2017, 11:56 AM
If the headline was accurate, it would have said that smart people are found everywhere, including Harvard and prison rather than taking the tiresome shot at the Ivy League eggheads.

The other important point of the article is that many of the people in prison - and the Eastern Correctional Facility is maximum security - were on that path from a very young age. But given opportunities, some of the prisoners can do unexpected things. I'm not sure everyone can be rehabilitated, but it is worth the effort for the percentage who can.

thaskalos
03-05-2017, 01:03 PM
If the headline was accurate...

If the headline was accurate...it would have never occurred to Jess Hawsen Arown.

Clocker
03-05-2017, 01:28 PM
The OP assumes without evidence that one of those groups has more knowledge or intelligence than the other, and that either is a critical factor in winning a debate. Anyone that has ever watched a political debate knows that ain't so. Even in formal debates, a lot of other factors like speaking ability, cunning, and the ability to think on your feet can be more important.

It also ignores the strong probability that the inmates are much older than the students. The one inmate discussed is 31. I assume the students are around 20. Any inmate working on a degree and able to successfully debate is more apt to be older, more mature, and more experienced than a college kid.

And I'm guessing a lot of the inmates good at debating are disbarred lawyers. :pound:

Tom
03-05-2017, 05:35 PM
First thing the right wing does is whine about how liberals call them stupid. But it' ok to call liberals stupid because, well that's actually a fact.

That is not true at all......many are very smart people.
EVIL people, but very smart.


:headbanger:

Jess Hawsen Arown
03-06-2017, 06:16 PM
Only a liberal would fail to grasp the basic logic of the thread starter.

The same way they still have no idea why President Trump is so popular. It is simply beyond their comprehension. I mean, after all..

Every day they read in the liberal press and see in the liberal media how awful and stupid he is.

Every day, the super educated far left academia world tells their students how awful and stupid he is.

Every day the super rich Hollywood elite tells us how awful and stupid he is.

We poor iggerment Deplorables just wipe the sophisticated, edumicated liberals up in elections and smile as Donald Trump becomes the first President in history to actually do what he promised the voters.

NJ Stinks
03-06-2017, 06:51 PM
Only a liberal would fail to grasp the basic logic of the thread starter.

The same way they still have no idea why President Trump is so popular. It is simply beyond their comprehension. I mean, after all..

Every day they read in the liberal press and see in the liberal media how awful and stupid he is.

Every day, the super educated far left academia world tells their students how awful and stupid he is.

Every day the super rich Hollywood elite tells us how awful and stupid he is.

We poor iggerment Deplorables just wipe the sophisticated, edumicated liberals up in elections and smile as Donald Trump becomes the first President in history to actually do what he promised the voters.

If you are suggesting Donny Boy is steady as a rock and it's the liberals in this country that are painting a false portrait, I would say you have fulfilled Hillary's rock bottom expectations. :rolleyes:

Jess Hawsen Arown
03-06-2017, 07:12 PM
If you are suggesting Donny Boy is steady as a rock and it's the liberals in this country that are painting a false portrait, I would say you have fulfilled Hillary's rock bottom expectations. :rolleyes:

I would never say that Trump is solid as a rock. He is a flawed individual with a thin skin.

However, he is the man on the issues that matters most. That is why we voted for him. Refer to the RACCOONS post that litter the Internet. More than anything else written. it explains why we voted for him.

But yes, the wackadoo liberals are lying through their pointed little teeth when they open their mouths. I got to watch the View last week and the lies just kept on coming.

woodtoo
03-11-2017, 01:29 PM
A UCLA Professor called racist and guilty of "micro-aggression" against black students for correcting grammar and spelling issues on their papers.
A protest was organized and students claim he has created a hostile climate on campus with his actions.
How dare he!!!:rant:

Marshall Bennett
03-11-2017, 05:08 PM
What kills me is when so called "intelligent" liberals routinely call Trump stupid or an idiot. Hello!!! With no political experienced he wiped the stage clean of 15 other Republican contenders, then as an underdog destroyed Hillary.
Sounds stupid to me. :bang:

Marshall Bennett
03-11-2017, 05:13 PM
I spent 6 hours or so searching the web and could only find ONE incident since 1956! That was the bank robbery in SoCal about 20-25 years ago where they perpetrators had full body armor.

Wasn't this the infamous "Hollywood Shootout" played out in the streets after a bank robbery in broad daylight?

JustRalph
03-11-2017, 06:14 PM
Wasn't this the infamous "Hollywood Shootout" played out in the streets after a bank robbery in broad daylight?


I think he's referring to the Norco Bank robbery. They had modified a rifle to be full auto if memory serves me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQXXcFmMVNE

This robbery occurred just a couple of years before I attended the San Bernardino Sheriffs Academy. It was a huge part of our training.

Marshall Bennett
03-11-2017, 09:45 PM
Watched documentary on north hollywood shootout a little while ago. Both bank robbers had body armor and used multiple fully automatic weapons. AK-47 amd M16 were 2 of them. Perhaps they were used in both robberies.
This was in Feb. 1997.

PaceAdvantage
03-12-2017, 06:19 PM
Did art imitate life or was it the other way around? I am of course talking about the movie HEAT...with DeNiro & Pacino (first movie they ever appeared in the same scene together, BTW).

Whenever I read about these two big heists in California, I think about this movie and the bank robbery scene / street shootout.

But, the movie came out before the 1997 Hollywood Shootout and way after the 1980 Norco...nevertheless, these are the things I think about...:lol: