Emotional Intelligence

[denise]

I'm going to go against the general grain here and state that I actually think people are smart; it's the sophisticated social indoctrination to the benefit of the ruling class that's tripping humanity up at this point in the game in my opinion.

I'm starting to think that if we could get a grass roots movement to better appreciate and cultivate emotional intelligence, then we could redirect our path sooner than later.

If our species lasts long enough, or if transhumanism grows, maybe if possible we could develop something along the lines of telepathy, and max that area of intelligence out like one of the human groups in Arthur C. Clarke's The City and the Stars.

[Dragline]

Maybe people like be indoctrinated. Then they can blame someone else for what happens to them. "At least I was consistent . . ."
Stated another way, Huxley had a more accurate vision than Orwell.

Have you ever read "Propaganda" by Edward Bernays?

[Riggerjack]

I agree. People are smart. They are just obsessively interested in things so far removed from what I am, and thinking the way I do, that it is easier to call them dumb than to see what they ARE interested in, and the way they do think.

I used to think I was smart, there were plenty of people who agreed with me. Now, I think I'm out of alignment with the norm, but not brighter than norm. This leads to some clear strengths and weaknesses, outside the normal distribution range. But the more I observe, the more I see that the vast majority of people are very good at thinking about the things they are interested in. Usually, when I find someone I would describe as "not smart" it is because they have been damaged. Humans are very good at getting caught in loops, rethinking the same thoughts, refeeling the same emotions, to the exclusion of new inputs. It is either loops or chemicals that seem to cause stupid, in most cases.

I think you may find frustration when you start to spend more energy, trying to convince people to be interested in your interests.

A perfect example of this is Behavioral Economics. A grad student does a study in which he defines the rational decision, based on his priorities. Then, when people don't make the choice based on his values, he writes a paper about how irrational his subjects are. Another take on that would be how irrational the grad student was in assuming everyone shared his values, or that varying from his values made others irrational.

I'm starting to think that if we could get a grass roots movement to better appreciate and cultivate emotional intelligence, then we could redirect our path sooner than later.

I think you will find more happiness getting your own path worked out, and leading by example, than by herding cats. But, maybe herding cats is your interest/fascination.

Either way, good luck.

[denise]

@Dragline
Certainly. That's the driving force of our legal system for some people; to blame others and get recompense for it.

I remember my literary teacher in high school telling me A Brave New World was the sequel to 1984 (or maybe the other way around).

Never heard of the book, but I'll check the library for it!

I will say I have influenced a couple of smart people at my office to live more ERE-like, and save bundles in my short time at my new job. Coincidentally, all three of us are interviewing for other jobs to jump ship, because the powers-that-be are horrible. With some honest demonstration, the indoctrination can be broken!

[denise]

I think you may find frustration when you start to spend more energy, trying to convince people to be interested in your interests.

I think you will find more happiness getting your own path worked out, and leading by example, than by herding cats. But, maybe herding cats is your interest/fascination.

Either way, good luck.

Cool points. I don't ever try to convince people of anything, unless they want a debate, and I generally don't debate. I used to teach martial arts, so I typically lead by demonstrating, rather than convincing.

I consider myself smart but I don't compare myself to others. I'm also not competitive. Martial arts used to be my path, and I'm grateful for it, but my ultimate path is connection and understanding; learning.

As for the movement idea, it's the same thing of leading in appreciation of E.I. by demonstration rather than herding cats really. Less an organization, and more of doing individually.

[Dragline]

This is the modern classic Huxley/Orwell comparison if you haven't seen it: http://highexistence.com/amusing-oursel ... vs-orwell/

The book I cited is an empirical antecedent to Kahneman's "Thinking, Fast and Slow", which is the best modern compilation about how minds actually work. Although written in 1928 (Propaganda that is, and you can find in on the interwebs), it has little to do with trans-humanism or any such 20th century notions. You need to understand that transhumanist notions such as Kurzweil's mind model circa 1993 are already obsolete (although he would never admit it). Read M. Gazzaniga if you are interested in real neuroscience and not 20th Century fiction. It's better grounded, although more uncertain -- such as life is.

[denise]

My friend's a neuroscientist, actually she has an MD and a PHD, so I've read and heard a lot about it, and Kurzweil doesn't guide Transhumanism; it's always revised and changing.

I'll check out the comparison though, its been awhile since I've read the two.

[IlliniDave]

I'm pretty sure I have almost no emotional intelligence. But in my defense, I'm not even sure I know what it is. I often see behavior that is rooted in emotion, or at least humanness, labeled as cognitive errors or logical fallacies of various types.

[Ego]

Virtually every human has the potential to be smart. The brain is like a muscle. Use it and build it. Avoid using it and you get atrophy. The brain is also connected to other systems that have strong influences over this use-it-or-lose-it nature. Technology has, in many ways, induced dysfunction in the brain and allowed for atrophy in those connected systems.

Looking closer, the brain itself is a series of complex, interconnected systems. Those systems evolved over millions of years to perform particular functions. Technology is hijacking them, hyper-stimulating some while allowing others to wither. We are all at risk of becoming the brain equivalent of body builders with massive biceps but stringy legs.

Emotional intelligence is part of that. Maybe someday we will have an AI tutor training emotionally intelligent wunderkind. Right now the opposite is happening. The potential to be emotionally intelligent (or smart) is different from actually being intelligent.

[Dragline]

One of the more practical "EQ for geeks" hacks I have run across recently is speech mimicking (its from a former hostage negotiator with a new book, but I can't remember his name). It's long been known that adopting the same physical mannerisms as another person tends to make them view you more favorably, and that people who are otherwise friendly or related often do this unconsciously.

In speech mimicking when you are trying to persuade, negotiate or just create a warm fuzzy, you repeat one to three of the last words of the person you are having a conversation with. So far I've had generally favorable results in my highly empirical and unscientific efforts to implement this over the past few weeks.

[fiby41]

"it's the sophisticated social indoctrination to the benefit of the ruling class that's tripping humanity up at this point in the game in my opinion."


There is no static ruling class. Even if you take an arbitrary standard, like say, 10k most powerful families, to compromise this class,

even then the members will change yearly.

[7Wannabe5]

Dragline said: In speech mimicking when you are trying to persuade, negotiate or just create a warm fuzzy, you repeat one to three of the last words of the person you are having a conversation with. So far I've had generally favorable results in my highly empirical and unscientific efforts to implement this over the past few weeks.

Another trick is to use "feeling" words. For instance, "I feel like you don't respect me when you throw wads of paper across the room." or "I feel like my head aches when you don't use your classroom voices." I recently did an experiment to see if I could make it through an entire day substitute teaching inner city 6th/7th/8th graders without resorting to yelling. I was reasonably successful for a few hours, and then it went completely "Lord of the Flies." As a mother, I yelled at my own kids so infrequently, they would actually laugh on the rare occasions I did it, so I don't like it that I am driven to lower-functioning with the children I attempt to teach.