Some Smart People: Views and Lives 2
Some Smart People: Views and Lives 2 is part of a long series for more than a decade on the high-IQ communities. The following are acknowledgements and the foreword for this volume by Erik Haereid from Norway. This is intended as a free public access resource.
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Acknowledgements
For Some Smart People: Views and Lives 1: Manahel Thabet for being the first in this series and giving a gauge on the feasibility of this project, and to Rick Rosner, Evangelos Katsioulis, Paul Cooijmans, Marco Ripà, and Jason Betts; in spite of far more men in these communities, it, interview-wise, started with a woman, even the Leo Jung Mensa article arose from the generosity of a woman friend, Jade.
For Some Smart People: Views and Lives 2: Deb Stone, Kirk Kirkpatrick, Rick Rosner, Dr. Claus Volko, Ivan Ivec, Monika Orski, Hasan Zuberi, and Erik Haereid.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Foreword by Erik Haereid
I want to thank Scott for an excellent work over many years, and something as rare as collecting free thoughts from people of high intelligence; without editorial correction. I have not seen the likes of that anywhere. Editorial offices tend to present material that reinforces norms and established truths rather than challenging and exploring them. Together with all the other interviewees over more than ten years, I would like to thank him for giving us the opportunity to express some of our opinions and thoughts.
In this second part of the series, we meet personalities such as the charming and highly intelligent, self-ironic multi-artist and self-proclaimed “Dumbass Genius” Rick Rosner from the USA, and the knowledgeable and insightful Austrian Claus Volko. We get to know the leaders of Mensa in Sweden, Monika Orski, and in Pakistan, Hasan Zuberi, and the experienced Deb Stone from the USA; i.e. she is an actuary, like me. The very intelligent Kirk Kirkpatrick from the USA is also in this volume, and not least the mathematician, IQ test creator and one of the most noble and unifying figures in the high-IQ world; Ivan Ivec from Croatia.
People can be roughly divided between those who try to reinforce the existing and those who find it painfully necessary to create new habits and patterns. This division applies to smart people to the same extent as the rest. The question is how the individual uses his abilities and will. Do we imitate others? Are we afraid of compromising the norms? Or do we dare to challenge the establishment?
If one is to use high intelligence for something sensible, then it must be to push oneself to think and ask difficult questions, such as: What is right and what is wrong? Why should I change anything? What is wrong with following my desires and inclinations? Should I put more emphasis on the ego or the community? What are the consequences, in the short and long term, for one and the other?
As an intelligent person, you are also well-equipped to stop your inclinations, ask critical questions and give some answers that can lead to new and perhaps slightly better habits. We like to see ourselves as a species that evolves us and the world for the better. But what is “better”? Are we self-critical enough in relation to the way we live our lives; politically, economically, socially, in terms of education…? Are not many of our institutions based on old habits; on patterns we should strictly re-evaluate, seen in the light of our own history?
When Mensa was established shortly after World War II and its unbearable suffering created by human stupidity, selfishness, fear and greed, in 1946, part of the motivation was to gather the smartest people on earth to prevent future war. Has Mensa lived up to this ambitious goal? Or are Mensa, and other high-IQ societies, playgrounds for the egos of intelligent people?
Was the DJ who used his power to play John Lennon’s “Imagine” during this summer’s Olympic women’s beach volleyball final between Brazil and Canada smart? Many will think so. He achieved what the referee tried and failed to do; to calm tempers between the teams. The DJ was able to stop the escalating argument between the Brazilian and Canadian performers, with a single move; by playing a simple song everyone associates with peace; including the volleyball players.
Self-criticism is a difficult exercise; painful, introspective, and needed now more than ever. This is where the smart can play a significant role. I hope that everyone will take on this task in the future. And that this great and comprehensive series by Scott can help to influence that.
Erik Haereid,
August 26, 2024
Larkollen, Norway
Photo by Chris Lawton on Unsplash
