quote:
Originally posted by Kristoff Olafsson:
My bad. I was multitasking late at night, and I obviously didn't give it much attention. The site took forever to load and all the sleekness and sometimes silly quotes distracted one from a direct understanding of the product...it reminded me of a website dedicated to marketing a car or something. The URL I was given is mindaccelerator.info
I am not insulting the idea of self-help and everything, but most intelligent people are inculcated against such overdramatized marketing. they may well have something to offer but they should present it in a more honest, up-front approach. And finally, I want to state that no technique you read in a self-help book will turn you into a genius. It may help improve your thinking strategies and access more potential, but if the technique truly created geniuses, meaning people who come up with revolutionary, paradigm-forging ideas, than the inventors and their immediate associates would be the first to become geniuses. If that was so than everybody would hear about their ideas. the techniques would instantly become widespread, any talk of unfair discrimination or suppresion is a bunch of lies. If the technique works, than it will spread like wildfire...the history of fads should show that satisfactorily. As it stands, nobody in recent times-- or ever, for that matter-- has become a "genius" by any of these techniques. And no, one cannot point to Einstein or socrates as examples to use, because the backwards causality which people attempt to read into them is untenable, and logically flawed. Just because they used certain techniques does not mean that our using them will make us geniuses. That is akin to saying that copying cezannes style and method will turn us into revolutionary artists. The only real assessment of genius-making potential in a technique is seeing its effects on a population which adopts it. As it stands no evidence of anything of the sort creating geniuses has been forthcoming.
As I stated earlier, I am not against self-help. I am against all the sickening marketing which goes along with many of these techniques. And I am sick of people talking about making geniuses just by doing this or that. If it were really that easy, than why aren't the inventors themselves geniuses.
The reason I encouraged everyone to test their own IQ's is because it seems that is the only way one can gain access to reliable information about the efficacy of the technique. Why did the Reinert studies on ISing only actually go up to 6 points and then extrapolate the rest? Why were no subsequent studies done and posted? Why has noone practicing these techniques made genius-level contributions to our understanding of the world? These questions are fair to ask, and everyone here needs to seriously consider it. Dissent is bred out of this forum on self-help by means of the belief-factor (i.e. "if you think skeptically/critically than the techniques wont work"). Anyone who supports the abolishment of critical questioning destroys the potential of human intelligence, and breeds a world of consent and conformity. The recent events in the US with our growing fascist government is distrubing. The asset of critical reflection is essential to halting the growth of this near-tsarist entity which threatens to throw civil liberties and individual-independence down the memory hole.
One of the criticisms I now is inevitable about my post here on this forum is why I spent the time on it. The answer, in the hope that some of you will come to realize that questioning is essential, and that essential questions about this over-hyped field have been left conspicuously glaring for those with minds to perceive them.
Regards,
Kristoff H. L. Olafsson
You take an interesting side. As you hit on, it certainly is a side and a way of thinking that creates a concrete ceiling above you-- creating serious limitations for your future.
I don't have the time to go point for point with you, but your faith in IQ tests is misplaced. They simply don't work, and are a sloppy attempt and misguided jab at quantifying intelligence.
Aside, good luck Kristoff
