Not here to impress.: 25 things you should know about other people

[MrScorpio]

1. Most people hide their suffering better than you think, you pass dozens of people a day on the street without any idea how well they’re wearing their tragedies.

2. People’s names are the sweetest sounds they hear. You should make a point of being good at learning and using them.

3. People love to spread their misery around, but not as much as they enjoy being lifted out of it.

4. Being young is not in and of itself an achievement. Neither is being beautiful. But people often treat you as if they are.

5. For a lot of people, music is a reflection of who they are and their relationship to life. Remember that before insulting someone’s favorite band.

6. The Golden Age never existed. People are always trying to get back to a time when things were simpler and better. The world was a far more dangerous place fifty years ago, especially if you were black or a woman or gay or diagnosed with cancer.

The rest: http://akane-x.tumblr.com/post/4892632280/25-things-you-should-know-about-other-people

[Brickbat]

1. It started out OK, then went downhill, IMO.

[Sherman A1]

7. Agreed

But, it's one person's opinion and they are certainly entitled to it.

[MineralMan]

2. It's a pretty darned good list.

Some of the items show a little bias toward a woman's point of view, but overall, they're quite good.

K&R

[Lorien]

5. Why, because it's on a pink page?

"24. Most people are worried they’re not having as much fun as they should be. This usually makes men cheat and women nag. "

That sure as hell didn't come from a woman.

[MineralMan]

9. No. Not because it was on a pink page, and I did not say that

all of the items had that bias. It was, in fact, written, or at least posted, by a woman, though. It's unimportant, really. It's a good list, for the most part, so who wrote it is irrelevant.

Happy Easter.

[patrice]

11. The modifier "some" would have been useful. Some women do indeed nag and perhaps

you will consider agreeing with me: If I require that others not generalize too strongly, so should I also not generalize too. Hence, if "the shoe doesn't fit" I don't wear it and, given how universally error prone most of us are in habits of generalization, I bet others can/do make that determination about "shoes" too.

[MineralMan]

13. And I did use "some" as a qualifier in my post.

I'm pretty careful about that. I know you were referring to the other poster, but I wanted to add that information.

[JackRiddler]

12. Yes, of course, because it's on a pink page.

The blogger presents as a female. Understood that any claims of identity on the Web could be a deception.

Looks like a young bright person who's wise about most things and wrong about a few.

[Control-Z]

14. That page was offensive

to view, imo. The words on the page, however, I mostly agree with.

[patrice]

18. Agree. The page is very hard to look at. nt

[reggie the dog]

37. how many divorces come from that

people thinking they should be having more fun than they are with everyday life.

[Swede]

3. Really fine post.

K&R

[JackRiddler]

4. These three are true in my experience:

16. A lot of people who consider themselves intelligent can’t properly label all the states on a map, or all the countries in Europe, let alone Africa or the Middle East. Most couldn’t list off the ten commandments, five pilars, or the amendments of the Constitution, and feel that politics are too complicated to bother with understanding, let alone talking about.

17. A lot of Christians have never, and will never, read the Bible. Most of them will conduct their lives exactly as they would if they’d never attended a single church service. It is nearly impossible to tell a Christian from an atheist by their actions alone. Both Christians and atheists will probably find the previous statement offensive.

18. For nearly every crazy idea, you can find a fully credentialed scientist who will back it up.




... other than that I'm not sure what the "five pilars" even are. (Pilar Rodriguez, Pilar Jones?)

But #16 you run into continuously. People who may be very smart about whatever they do but have no clue about politics, yet insist on an opinion, insist on NOT talking about it (but moving on to supposedly interesting things like sports or celebrities), and don't want to allow facts or establish definitions.

[MrScorpio]

6. The Five Pillars of Islam

Just don't ask me to recite them

[JackRiddler]

10. Ah, yes.

I won't look them up... something like:

There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is his messenger.
Pray to Mecca 5x day.
Fast for Ramadan.
Give to charity.
Go on Hajj.

Did I get it right, more or less?

Let's see the actual list:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Pillars_of_Islam

[MrScorpio]

15. Sounds about right nt

[Xenotime]

34. Sounds simple and wonderful.

[TalkingDog]

26. What does the ability to memorize lists of discrete factoids have to do with being intelligent?

This person is confusing memorization with the ability to think critically, synthesize creatively and/or problem solve effectively.

Says the person who excels at all three, but whose grasp of the concept of proper nouns as a meaningful way to interact with concrete objects is fuzzy.

[JackRiddler]

29. There are fundamental facts indispensable to political opinion.

If you can't find the countries you think you have an opinion about on a map in front of you, that's bad. If you can't even figure out their neighbors and a few relevant essentials of geography, you're necessarily operating from a prejudice about them, whether it's positive or negative.

If you have an opinion about Islam but can't correctly state even a few of its most basic doctrines, or at least loosely define its different schools, then that's bad. You're missing something. You're pretending. You're operating without context. You should keep your mouth shut until you learn a little about it.

These are not examples of "factoids." These are essential context to formulating an opinion on issues of the day.

EDIT:

As for your question: You can be intelligent (a measure of capacity, not knowledge) and yet ignorant. You can be intelligent and yet woefully wrong. Not wanting to learn is a highly unintelligent attitude, even if your mind is a smart one.

[Pacifist Patriot]

33. Good answer.

[TalkingDog]

40. I agree with most of the statement after the EDIT

But not wanting to learn and not having a mind that processes information in a particular fashion (in this case, the ability to recall proper nouns quickly) are two completely different things.

There are many types of intelligence. And many different ways that people process information.
The basic 3: Visual, Aural, Kinesthetic

I happen to excel at Visual and Kinesthetic: Which means I do really well when tested for pattern recognition and spatial recognition but ask me to name the country that borders France to the North... I'd be able to see the map of France in my head and draw the shape of the country in question, but name it? It would take me a while to find that FACTOID in my memory.

My argument wasn't with the the desirability and necessity of understanding basic concepts. For example: Some of the most basic tenets of Islam... which I could readily give, but without the authors seeming requirement of using the exact wording. My issue had more to do with the reading of the statement which, to me, suggested rote memorization was equivalent to intelligence.

The arguments made prior to the EDIT are valid only within a given context: that the person who is ignorant of the facts needs to know them to be able to formulate an opinion the "issues of the day".

If what you are positing is valid, answer me this: The prisoners who are kept at Gitmo are, for the most part, Muslims (in other words, I can't guarantee they all are, but it has been reported to be he case). Do I need to know the name of the country where Guantanamo Bay Prison is located or the basic tenets of Islam to know that the prisoners' basic human rights have been violated for over 10 years? Would those FACTOIDS somehow make the reasoning behind their wrongful imprisonment more clear to me? Would knowing their current location and the religious/cultural context they were raised in give me insight into our governments persistent refusal to follow it's own Constitutional imperatives and our President's assurances that the site would be closed down?


Because from my reading of your post, it seems that is what you are suggesting.

[dkf]

36. Being able to rattle off #16 is not a prereq to voting.

It's the ability to vote that gives everyone credentials on politics.

[blondeatlast]

8. I try to remember #1 at all times. The slightest little kindness can

save a person's day. The slightest unkindness can be devastating.

[patrice]

17. Absolutely! AND the recipient of that unkindness may not "show" the devastation, but

their universe may have, in fact, been tilted past the balance point by it anyway.

People don't account for this possibility, so they can assume that "it (whatever it is) doesn't matter".

[BrendaBrick]

20. Agreed!

I think I like #1 the best. I've been on both sides of that coin and I can tell you that sometimes a smile - just a simple smile - can really make ALL the difference!

(....and really - it's kind of cool that it works out that way when you stop to think about it - given all the grief in the world ~) Something so simple like that - yet so incredibly powerful!

Thanks for posting something positive :-)

[alterfurz]

21. Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle. -- Philo of Alexandria

childhood verse taught by my dear departed mama:

Kind hearts are the garden,
Kind thoughts are the root,
Kind words are the blossoms,
Kind deeds are the fruit.

[BrendaBrick]

39. Goosebumps and tears!

LOVES
SOLVE

[Taverner]

16. "For a lot of people, music is a reflection of who they are and their relationship to life."

"Remember that before insulting someone’s favorite band."

Agree 100%

I always cite Rush as a perfect example. I don't like their music. However, you don't have to like their music to see that they are excellent musicians and songwriters.

I'm not a fan of Justin Bieber. However, you don't have to like his music to see that the boy knows how to work a crowd.

[Initech]

19. #17 is definitely true.

I remember reading something about how more people go to church for the entertainment value than to actually be spiritually fulfilled.

[kickysnana]

22. Not me 2. People’s names are the sweetest sounds they hear.

I cringe when someone uses my name as the only time the family used the name was if you were in trouble.

I find if I keep using their name with emphasis, people quickly stop using mine and we have a great conversation.

In business I do pay the game.

[sendero]

23. Number 5.

... yeah well I still hate Rush and question the taste of anyone who doesn't :)

[KurtNYC]

31. to me it's like Emo Phillips singing bad pretentious prog rock opera

but I hold that as proof that music is subjective.

[WinkyDink]

24. Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.~~~ Plato.

[JonLP24]

25. +1 to #1

That is so true.

[OneGrassRoot]

27. Thanks. K&R n/t

[Karenina]

28. K&R!

[raccoon]

30. Dale Carnegie said #2, "2. People’s names are the sweetest sounds they hear,"

decades ago in HOW TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE.

[Pacifist Patriot]

32. I'm not sure it originated with this blogger. So many on the list sound really really familiar.

I can't tell if it's a re-blog of an existing list or a compilation of other items/lists made by this blogger. I know I used something extremely similar to the first comment in a sermon years ago and it wasn't original to me then.

Still, it makes a pretty good list. Even if you don't entirely agree with all 25 if certainly can give you something to wrestle with and learn from.

[Uncle Joe]

35. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, MrScorpio.

[reggie the dog]

38. somebody should have told me this before i got my soon to be ex pregnant

divorce would have been so easy without the kid

23. Most women get married because they want to have a wedding, most men get married because they are ready to settle down with a woman for the rest of their lives. Women, statistically speaking are more likely to suffer clinical depression if married, and initiate upwards of 80% of all divorces citing irreconcilable differences. People expect a significant other to change their lives and make them happy without any conception of how this change will take place. Sort of like assuming a college degree is going to guarantee you security in life without ever thinking of how this can be practically possible. I call this the “If you build it, they will come” approach to romance and one out of every two times it ends in divorce.