I don't think being really smart is a requirement to acquire an EE degree, or even a PhD. Average smarts and determination will do. I've seen many examples of this.
However, like you, in the last year I have been baffled at how fear has completely shut down the pre-frontal cortex of many fairly intelligent people. covid and the vaccines may have been impressive scientific achievements, but I think more impressive is the power of the application of human psychology to large masses of people. I think the only ones that didn't fall for the covid panic are the ones that are suspicious and distrustful of humans. This ability is acquired from the right life experiences more so than education. Although, maybe students of history will learn to see men for what they are.
I'm a doc, and I know plenty of docs who are....well, you get the picture
I'm all for the vaccine for people in risk groups. Got it myself.
However, from what I gather, not a single pediatric patient has died who didn't have comorbidities. I don't have a breakdown of those comorbidities, but I'm
sure a mess of them were severe developmental problems or brain injuries where the poor kid didn't have the first line of defense (which is the ability
to protect your own airway). Why you'd vaccinate a healthy kid is beyond me
if you haven't been introduced yet, meet Vernon Jones, future Georgia Governor.
This is how you handle CNN - Vernon steps in 45 seconds.
I think this concept is under-rated. It doesn't matter how smart you are or how high your IQ is if you can't see the patterns. People aren't just gonna label shit for you and be honest. One has to recognize the patterns and be able to label it themselves. Don't forget past orthodoxies.
Perhaps it's "street smarts"? Some people have a highly sensitive bullshit sniffer. I have no idea how anyone cannot smell Fauci's putrid bullshit.
But, in addition to that characteristic, I think there's another really important dimension of "intelligence" that sets people apart: unquenchable curiosity.
Here's an example: Sons of Sputnik: Kary Mullis at TEDxOrangeCoast
24 minutes, so too long for most. Kary tells about his multi-year childhood quest to launch a homemade (from scratch) rocket (with a frog as cargo) to the atmosphere and bring it back to earth. We know the guy is brilliant, but this video shows you why: he can't help it, he's gotta figure shit out.
This characteristic is missing from many of the "smart" (decorated), "successful" people I know: i see no passion for solving this once in a lifetime (hopefully) global scamdemic.
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Dr. Peter McCullough warns: Covid vaccinations of pregnant women an "atrocity" and "shameful" - you can start at 30 minutes. Not to be missed at 35 minutes.
Dr Pierre Kory: "It's a crime what they are doing to the world" - buried in this interview, Dr Kory explains how he figured out how to treat covid. "there's this amazing device called a telephone". He called his peers at hospitals in NYC and other hotspots, and they brainstormed. Again, another professional who can't help himself; he's gotta figure shit out even though it will end his career or even cause his home to be raided by the FBI (as with Simone Gold).