I previously saw an interesting discussion with NVIDIA Jensen Huang where in the context of AI he was asked: who is the smartest person you ever met?
Jensen Huang paused for quite a few moments thinking about the question before he answered.
Huang then redefined the word “smart.”
‘Smart’ is a word we have historically used in reference to ‘intelligence’. If a person was intelligent, we say that person is smart. However, in this era of AI at your fingertips, we must break this connection.
Intelligence, the assembly of knowledge about a particular matter of discussion, is no longer limited to educational or real-life training or study by people who focus intensely on subject material.
All of the knowing about a system, any system, process, history or discussion topic is now available almost instantly to anyone in this era of artificial intelligence.
The NVIDIA CEO then continued, therefore, once we break our historic reference connecting ‘intelligence’ and the generalized term ‘smart’, we can properly address the question you present.
Who is the smart man? Or, in the context of the originating question, “who is the smartest person?”
With this baseline established, Jensen Huang then outlined the traits of the smartest person. The smartest person is not the person with the greatest knowledge; the smart individual is the person who can tune into the frequency of the universal moment, look at the human reality of what is factually taking place that has not yet become an input into the AI capture record, and then predict the material outcome – the destination of knowledge that has not yet arrived.
Essentially, Huang explains the smart person is alone, tuning themselves into the vibration that is the consequence of human activity, financial interests, geopolitical movement, social transformation, economic shifts and cultural modifications. Then, positioning their interests at the place in the future where they predict all the activity will arrive.
The accuracy of prediction, or predictive positioning, then determines the scale of smart. The more accurate a person is under this perspective, the smarter they are.
I agree with this perspective.
All of human knowledge is now being assembled into AI databases for exploration by anyone with a keen interest or stake in the subject matter. Knowledge is no longer the valuation of ‘smart.’ The ability to predict the next step, phase or moment is the smart attribute.
With this context, we can now look back over the past few decades, not looking for the most intelligent voice, but rather looking at the accuracy of current position, contrast with the outline from the voices who make the predictions.
This interview about the ramifications of cultural change in Europe was given in 2010, sixteen years ago, centered on a book written by Mark Steyn and the context within the questioning is looking forward over a period of about 20 years.
Remember, this is 2010, written before the “arab spring, long before Brexit, well before President Donald Trump and the MAGA agenda as policy and before the U.K churned through seven prime ministers’ in a decade.
Remarkably, Steyn discusses/predicts what would happen if Islam tried to reform; if the U.S. pulled NATO resources out of Germany; if the U.K doesn’t radically alter direction and much more.
Watch the discussion or put the interview on play while listening to it in the background as you go about your tasks. Remind yourself at moments throughout the roughly 30 minutes, that the interview took place fifteen years ago.
Mark Steyn, a writer, political commentator, and friend of the Treehouse outlines his 2010 prediction about the destination of the Western world during a discussion with Peter Robinson.
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CTH has no financial association with any of this; I just find it super interesting, because my research folder is growing increasingly large with material behind a hemispheric shift. {TWEET}
I would also put Victor Davis Hanson up there on the stage with the current and happening events now taking place…
And Thomas Sowell
Yes, I agree, Cherp! And he was a Semper Fidelis Marine in Korea!
Especially Thomas Sowell. Great man, great mind.
Sowell is a genius and one of God’s gifts to us.
Truly a national treasure.
Referenced Thomas Sowell’s Preferential Policies while arguing with a radical black woman professor at L’Istituto Tecnologia di Massachusetts, and she recoiled as if physically struck–a lasting memory.
I would also include the late Walter Edward Williams….
I agree.
Would also include the late Dr. Tom Wolfe.
Would include Trevor Loudon , Jack Cashill.
The thing is, our man in the arena is doing all three here and now.
And Our Man is luved and supported massively now cuz he never suffers Fools (hello MSM/Dims) but is always open to polite negotiation with adversaries, yet delivers on his threats Bigly,… and cuz he Ridicules to the point of pain Americas Detractors, both foreign and domestic.
I agree with much of what he says, but on certain topics he’s as clueless as most because, as one example, he apparently doesn’t watch Mike Benz’s very convincing, well supported content.
I like people who make things, and then make those things even better. Elon Musk has to be close to the top of the “smart” tree.
I would have agreed re: VDH as I’ve almost all his books; however, since he started working for Daily Wire, he’s now biased towards Israel/AIPAC.
Thank makes me like him more.
I have never felt the same for Hanson when he was a some committee supporting Ron DeSantis. Too much Stanford must have rubbed off on him. We are all human but that kind of thing is so big I just cannot forget.
Perhaps Enoch Powell?
Use to be called “being ahead of the curve”. Much like the Tree House has been.
Rush Limbaugh called it being on “the edge of societal evolution.”
Missing Rush everyday. Still can’t believe what we have experienced without his commentary.
Having knowledge is one thing but applying that knowledge is key.
Yup. Always has been.
Using this criteria Pat Buchanan is part if the discussion.
I would add President Donald Trump to the list.
I saved a WSJ opinion piece written by Walter Russell Meed, published on Tuesday, June 4, 2019. The article is titled “Trump’s Case against Europe.” It cites the 5 observation Trump holds about Europe that are true today.
Pat was decades ahead of everyone else. He saw the future clearly when no one else did.
Pat was perhaps the first to ring his bell very loudly without stop about America’s trade deficits since the early 1990s and the terrible harm they were doing to American Capitalism, industrial employment and productivity..
It finally took President Trump to address this massive problem and rectify it,… that was brought on mainly by Pappa Bush/Pals’s New World Order.
That is why the MSM/Dims/GOPe Rinos still hate Pat today.
To paraphrase my favorite passage from ‘America Alone’:
“In 20 years the only thing French about France will be the street names, if the Imams let them remain.”
I can scarcely imagine that they will allow them to remain;
Been following Mark for years along with CTH. All the news I need or want except for local!
I first became acquainted with Mark’s intuitive genius and his ability to look around corners…and his “wordsmithery”…long before he became known to the American public, in 1986 when he was a weekly columnist in the then admirable Daily Telegraph.
My admiration for his talents started at that time, and I eagerly awaited each every Thursday column.
” America Alone” was the first book of his I read after I returned to the US. It was followed by a second, “After America”… and a third ” Lights Out” of which I have a treasured signed copy.”
Time after time he has been booted from various platforms because he will not capitulate to those who are desperate for him to sit down and shut up. Then came the years long persecution against him by Michael Mann (funded by Mark’s real enemies) to break him financially and ultimately physically). How Mark is still with us is divine judgement against pure evil.
I have made it a practice to reread “America Alone” every couple of years since it was published to see how his wisdom has endured. Everything he foresaw has come to pass. I wish it weren’t so…
As far as prescient Truth Tellers go, there is no one I admire more than Mark Steyn.
A Warrior in the the most absolute sense, attacked and beaten down over the decades, but still standing.
It has cost him dearly, but he has never surrendered.
Thank you, Sundance, for this long overdue, well deserved acknowledgment.
Very Well Stated as Always , Betsy !
Thank You !
And Another Big Thank You to Sundance ,, for This (and All) Articles and his Prescient Ways , Too !
So good to see you again, sis…
I remember when that well known intellect Ellen DeGeneres ( Autocorrect changed her last name to “Degenerate”) took issue with Mark’s formal education which did not include a university diploma. She disparaged (she thought) his impressive abilities by stating he had only a ” high school” education.
This paragon of intelligence, however, was unfamiliar with UK grammar schools back in the day when Mark was a student, and which taught solid history and the classical languages…Greek and Latin…and other subjects which American schools did not in general. And of which the gifted Mark was an avid student.
I never think of Mark that I don’t remember reading in the highlighted book his very memorable phrase “overcredentialed, undereducated”.
Which the hideous DeGeneres is not the former, but definitely the latter.
I am not surprised that Mark is a Friend of our Treehouse…wholly because of (as you say, RyderLee) our extraordinarily savvy and forward looking landlord no doubt 😎👍🏻
Birds of a feather….
So much for making a complete horse’s rear end out of herself…
Became aware of Mark when Rush had him as a substitute host on his show. Another service by the late, great Rushbo.
Since “Hockey Stick” creator Mann was receiving Fed Grant USD at Penn State when he ‘fudged’ the numbers to make his UN supported scam Globull Warming hockey stick science hoax,… why has he not been indicted by the DOJ for the fraudulent application of Fed Funds???
Hear that, DOJ/FBI? Sic’em Donald/Admin.
Persistent Immersive Cognitive Symbiosis. Learn what that is, or forever be at a competitive disadvantage.
The idea of Symbiosis (i.e. relationship) of human with AI pretty much makes me wanna throw up. It’s just so wrong.
Like 7 of 9, pretty, but hard to really have a relationship with.
I know of what you write.
I’m not sure if that is good or bad LOL
Have a word with the worst of the WEF, Yuval Noah Harari…psychopathic, godless, damaged lunatic…who believes this technological hybrid is humanity’s unavoidable destiny.
This is only one reason that I continue to repeat my firm, unalterable belief that AI will eventually be recognized as antichristic.
Or if you prefer, an Antichrist.
And to that end I secure my armour more tightly and keep my lamp filled.
Thanks Betsy for all you contribute.
There was a frightening article over at Pierre Goslings Notrickzone dot com about human DNA being used instead of silicone for the next generation super computerrs.
It was so frightening as to be almost unbelievable – except for that Israeli ‘gentleman’ you mention who is into this.
Hey there, dear patrick….
There is so much promotion and hype; but there is also much obfuscation, prevarication, lying, and out and out unholy purposeful, sinister activity. Remembering the deliberate bald faced lies about Covid and the bioweapon which was shoved onto a public which believed EVERYTHING fed to them.
Even and maybe especially Dr Geoffrey Hinton who received his Nobel for AI warned of the possibilities. There are always those who can and most likely will hijack the AI tool for their own malignant intentions. Human nature has not changed.
Harari and his likemind ilk are monsters.
What “competitive disadvantage”?
Is everyone competing with each other?
Is the happy simple man at a disadvantage?
Is the competitive man no longer happy?
The only leader with an almost instinctive feel for where changes may steer history is President Donald Trump.
Love it when Mark Steyn would guest host on Rush’s show. Wish he’d be on more often. https://www.steynonline.com/
Might have been the only person who came close to Rushbo.
Rush’s replacement is a waste in my opinion.
Mark has been very ill from heart attacks due to the clot shot required for travel.
Me too. I also loved Walter Williams subbing for Rush.
I always enjoyed listening to Mark when he would fill in for Rush. I hoped he would take over the show after Rush’s passing.
I wonder if it was offered to him. Surely nobody would choose the dopes in there now over Mark.
Dopes. Absolutely.
great video of the direction the world is going in. Scary correct prediction.
Thank GOD that Trump came along when he did.
Thank GOD that Sundance came along when he did.
Scary that Biden was president up until 2 years ago, and Kamala was going to be president, if the Leftist’s could have locked up TRUMP when they wanted to before the 2024 election.
I would also add DISCERNMENT as critical for being smart; able to detect falsehoods and deception inside the knowledge pools available to you. That necessarily requires SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT as the wisdom comes from God.
Yes, indeed. We’ve been given several years breathing room, and for those of us who had the prescience to migrate out of blue states to red, especially when mortgage rates were still in the 2.00-3.00’s, we’ve really been blessed.
And I need to add: Those of us who had the discernment (prompting by the Holy Spirit and by absorbing alternatives to trad-media) and understood the vaxx was a demonic formula, we have sooo much to be grateful for.
But those who have the “gift” of discernment are often labeled as cynical or negative, because they tend to see the trajectory of the situation far earlier than most people.
Thus, their warnings fall on deliberately deaf ears and their offers to help, before the problem becomes too big to be easily corrected, are ignored or even belittled.
Until later, of course, when people ask how in the world they knew…or a few people even acknowledge and apologize for not listening when the early warnings were sounded.
“There is nothing new under the sun…” Ecclesiastes 1:9
“Past is prologue…” Shakespeare “The Tempest”
Thank you. If we don’t have this, nothing else matters. “Watch out that no one deceives you.”
Matthew 24:4
In other words, for instance:
Whom tuned into the untold plandemic information 2020-2024, in real time
and
then discerned a wise(r) choice
and found ways to overcome the various hurdles or 6 ft spaced blue dots on a floor etc,
and quietly
helped others during the discernment process
to also make wise choices – for ones health?
Was that an opportunity to achieve an untold, unnoticed, undefined different level of ‘smart’ or human real ‘intelligence’
or
caaes of just knowing in advance,
for decades,
to not take any wooden nickels – as wise Grandpa advised decades ago.
and
as Paul wrote to the Thessalonians 5:21
‘ prove all things,
hold fast to that which is good’
[ the Lord is smart, wise, often beyond many human understandings.
There are writings that try to use insufficient human words to explain…
Imho ]
I do not know ; )
p.s.
there is no plaque, medal, honor, certificate, media hype for ‘smart’etc.
( if there was, then the recipient could become a target of the envious or nefarious. That has already happened many times to people. )
So avoiding being labeled ‘smart’
is also ‘smart’.
There is also however ongoing
humility, sadness for so, so many other people in this world – that had the opportunity to gather and discern the same plandemic information and made
or had
other choices placed upon them
with various results over time…
We can do better…to help to make this a better place – for others – than how we find it.
That endeavor is a 24/7/365 part of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness…and full faith life journies…
Imho
Love thy neighbors…
As a member of the Mark Steyn club, I have been sad to hear how ill he has been. Mark is in need of prayers as he continues to recover from multiple heart attacks and the stress of being fired by GB news and the frivolous lawsuit by Michael Mann. Fortunately, he has a great group of friends filling in for him at Steynonline, but we miss his voice.
Many people have accurately predicted the same. Steyn doesn’t stand out for that alone. He is truly great because he has depth and always finds an extra level to the issues, making subtle connections in so many ways.
Also his integrity. The legal cases he has courageously fought have nearly killed him. He is a brave man, as much as anyone carrying a weapon. A real hero for Western Civ.
Victor Davis Hanson and Thomas Sowell for sure are deserving. I would add Sundance to this group as well. I think Sundance should write a book about the past, present and looking forward.
That is HUMBUG!!!!
B.S.
Sowell is one of the approved media conservatives as he promotted, as did his mentors, Milton Friedman and william f. BUckley jr. The free trade globalist system that PDJT is trying to dismantle.
If I were one of Cuba’s top leaders today I would be sleeping in a different house in the Cuban slums every night. Trump is gonna free Cuba soon.
I have been an admirer of Steyn for many years. Very prescient.
Intelligent and wise people will use AI; not be used by it (and the agenda of its creators).
GIGO,……Garbage Algorithm data in,… Garbage Out,…. noting about CPU erroneous intel data, or in this case, Biased data, has change since the 1970s when this term was created.
Caveat Emptor.
“Mark Steyn, a writer, political commentator, and friend of the Treehouse”
I absolutely LOVED when Mr. Steyn hosted the Rush Limbaugh show.
I love Mark and the things that have been done to him, which literally nearly killed him, in the name of racism are absolutely criminal. Which is putting it mildly.
“I love Mark and the things that have been done to him”………. why??
Punctuation has its uses, especially in instances such as this ….
For those interested there are many of Steyn’s books available at: ABEBOOKS.com.
All contains and editions.
“All of human knowledge is now being assembled into AI databases for exploration by anyone with a keen interest or stake in the subject matter.”
Allow me to muddy the waters, if I may…while referencing ‘smart’, ‘intelligent/intelligence’…so can we safely say that one’s smarts or intelligence, is based on knowledge, which is information?
As Sundance often says…there is not ‘disinformation’ or ‘mal-information’…just ‘information’.
Can we trust AI to ACCURATELY collect this information without “revisions” as the Obama administration applied to information and documents in many areas of the government?
There is nothing The West can’t survive except for a nuclear war or continuing massive Third World immigration. Either will obliterate us. Massive Third World immigration is obliterating us as we speak.
Sidebar: I respectfully disagree with the statement that “All of human knowledge is now being assembled into AI databases” (my emphasis) simply because the stuff AI is collecting is not necessarily knowledge. A lot of so-called “knowledge” to be currently found is just pure junk, created by radically bent leftists who distort knowledge, fact, truth, into something entirely unrecognizable; just plain wrong.
And this is just one of multiple reasons why AI is at best 80% “smart” (by current estimates, including gargoyle’s own newly-admitted analysis) and 20% outrageously stupid.
If I was younger I’d purchase an encyclopedia printed before 1990 before history is edited away ala Wikipedia
Likely “before 1950”, as I see it.
Ha,… maybe the century’s old Printing Press will turn out to be more important to accurate Human evolution than the current rage of Biased Big Tech’s fastest CPUs, mass storage, memory, server farms, internet and AI products???
Always dance with the one you ‘brung’!
I got the complete set for $10 when a local library decided it was no longer needed(!)
Perhaps AI is going to deteriorate as it starts scraping an internet full of content that has been posted and created from AI sources?
Yep, at least for LLMs i agree. future is SLMs I think but it may be a few years.
Or the Big Tech companies that are now speeding to create their ‘New World AI Future’ fail to produce the projected profits from the several Trillion$ that they are rushing to invest now,…. which is predicted to be around 2030,.. ‘May’ go bankrupt.
Sink or swim time then, for those that can survive. Watch out Wall Street investors! Remember the Tulip Crash?
Knowing Precludes mental activity, therefore, it is not about what one knows, it is Knowing Itself that Knows.
Yup! We have many Wise people on this website. When I joined the “GOD TEAM”, that was one of the first things I experienced, INSTANT KNOWING …
I guess you were taught that too.
Actually it was one of the Saddest days of my WHOLE LIFE. I lost everything very shortly after JOINING the GOD TEAM. Years later I realized those people around me, did NOT join the GOD TEAM, so GOD TEAM removed all the distractions so I could begin my “training”. Horrible years 40 years ago, everything was removed, it was ONLY through the GRACE OF GOD, I lived .
I guess if you go the GOD PATH, (people, places, things could be removed to PRUNE you) ,… there is price to pay.
Nick Fuentes.
Nick Fuentes is a Deep State tool
i don’t agree.
smart is the ability to collate knowledge filtered thru one’s own cognitive ability, with a dash of intuition and experience.
dependance on AI might make you informed about what AI was programmed to make you think,
but i wouldn’t define that as smart.
reliance on AI might, in fact, make one less smart,
as individual thinking recedes in favor of AI’s viewpoint.
in that respect, Mark Steyn is VERY smart –
all his conclusions reached on his own, without AI.
perhaps for times, dates, places, AI is a useful aid.
but i won’t let tesla drive my car and i won’t let AI do my thinking.
JMHO.
Here here!!
“Hear! Hear!” lol
Haung’s father was a chemical engineer. You could say that Haung was just a chip off the old block.
“Essentially, Haung explains the smart person is alone, tuning themselves into the vibration that is the consequence of human activity, financial interests, geopolitical movement, social transformation, economic shifts and cultural modifications.”
IAW “connecting the dots” which AI can do very well. HOWEVER, since it currently uses products from humans with their biases, its products, especially on political topics require skeptical analysis by humans adept at critical thought and analysis.
All I know I learned from Sundance. 🧐
Quite similar to what makes a great athlete, as attributed to Wayne Gretzky – “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.”
The deep south woodcarver explaining how he could, consistently produce the most beautiful, lifesize ducks: “I just cut away everything that is not duck.”
Pieta
Messi same with different ball ,no puck intended
Most of the way through this interview, I conclude … ‘America First’ is Smart
It’s smart and critical for our survival.
AI is just a better search engine. It cannot access any content behind pay walls, academic, institutional, or private sites that require a subscription. Of course this is where the most useful data resides. Plus, it will take 5 to 8 years to to convert the Library of Congress to be accessible if they get around ©️ restrictions…
Interesting. There was talk of one of the AI engines being able to bring any banking institution to its knees in under two minutes. That was when Scott Bessent got involved with oversight implementation.
You would think, if that is the case, access beyond a paywall would be a piece of cake. Bring down a bank, use the funds for access.
Charles Payne’s Fox Biz Show today reported that the new super fast Quantum Computers ‘may’ be able to crack the current software cyber security codes by perhaps 2029,… which might make all current cpu based Crypto digital $ vulnerable to hacking.
These current cyber security codes now protect all computers, including Smart Phones. As Walt Kelly’s comic strip character, Pogo, quipped in the 1960s .. “We have met the enemy,… and he is Us!”
Hope Pogo is wrong here.
agree, but even when/if those databases are opened,
there is no substitute for the human brain, IMO.
faster than any program can, able to detect and identify the slightest anomalies,
able to reason, able to prioritize appropriately.
AI can’t smell fear, AI can’t tell when it’s being conned.
AI can only do what it’s programming allows –
and that’s not learning, that’s a system update.
someone once asked me to define an “intellectual”.
my response was “first criteria is original thought”.
anyone can parrot AI.
that’s not intelligence, and neither is AI.
I remembe reading this book when it first came out, and the truth of it was so eye-opening that this is when I began searching for others who could see what was what, and that is what led me to the Treehouse about a year later having noticed constant references to the Treehouse on Doug Ross’ blogspot:
https://directorblue.blogspot.com/
and simultaneously canceled our office’s subscriptions to the Wall Street Journal, Time and Newsweek and put in subscriptions to Sports Illustrated and some Mine Engineering for the waiting room as I just couldn’t continue to feed people with irrelevant information and couldn’t justify the cost.
One teacher I had in the early years was there are two kinds of people, one are called seekers, the other finders, and we were urged to learn how to become a finder. DirectorBlue blogspot, Mark Steyn’s writings, Watts Up With That and The Conservative Treehouse became the places to find in those early days where writers were still free to say what they wanted to say, before the censors began to fight back.
I used the Treehouse to find directorblue. 🙂
there are two kinds of people,
I always thought there were three kinds of people:
1) People who make things happen;
2) People who watch things happen;
3) and People who wonder what happened. 🙂
Before smart there is faith.
And faith without courage is not smart.
Steyn was brilliant in that interview. Thanks.
Huang is a BS artist selling to the AI merchants.
AI has NO knowledge. It has information. And that information includes all the garbage that the left wants to force on us. Instead of us accepting or discarding information, when we use AI, someone else is doing that and forcing the result upon us.
AI also has NO understanding. It just spews out words that go together in that information.
AI doesn’t know the meanings of those words.
AI has NO intelligence at all.
And computers have no sentience. They blindly carry out instructions.
Maybe there is some Utopia where all information will be gathered and great intelligences can use tools to learn and grow from that information. We used to call those libraries and universities. But those things have fallen astray.
Now AI is skipping the good parts and going straight to manipulation and control.
In short, AI is the greatest argument today for expanding our personal knowledge. If we don’t, we won’t ever free ourselves. And we won’t ever be allowed to be smart like Steyn.
All I see him define is the game that they have used to play us for decades…..
Now you can see where all the control and manipulation have led….
And the reason they cling to it at all costs….
No, intelligent isn’t playing their game….
Intelligent is seeing through it….
NO MERCY!
“To err is human, to forgive is divine…” This original line comes from 17th-century poet John Donne. But often used in the Corps, “neither is Marine Corps Policy!” Just win!
…”it riles them to see that you perceive the web they weave, and keep on thinking free!”
What a great 38 minute interview. If SD, did not preface the fact that this was 2010 this could be played today and you would be hard pressed to dispute the claims that Mark has made.
The key take away from this for me is that over 16 years look at the demographic make up of the countries discussed, this is where the liberals “held” the upper hand as time was always on their side as they would patiently wait. Now the liberals have run out of patience and want this extreme change now and our eyes are wide open to the transformation taking place.
Can this intentional carnage be reversed, I think our lord and savior is the only one capable of answering that.
Great find SD, thanks.
It doesn’t matter how smart you are if you believe the wrong things. Better a dumb guy who will listen than a genius who won’t.
Proverbs 1:7, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
MAGA
I can’t recall where I read this quote by Mark Steyn, but it resonated with me so much that I wrote it down and refer to it sometimes.
Mark Steyn: “I take the same view to the civilized world that Islam takes to the dar al islaam…once we hold this, we hold this forever and we will not surrender it.”
This muslim belief is why it pains me to see foolish Western leaders tolerate their behavior.
(Edit: If you haven’t read Steyn’s obit for “Take ‘er down!” Ted Kennedy, it’s worth finding. Sheer brilliance.)
Try finding Iowa Hawk’s Blog scorch of Ted “Splash” Kennedy, entitled “It’s Time to Leave the Olds”,… now on X.
Or the Paul Shanklin parody of the Hero of Chappaquiddick, “The Philanderer”, sung to the tune of Dion DiMucci’s “The Wanderer”.
Looking only at the end of this article, I have to ask. Why didn’t Trump tackle Cuba first?
That dictatorship is a dead man walking, right now.
Iran, on the other hand is the strongest opponent Trump has ever encountered. Religious fanaticism with its willingness to die for its principles is a toughest hardline opponent Trump will have ever faced in his lifetime.
IMO, he went after Iran once he stabilized the Venezuelan oil situation.
He knew Iran had to be confronted and tried to offset the impact on the oil markets by converting Venezuelan oil more into American control.
Isn’t Cuba hugely dependent on other socialist nations, all of which are impacted by the Venezuela and Iran situations?
Nope. High end NYC real estate development was tougher. Crooked politicians, mafia control of concrete and garbage, regulators expecting payoffs, wealthy competitors undercutting plans, etc…
Smartest guy in my opinion. My dad. He taught me everything, especially how to survive during hard economic time. That’s my world. Outside these four walls. Thomas Sewell.
Don’t know if Mark is the smartest, but he is indeed very smart–that kind of practical, real-world smart that differentiates Jesus from the academic, book smart Philistines.
To Steve Robinson:
Agree totally, Steyn was the best guest host of them all.
Steyn should have been the heir-apparent to Rush.
Sadly, he was not.
I always enjoyed Steyn especially when he sat in for Rush. And I appreciate Thomas Sowell’s wisdom. But I think the “Great Discerner” is our dear host, Sundance, The Master of the 10, 000 piece puzzle and Articulator in Chief. Still on the fence as to whether Sundance is a Time Traveler.. 🙂
To me, the smartest people have always been those who can look at something or read something they’ve never seen before and understand it without lengthy study.
Scanning through, I think a number of people have posted a similar thought but I decided to post my own anyway.
I think what was answered was not “smart” but rather closer to the Biblical description of “wisdom”. Wisdom as I understand its use int the Bible is essentially “being able to see the end of the road from the beginning and choosing the correct path”. People who seem prescient are particularly wise.
Everyday wisdom is called common sense. My parents used to say something to the effect of “nothing happens after 1 AM that’s good for your life and future”. That was common sense.
I would say “smart” is the ability to synthesize knowledge into a useable form. AI can be a tool in providing the background knowledge and analysis but isn’t going to solve the problem. (my perspective as an engineer).
“Intellectual” or “academic” is having knowledge and not knowing what to do with it.
These three terms — wise, smart, and intellectual, are not interchangeable. I have known people that were off the charts in one of the three, and were usually close to zero on the other two. And extremely few that possessed all three.
Nassim Taleb has coined the phrase “Intellectual yet idiot” that I think captures this well.
💯 🎯 I think there’s an element of “street-cred” in the smart category too. Not exactly sure how to define it.
I worked with a lot of consultants and C-suite types who were all way more intelligent than I when I came to Canada 30 years ago. But they had the street-cred of baby rabbits.
I got my first punch in the face at age 14 for being cheeky to the local gang leader in my little English town. I can confirm that Mike Tyson was right. 😉 I’m not advocating that as part of one’s life training of course.
But it taught me things like situational awareness, reading body language from afar, how to respec’ and to never diss in physically superior company. These days it’s morphed into hyper-vigilance in larger towns and cities of necessity. For me it’s flowed into friend selection, deal-making and many parts of modern life. It’s key however to never let that mindset it get in the way of trying fun and exciting things.
But hey, just because I’m paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get me! 😉
That book sits on my library shelf. I enjoyed the audio review.
A person can be “smart” with knowledge.
A whiz but dumb.
Without wisdom knowlege is like ai meta data that is not correctly used for an accurate and true meaning.
All wisdom comes from GOD.