6 pints and the Intelligent Elite

What do you get when you combine a Computer Science PhD, a Wake Forrest trained Lawyer, the Quad, 25 nuclear hot wings, 10 garlic wings and six pints of beer?

You have an extended lunch one Tuesday where the ideas of making the world a better place were hatched from ideas to cater to the intelligent elite. Let me explain.

Two weeks ago, there was a three part commentary in the Wall Street Journal (yes, I read it because I subscribe to it. So there.) about education and the intelligence level of those who do and don’t attempt education.

The first part dealt with the reality that although it gives people a warm fuzzy to make people believe that everyone deserves a chance for a college education, few people admit, at least publicly, that the majority of the population are not cut out for college because they lack the intelligence. And it’s not their fault, and there really isn’t much anyone can do about it. Studies have shown that classes or exercises geared toward the increase in intelligence usually only increases the IQ by a mere 8 points, and even that is short lived. It’s sort of like if you don’t use it, you lose it. So the result is that there is a considerable amount of time, energy and resources spent to create special needs programs for these students as they go through our school systems.

The second part dealt with what to do with those people caught in the middle: they have the higher IQ, but still not quite mainstream college material. The author argued for the sake of technical schools that are geared toward preparing these types of people for the workforce by teaching them a viable trade. Hey, I’m all for it.

The third part is what interested us the most, however, me in particulare. It dealt with what to do with those few people who have genius level or higher IQs. The author argued that just like you create special programs for the special needs people, not enough focus is geared toward putting forth the same energy and resources in making programs for the intelligent elite. Super intelligence, the author argues, should be viewed as an obligation instead of a right. Just like being super wealthy.

Why do you think bill gates is focusing more time on his $100 billion plus foundation? Because he and others have realized that their wealth is an obligation to the rest of mankind. They have now moved toward the “self actualization” hierarchical level (according to Maslow) be realizing their obligations to something much larger than themselves, what they created, and even their wealth. So wealth and intelligence should be viewed as obligations to a higher cause, thus they should be used for the betterment of all mankind.

There is great worry that not enough of our youth are pursuing careers in the sciences; in those areas where cures are created and technology is invented. So what do we do? We cater to the intelligent elite by creating high schools that not only prepare the students for education beyond high school, but pushes them to their intelligence limits and beyond so that they, too, can move to the higher obligation (Quad’s idea, by the way). While staying humble to their roots, we foster their beliefs in their intelligence and the possibilities such intelligence holds. We treat them as the special needs people that they are. For if we don’t, we deny ourselves and the world the distinct possibility that we can actually move toward a level 1 society within this century.

Our mantra is “All for one.” Not to mimmick or mawk or make fun of, but to try to move to our own higher cause. Will we get there? I don’t know. But I’ll let you know after Tuesday, because that’s our next “lunch.”