[ExI] Life @ Playstation

[Stefano Vaj]

On 4 November 2012 22:28, James Clement <clementlawyer at gmail.com> wrote:

> Social Darwinism is an excuse to be sociopathic, IMHO (
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Darwinism). None of
> the super-geniuses I know are truly motivated to "compete" in society. Most
> are too caught up in their own thoughts (some might say in an autistic
> manner) to care about what society thinks of them. That's not so say
> they're social misfits (any more than normal people), just that they seem
> uninterested in proving anything to anyone. The people who have been
> motivated towards power whom I've known have all been of lesser talent and
> abilities, with something to prove, vis-a-vis other people.
>

Hey, if this is true this would be a good reason why opinion leaders and
other people able to succeed in social competition will be able to prevent
forever the diffusion of genius within our species... :-)

Seriously, I think we risk to confuse cultural paradigms where social
competition is based on stupid and/or irrelevant and/or asocial values and
the fact that by definition "talent" is defined as the ability to
outperform others at a given task, whatever this might be.

For instance, it is perfectly conceivable, and we have some historical
exemples, of systems where the ability to devote oneself entirely to the
group's interest is a fundamental requirement for social success, and as
such becomes a competitive and hierarchical factor in the society concerned.

-- 
Stefano Vaj
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