Are Liberals Really Smarter?

There is a widespread idea about liberals held by liberals – that they are smarter than conservatives. Studies show that this is not the case.

People that identify themselves as liberals tend to have more schooling and they may, as a result, have some higher academic skills in some areas. But there is no evidence that they think more accurately or effectively than conservatives.

One of the most obvious examples of poor thinking among liberals is in the area of macroeconomics. Liberals want bigger government and more debt because they believe that a small group of people that think as they do can regulate something as complex and organic as an economy.

Common sense tells you that debt is bad. And common experience tells you that it is nearly impossible to regulate with positive results a single household of six people, let alone a nation of 300 million.

If you want an even better example of a liberal thinking he’s saying something smart when he’s saying something really dumb, check out this article from Psychology Today.

And here’s a more serious and more interesting discussion of the issue from Scientific American.

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Oppenheimer

Written and directed by Christopher Nolan

Based on the book American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin

Starring Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Josh Hartnett, Casey Affleck, Rami Malek, and Kenneth Branagh

Release date (US): July 21, 2023

K and I saw Oppenheimer on a big screen. When we left the theater, I judged it “good.” Even “quite good.” But since then, it’s tumbled in my estimation.

The Robert Oppenheimer story is a fascinating one, worthy of many tellings. And, indeed, there have been many, in book form and on film. (Last night, I saw the 1989 movie Fat Man and Little Boy, starring Paul Newman.) The challenge is how to tell it. It could be presented as an action movie, a psychological thriller, a biography, a war story, or a documentary, of which there could be countless approaches.

After thinking about it, the reason my opinion of the movie dropped so precipitously is the fault of Christopher Nolan, the director. Among all the many options open to him, he chose to present the story as an action thriller. Nolan’s Oppenheimer was big on physical and emotional tension, big on sound and visuals. But it was weak on looking into Oppenheimer himself – his astonishing intelligence, his undeniable ambition, his attraction to communism, and his addictive infidelities. Nor does it teach the viewer much about the science behind the story, which is probably the most interesting thing.

Oppenheimer should not have been the big, artsy, intensely dramatic portrayal of a big historic moment that Nolan produced. Because however tempting it may have been to produce that movie, it doesn’t work very well because most of the most important action in the Oppenheimer story takes place inside the protagonist’s head.

The Plot (in short) 

During World War II, Lt. Gen. Leslie Groves Jr. appoints physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer to work on the top-secret Manhattan Project. Oppenheimer and a team of scientists spend years developing and designing the atomic bomb. Their work comes to fruition on July 16, 1945, as they witness the world’s first nuclear explosion, forever changing the course of history.

Critical Reception 

Reviews have been mostly positive. But in addition to giving praise where praise was due, every one that I read pointed out Oppenheimer’s many flaws.

* “Despite being overlong and unevenly paced, Oppenheimer contains moments of greatness and features one of the most compelling lead performances (by Cillian Murphy) in recent memory.” (James Berardinelli, ReelViews)

* “With its everyone-and-the-kitchen-sink casting, alternating between color and black and white, fit-for-Imax spectacle and Ludwig Göransson’s pounding musical score, Oppenheimer seeks to overwhelm the audience, an approach that works to an extent.” (Brian Lowry, CNN)

* “For all we learn about the creation and execution of the atomic bomb and its aftermath, the story could and should be told in a more digestible form. Instead, we have an overlong narrative that isn’t revelatory or surprising.” (Leonard Maltin)

* “Nolan has set out to make a moral epic, and he succeeds for the most part, or, rather, for the first two-thirds of Oppenheimer.” (Ty Burr)

* “Inevitably, it falls short of its ambitions. But it’s bracing to see a studio movie these days, particularly one with such huge scope, that at least attempts to serve up more than recycled goods.” (Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor)

You can watch the trailer here.

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* Five songs that reference J. Robert Oppenheimer. Click here.

* 10 movies about scientific discovery like Oppenheimer. Click here.

* Four other movies about Oppenheimer and the atomic bomb:

The Day After Trinity (Academy Award winning documentary, 1981)

Oppenheimer (TV mini series, with Sam Waterson as Oppenheimer, 1980)

To End All War: Oppenheimer & the Atomic Bomb (2023)

The Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer (2009)

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How Lewis Strauss Orchestrated Robert Oppenheimer’s Downfall 

Oppenheimer, the movie, was, as I said above, a good movie, but not a great one. It suggested all sorts of historical and scientific questions it didn’t even try to answer. But one question it did answer was about the increasingly antagonistic relationship between Oppenheimer, the quantum physics genius, and Lewis Strauss, an amateur physicist who used his fortune and influence to become one of America’s most important atomic-energy advisors during the Cold War.

Click here for the whole story.

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One More Reason to Lose Weight

I told you about my knee-replacement surgery six weeks ago. I’m about 70% back to where I need to be in terms of strength and flexibility, and I’m feeling confident that I’ll get the joint back to 100% in the next month or two.

The first two weeks were very painful. The next week was somewhat better. Since then, what pain there is, is manageable.

During those first three weeks, I experienced something I’ve heard about a hundred times but never understood: cold sweats. This is when you wake up at night shivering in a puddle of perspiration. It’s an odd experience, but it had a benefit. I lost 18 pounds and I’m back to fitting in my “skinny” pants.

We’ve all heard that losing weight is helpful in lessening joint pain. As this clip explains, one of the advantages of losing weight after a knee operation is that for every pound you lose, you reduce the strain on your knees by four pounds. (And the stress on your hips by six.)

 

Briefly Noted 

* The science behind sound therapy. Click here.

* Birds: A secret weapon in your fight against anxiety. Click here.

* The Booze Effect: What happens when you stop at one glass of wine a day? Click here.

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Where High Earners Are Moving 

The number of high-earning American households continues to grow. And the migration of these high earners in or out of a state can have a significant effect on tax revenues and property values.

Click here for the results of a 2023 study from Smart Asset.

 

At the Other End of the Economic Spectrum… 

61% of Americans say they’re living paycheck to paycheck. That’s the same number as last year, despite cooling inflation. Click here.

 

Woof! 

Nestle will invest $3.5B over the next three years to expand its pet nutrition operation. Pet products are the company’s fastest growing product line. The same is true for Purina and Friskies. Apparently, as we Baby Boomers shuffle off the mortal coil, we want to spend our remaining bucks spoiling our house pets. Click here.

 

Jeepers! 

A scary revenue drop for Jeep just isn’t stopping. The brand has now seen eight straight quarters of falling sales. Five years ago, Jeep was sixth among US auto sales. Now, it’s in ninth place. Click here.

 

“Unfortunate but Not Surprising 

Alas, after 99 years of growth and profits, Yellow Corp. is shutting down and letting go about 30,000 workers. In 2020, it received a $700 million loan from the federal government, but that failed to do the trick. In the last quarterly report, the company was in the red to the tune of $700 million.

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From GM, re Ivermectin:

“My wife and I attended a memorial in NY for her sister who passed in May 2022 from pancreatic cancer. Her sister had been the principal of a local school in Westchester County and was a very popular figure both from the school and her involvement in charity work. Consequently, hundreds turned out for the service that was held in a large ballroom at a yacht club along the Hudson. Still, the room wasn’t large enough. Walking into the room, I commented that ‘this was a super-spreader event if ever I saw one.’ Well, just two days later, at the same time, we both came down with Omicron. Having very closely followed the entire COVID landscape for over two years, every day reading the latest medical papers, protocols, and developments, I was fully aware of the worldwide random control trials involving Ivermectin. No lie, I have at least 1,000 hours in research time on this subject. My doctor cut me off and refused to continue a conversation/ debate over many COVID-related topics. I think he realized he didn’t stand a chance. As a result of this knowledge, I secured, early on, a supply of Ivermectin which I put into our ‘drug inventory’ in the cool, dry basement. At the first sign of symptoms, I broke out the COVID tests and IVM and followed the FLCCC protocol. 

 

“My recovery time was three days and my wife’s was five. Blood type matters in COVID. I am universal O but she is A. The data has indicated that those with type A have a more serious case with more symptoms and more severe reactions. Our firsthand experience bears out the data. The one lingering aspect, after the three and five days, was an annoying dry cough for several weeks. No big deal.

“Interestingly, both IVM and Pfizer’s Paxlovid are protease inhibitors. This is the mechanism utilized by both to terminate the proliferation of the virus. Very simply, the virus dies in the presence of the inhibitor. Early treatment is key to cutting off virus replication! So, why did Pfizer bring out Paxlovid rather than allow IVM to do the work? Patent $$$! IVM is generic and safe without the now well-known rebound effect of Paxlovid. IVM received the Nobel Prize in 2015 and it may well become recognized as a miracle drug since studies show overwhelming effectiveness against cancers and other viruses such as AIDS and influenza. All this with a drug that safely allows use with a wide dosage tolerance. You can be way off on the dose without harming yourself. But, if you were to ask the FDA, NIH, or CDC, they would tell you bumpkins to stay away from that there horse dewormer! Isn’t it just great? Pfizer gets to make billions on a ‘vaccine’ (Wait… NOT really a vaccine!) and when it fails completely sell you the newly patented drug Paxlovid since they can make no $$$ on producing IVM. Gotta love it!”

My Response: Wow! The work you’ve done researching this is impressive. I wish I had the time to dig in deeper.

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