152 replies to this topic

[difrangia]

ya, busting people, dhs/fema/tsa were some of the fastest growing "industries' last year. Just slap some thick glossy paint on it, no one will know then, pff' natural beauty of wood, who needs it.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/02/gibson-feds-want-guitar-woodwork-done-by-foreign-labor/?test=latestnews

'Fundamental Transformation' ??

[Peter Lynch]

"The average IQ of the USA is about 100. Not great. Add a touch of blind faith and missing common sense and you get a “following”."




Dean,

Not that it relates to the discussion really, but the the "average" IQ has to be 100, no matter how "smart" or "dumb" the population. That is how the test is constructed and normed.

-Peter

[lyndon]

what youre saying is the geniuses dont outnumber the retards??

[difrangia]

[quote name='Bob A' timestamp='1314980856' post='513281']
But when the actions of government intrude on the populace to the extent that, for example, the master/apprentice structure that has been in place in luthiery for centuries has broken down due to regulation, and obtaining traditional materials for such endeavors has become impossible due to well-meaning yet poorly-generated legislation, ignoring all this becomes far too ostrich-like, and leads to more of the same.

The phrase "all politics is local" takes on an interesting new meaning when the locality involved is a broadly-distributed, even worldwide, community of violin-makers and enthusiasts. If everyone ignores these things, everyone loses.


Any resource in the course of life can be utilized wisely and likewise it can be taken for granted and abused.

This 'Gibson' example of mis-applied regulation could and should get more attention and push-back from the guitar community as they are probably a much larger and more widespread group in the musical instrument related community.

A continuance on this path will result in some mighty nice and artistic instruments of all kinds being born with 'Ebonized' fingerboards and/or fittings in the next generation of craftsmen.

Steve

[Dean_Lapinel]

Not that it relates to the discussion really, but the the "average" IQ has to be 100, no matter how "smart" or "dumb" the population. That is how the test is constructed and normed.
-Peter

Of course that is correct Peter but most don't know that. I don't even believe in IQ tests but I was just using it as a form of reference to the fact that the average human is very poorly informed. The more informed you are the less you realize you know.

[Julian Cossmann Cooke]

Our customers apparently can breathe easy, even if we can't. Latest on l'affaire Gibson. (Can you tell I don't know any French?)
http://www.huffingto...on-guitar-raid/

[Michael Darnton]

Of course that is correct Peter but most don't know that. I don't even believe in IQ tests but I was just using it as a form of reference to the fact that the average human is very poorly informed. The more informed you are the less you realize you know.

You don't have to believe in IQ tests to know that half the population is below average. And they all get to vote. I find that discouraging, all on its own.

[Janito]

You don't have to believe in IQ tests to know that half the population is below average. And they all get to vote. I find that discouraging, all on its own.

I am just as discouraged by extremism.

[Michael Darnton]

OK, so how about if we drop the top 25% and bottom 25% for you, the lower 50% for me, and leave everything in the hands of the 50-75% group?

[Janito]

OK, so how about if we drop the top 25% and bottom 25% for you, the lower 50% for me, and leave everything in the hands of the 50-75% group?

No need to be that extreme.

[Michael Darnton]

I know you mean well, but we really need some deviations. Standard ones.

[jezzupe]

ONE WONDERS HOW WE GOT FROM THIS....

8TH GRADE
EXAMINATION GRADUATION QUESTIONS
OF SALINE COUNTY, KANSAS
April 13, 1895
J.W. Armstrong, County Superintendent.

GRAMMAR (Time, one hour)

1. Give nine rules for the use of Capital Letters.

2. Name the parts of speech and define those that have no modifications.

3. Define Verse, Stanza, and Paragraph.

4. What are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal parts of do, lie, lay, and run.

5. Define Case. Illustrate each Case.

6. What is Punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of punctuation.

7 - 10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.

ARITHMETIC (Time, one hour)

1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.

2. A wagon box is 2 feet deep, 10 feet long, and 3 feet wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?

3. If a load of wheat weighs 3942 pounds, what is it worth at 50 cts. per bu., deducting 1050 lbs. for tare?

4. District No. 33 has a valuation of $35,000.
What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?

5. Find cost of 6720 lbs. coal at $6.00 per ton.

6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.

7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft. long at 20 cents per sq. foot?

8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.

9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance around which is 640 rods?

10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt.

U.S. HISTORY (Time, 45 minutes)

1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided.

2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus.

3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.

4. Show the territorial growth of the United States.

5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas.

6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.

7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton, Bell, Lincoln, Penn, and Howe?

8. Name events connected with the following dates:

1607
1620
1800
1849
1865

ORTHOGRAPHY (Time, one hour)

1. What is meant by the following: Alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication?

2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?

3. What are the following, and give examples of each: Trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals?

4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u'.

5. Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e'. Name two exceptions under each rule.

6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.

7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: Bi, dis, mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, super.

8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: Ball, mercy, sir, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.

9. Use the following correctly in sentences,

cite, site, sight
fane,fain, feign
vane, vain, vein
raze, raise, rays
10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.

GEOGRAPHY (Time, one hour)

1. What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?

2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas?

3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?

4. Describe the mountains of North America.

5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia, Odessa, Denver, Manitoba, Hecla, Yukon, St. Helena, Juan Fermandez, Aspinwall, and Orinoco.

6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S.

7. Name all the republics of Europe and give capital of each.

8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?

9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.

10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give inclination of the earth.


TO THIS...

[allezlesbleus]

Damn, there are boards I go to, to talk politics and there are boards I go to, to talk fiddles. And never the twain shall meet.

Please.

ALB

[Anders Buen]

Dean,

Not that it relates to the discussion really, but the the "average" IQ has to be 100, no matter how "smart" or "dumb" the population. That is how the test is constructed and normed.

-Peter

No, there is a "standard" to relate to. I saw a program yesterday about it. Some researchers has compared the IQ scores for different races and there is a difference in average scores. The IQ test may be looked at as measuring abilities better developed in western middle class society. Coloured populations has a lower score than the white, and an asian group was higher than the whites again accoring to a study. A touchy theme. The program was about why many coloured people does not do so well in school and scrutinized the assumptions behind the IQ tests.

Does it make you more intelligent to know what an 'imaginary number' is?

My mom use to say that intelligence is 'survival skills' or 'ability to stay alive'. I like that one, but it might not be so easy to measure.

[JPherson]

The problem with IQ tests are that the results will be squed by the people making the test. No matter how objective "they" think it is some of "their" personal preferences are going to be admitted in the final test.
Also personality type will factor into where you fall in the IQ range since the tests are aimed at a specific "type"
Now the question becomes:
Are the higher IQ's really smarter or do they have higher IQ's because they have the same "type" as the test creators or is that meaningless because it just so happens that the top 10% are the same type anyway?

Food for thought
Jesse

[David Burgess]

A number of years ago, I attended a party which I think was all or mostly Mensa people (99 percentile IQ, or 180, or something like that). Quite an odd collection of people. Talking with them about their lives etc., it was hard to see that this measure of intelligence had provided advantages, or given them superior decision making ability. In fact, it seemed more like the other way around.

No idea whether this was typical or representative of the high IQ group though.

Our customers apparently can breathe easy, even if we can't. Latest on l'affaire Gibson. (Can you tell I don't know any French?)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20110921/us-gibson-guitar-raid/

It looks like our customers won't be prosecuted, but I didn't notice that there's any protection from having things confiscated at the border.
If ebony purchased from a German dealer was a problem for Gibson (the first raid), I guess we could run into similar problems, unless most of us are to little to bother going after.

[MikeC]

I find the IQ discussion interesting considering mine is in the 150ish range, but if I was really smart I would work for the justice dept. Then I could get a free guitar! I can hear them now... "hey man, let's go on a raid and confiscate some free stuff!" LOL

[Michael Richwine]

There is far more to intelligence than mere intellect. For example, I know a some pretty "dumb" people whose judgment I trust and value highly. High IQ doesn't appear to be a requirement for entrepreneurial success, either. Insight, focus, and persistence are a lot more valuable.

What about the intelligence of love, integrity, mechanical aptitude, design sense, structural visualization, physical adeptness? None of these seem to correlate with IQ. Ever known a savant? I sometimes jam with a brilliant musician who can't read or write, and is otherwise dumb as a box of hammers. Come to think of it, I have met and played with another guy like that, even wrote an essay about him.

I'm one of those high scoring idiots. IME, high IQ types often can't see the forest for the trees. Sometimes it's better to simplify and stick to the essentials. Try not to let intellect get in the way of intelligence.

[propolis]

There are a number of things I am thankful for. One of them is that making and attending to violin-type instruments is intractable to six-sigma type "solutions," and gives me an opportunity to exercise some of those structural visualization aptitudes and what tool skills I can claim. Working on fiddles one by each, I will never again have to sit through a seminar where the words "standard deviation" are bandied about. There was one such session involving Tinker Toys and Durham's Rock-Hard Water Putty, but I digress...

Another thing that elicits my gratitude is the folks who show up here and share their experience. Yes, Michael R. I'm looking at you. It was the postings of another Michael what introduced me to the Dunning-Kruger effect, which goes so far in explaining some of the noise to be seen in various online venues. Thank you, Mr. Darnton!

But, tally ho! to the topic... is there a sense, or will there ever be one, that the company in question was accepting certificates in good faith, or was there winking and nudging going on? Were they singled out unfairly with this raid? So many questions, just asking...

[MikeC]

Nonado you're right spot on. Someone may be brilliant in some ways and not in others. Wish I was a brilliant musiciaon but never will be.