Elon Musk, a genius? Really?

[Rachel Rugelach]

Excerpts in blue are quoted from Trump's Evolution in Social Media Exile: More QAnon, More Extremes

In September, former President Donald Trump went on Truth Social, his social network, and shared an image of himself wearing a lapel pin in the form of the letter Q, along with a phrase closely associated with the QAnon conspiracy theory movement: “The storm is coming.”

In doing so, Trump ensured that the message — first posted by a QAnon-aligned account — would be hugely amplified, visible to his more than 4 million followers. He was also delivering what amounted to an unmistakable endorsement of the movement, which falsely and violently claims that leading Democrats are baby-eating devil worshippers....

"It’s not that Trump has meaningfully changed the way he behaves online. In fact, he’s grown more extreme,” said Jared Holt, a researcher at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue who studies technology and extremism in the United States. “I don’t think anybody should reasonably expect him to be any different if he’s back on Facebook and Twitter. And when it comes to spreading conspiracy theories, Trump is the big tuna.”...

To try to stop Trump from provoking future unrest, Meta said it would prevent sharing of posts that, among other things, question the legitimacy of elections or promote QAnon content. Violations of the company’s policies could also result in his being blocked from the site again, Meta said. Conservatives praised the decision, and the American Civil Liberties Union and Sen. Bernie Sanders defended the move.

No such restrictions exist for Trump on Twitter, which had barred him soon after the Capitol riot but reinstated him in November after Elon Musk, the company’s new owner, conducted a public poll about a possible return.

My own take on this is: If quite a few very smart people are able to see how Trump's irresponsible behavior and unabashed leadership of a fanatically devoted mob poses a clear and present danger, then what does that make Elon Musk (whom many people believe is some kind of genius)?

Click here to read how Pradyot Rai addresses the question "Is Elon Musk a genius?" describing the six stages of cognitive development in his superb analysis of what it is exactly that comprises genuine "genius."

Note: English is not Pradyot Rai's first language, so please be charitable where he uses the word "spear" for "sphere" and any other grammatical errors.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Anyone who has a net worth of billions had to be a genius somewhere across the line.

 

[Rachel Rugelach]

Anyone who has a net worth of billions had to be a genius somewhere across the line.

It would be interesting to see what you have to say after reading Pradyot Rai's assessment of "genius."

 

[Twilight Hue]

It would be interesting to see what you have to say after reading Pradyot Rai's assessment of "genius."

Well Musks iq is said to be at 155.

I think being a genius is more genetic based than anything else.

 

[Rachel Rugelach]

Well Musks iq is said to be at 155.

I think being a genius is more genetic based than anything else.

You are avoiding reading the article I linked, which states that an IQ test "only measures bottom three cognitive abilities — remember, understand, apply."

 

[Stevicus]

Excerpts in blue are quoted from Trump's Evolution in Social Media Exile: More QAnon, More Extremes

In September, former President Donald Trump went on Truth Social, his social network, and shared an image of himself wearing a lapel pin in the form of the letter Q, along with a phrase closely associated with the QAnon conspiracy theory movement: “The storm is coming.”

In doing so, Trump ensured that the message — first posted by a QAnon-aligned account — would be hugely amplified, visible to his more than 4 million followers. He was also delivering what amounted to an unmistakable endorsement of the movement, which falsely and violently claims that leading Democrats are baby-eating devil worshippers....

"It’s not that Trump has meaningfully changed the way he behaves online. In fact, he’s grown more extreme,” said Jared Holt, a researcher at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue who studies technology and extremism in the United States. “I don’t think anybody should reasonably expect him to be any different if he’s back on Facebook and Twitter. And when it comes to spreading conspiracy theories, Trump is the big tuna.”...

To try to stop Trump from provoking future unrest, Meta said it would prevent sharing of posts that, among other things, question the legitimacy of elections or promote QAnon content. Violations of the company’s policies could also result in his being blocked from the site again, Meta said. Conservatives praised the decision, and the American Civil Liberties Union and Sen. Bernie Sanders defended the move.

No such restrictions exist for Trump on Twitter, which had barred him soon after the Capitol riot but reinstated him in November after Elon Musk, the company’s new owner, conducted a public poll about a possible return.

My own take on this is: If quite a few very smart people are able to see how Trump's irresponsible behavior and unabashed leadership of a fanatically devoted mob poses a clear and present danger, then what does that make Elon Musk (whom many people believe is some kind of genius)?

Click here to read how Pradyot Rai addresses the question "Is Elon Musk a genius?" describing the six stages of cognitive development in his superb analysis of what it is exactly that comprises genuine "genius."

Note: English is not Pradyot Rai's first language, so please be charitable where he uses the word "spear" for "sphere" and any other grammatical errors.

I don't know, although I've noticed that political disputes often occur due to opposing philosophies and values, not necessarily because one side is "smarter" than the other.

As for who is a genius, I think Wile E. Coyote was a super genius.

 

[Father Heathen]

Anyone who has a net worth of billions had to be a genius somewhere across the line.

Sure, let's pretend being born into wealth, privilege, and affluence had nothing to do with it.

 

[Soandso]

I notice a correlation with how these grossly laden billionaires seem to come from wealth. Having this monetary safety net seems to make taking the risks needed to reap such monetary rewards less of an actual risk, no?

It's also interesting how people compare Musk to Tony Stark or Thomas Eddison. Thomas Edison may not have invented the lightbulb, and he may have been a ruthless and exploitive businessman, but at the end of the day he was an actual engineer who rolled up his sleeves and worked on projects himself

If Musk is supposed to be an engineer, what project has he actually gotten his hands dirty with and worked on personally?

 

[sun rise]

Anyone who has a net worth of billions had to be a genius somewhere across the line.

Or lucky. Or his success went to his head and he's lost it now.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

All I've seen from Musk is a lot of coattail riding, stealing credit and falling face first into a big pile of crap when he tried to stand on his own.
He reminds me of Edison in many bad ways (who himself barely invented anything that bears his name).

 

[Harel13]

Not to take any side on the Elon Musk/Trump connection but to address the question in the thread's title:

I was not aware that "genius" = "perfect".
It seems to me that Musk's intelligence is being questioned here just based on his actions. But no genius is perfect.

 

[Soandso]

Not to take any side on the Elon Musk/Trump connection but to address the question in the thread's title:

I was not aware that "genius" = "perfect".
It seems to me that Musk's intelligence is being just here based on his actions. But no genius is perfect.

I'd be curious to know what makes someone a "genius." Accumulated wealth, public presence, the way they contribute to the body of collective knowledge, or something else?

 

[exchemist]

Excerpts in blue are quoted from Trump's Evolution in Social Media Exile: More QAnon, More Extremes

In September, former President Donald Trump went on Truth Social, his social network, and shared an image of himself wearing a lapel pin in the form of the letter Q, along with a phrase closely associated with the QAnon conspiracy theory movement: “The storm is coming.”

In doing so, Trump ensured that the message — first posted by a QAnon-aligned account — would be hugely amplified, visible to his more than 4 million followers. He was also delivering what amounted to an unmistakable endorsement of the movement, which falsely and violently claims that leading Democrats are baby-eating devil worshippers....

"It’s not that Trump has meaningfully changed the way he behaves online. In fact, he’s grown more extreme,” said Jared Holt, a researcher at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue who studies technology and extremism in the United States. “I don’t think anybody should reasonably expect him to be any different if he’s back on Facebook and Twitter. And when it comes to spreading conspiracy theories, Trump is the big tuna.”...

To try to stop Trump from provoking future unrest, Meta said it would prevent sharing of posts that, among other things, question the legitimacy of elections or promote QAnon content. Violations of the company’s policies could also result in his being blocked from the site again, Meta said. Conservatives praised the decision, and the American Civil Liberties Union and Sen. Bernie Sanders defended the move.

No such restrictions exist for Trump on Twitter, which had barred him soon after the Capitol riot but reinstated him in November after Elon Musk, the company’s new owner, conducted a public poll about a possible return.

My own take on this is: If quite a few very smart people are able to see how Trump's irresponsible behavior and unabashed leadership of a fanatically devoted mob poses a clear and present danger, then what does that make Elon Musk (whom many people believe is some kind of genius)?

Click here to read how Pradyot Rai addresses the question "Is Elon Musk a genius?" describing the six stages of cognitive development in his superb analysis of what it is exactly that comprises genuine "genius."

Note: English is not Pradyot Rai's first language, so please be charitable where he uses the word "spear" for "sphere" and any other grammatical errors.

Musk is very clever, but most likely on the autistic spectrum and rather lopsided in his approach to human affairs. His wild and monumental screw-ups of Twitter certainly suggest that. I suspect that, like a number of successful businessmen, he has fascist tendencies. So I've no doubt he can see what you and I might call the dangers, but to him they are not dangers. They are what he would like to see happen.

 

[Harel13]

I'd be curious to know what makes someone a "genius." Accumulated wealth, public presence, the way they contribute to the body of collective knowledge, or something else?

Frankly, that doesn't interest me quite as much as the insinuation that success in some aspects of life makes one perfect in all aspects of life.

 

[Soandso]

Frankly, that doesn't interest me quite as much as the insinuation that success in some aspects of life makes one perfect in all aspects of life.

Given the title of the thread, I'm assuming this is about whether or not he is a genius. As far as I'm aware, genius doesn't have much to do with success, though it can be a beneficial tool to use in gaining success

Is becoming the richest man on earth a sign of success? What about setting a guiness world record for losing more money than any man alive? If wealth is a sign of success, and he has lost what made him the most successful, was there really much there at the core to separate him from any other faceless billionaire to begin with?

 

[Rachel Rugelach]

I'm wondering if maybe people are suspicious of clicking on links to articles intended to further elaborate on the posted topic? If so, I'll give some excerpts here (in blue text) from the link to the article of Pradyot Rai's that I'd posted:

What is a genius?

According to Oxford, “… a genius is an exceptional intellectual or creative power or other natural ability.“

There’s another key concept that we should know about - ‘Bloom’s Cognitive Domain’ or popularly known as blooms taxonomy. This framework is used to measure cognitive development of kids from elementary to college across the OECD countries.

[Chart included in linked article. You really need to click on the link to see this explanatory chart showing the six stages of cognition.]

So according to Bloom’s taxonomy a genius is one who combines all the six stages of cognitive development, especially those who can be technically and logically superior as well as are creatively gifted.

Many people have mentioned IQ as a measure of intelligence. That IMHO is limiting because IQ test only measures bottom three cognitive abilities — remember, understand, apply. Unfortunately, there is no clear and agreeable method for measuring the creative domain of cognition. According to Edward DiBono, creativity is logical on the hindsight. So measure the genius quotient can’t be determined unless we have measure of creativity.

Elon Musk definitely encompasses the cognitive ability, far superior than a common, intelligent human being... That said his competency is only applicable in the technical area where the work product was a new tool or technology...

There's more, but I hesitate to post the entire article here as I don't want to violate any copyright rules.

If anyone is inclined to read the entire article (it's actually quite short), and post whether you agree or disagree with what Pradyot Rai had to say, then here again is the link:

Prady Rai's answer to Is Elon Musk a genius? - Quora

 

[Viker]

"Genius" has become a new buzz word for what we used to call lucky or fortunate.

I don't see what wealth or the lack thereof has to do with it. People can demonstrate genius but they can't demonstrate why it matters.

 

[sun rise]

I'm wondering if maybe people are suspicious of clicking on links to articles intended to further elaborate on the posted topic?

I suspect that for many it's not supiciousness but something else. (Ding Dang spell checker and me not paying attention)

 

[Windwalker]

 

[Heyo]

Excerpts in blue are quoted from Trump's Evolution in Social Media Exile: More QAnon, More Extremes

In September, former President Donald Trump went on Truth Social, his social network, and shared an image of himself wearing a lapel pin in the form of the letter Q, along with a phrase closely associated with the QAnon conspiracy theory movement: “The storm is coming.”

In doing so, Trump ensured that the message — first posted by a QAnon-aligned account — would be hugely amplified, visible to his more than 4 million followers. He was also delivering what amounted to an unmistakable endorsement of the movement, which falsely and violently claims that leading Democrats are baby-eating devil worshippers....

"It’s not that Trump has meaningfully changed the way he behaves online. In fact, he’s grown more extreme,” said Jared Holt, a researcher at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue who studies technology and extremism in the United States. “I don’t think anybody should reasonably expect him to be any different if he’s back on Facebook and Twitter. And when it comes to spreading conspiracy theories, Trump is the big tuna.”...

To try to stop Trump from provoking future unrest, Meta said it would prevent sharing of posts that, among other things, question the legitimacy of elections or promote QAnon content. Violations of the company’s policies could also result in his being blocked from the site again, Meta said. Conservatives praised the decision, and the American Civil Liberties Union and Sen. Bernie Sanders defended the move.

No such restrictions exist for Trump on Twitter, which had barred him soon after the Capitol riot but reinstated him in November after Elon Musk, the company’s new owner, conducted a public poll about a possible return.

My own take on this is: If quite a few very smart people are able to see how Trump's irresponsible behavior and unabashed leadership of a fanatically devoted mob poses a clear and present danger, then what does that make Elon Musk (whom many people believe is some kind of genius)?

Click here to read how Pradyot Rai addresses the question "Is Elon Musk a genius?" describing the six stages of cognitive development in his superb analysis of what it is exactly that comprises genuine "genius."

Note: English is not Pradyot Rai's first language, so please be charitable where he uses the word "spear" for "sphere" and any other grammatical errors.

Musk is no genius and has never been. He got lucky with PayPal, Tesla and SpaceX but Twitter isn't his first blunder. His Hyperloop and its derivatives had been pipe dreams and experts could easily explain why - just not to him.