On Tue, 6 Nov 2001, Ralph Walter wrote:

> By this standard, the guy who found himself in a lawn chair at 30,000 feet
> was smarter than his next door neighbor laying out by the pool.

You're forgetting one thing: statistical generalizations about the whole
populations break down completely when applied to individuals considered
one by one.

> Something else must be at work besides ambition and energy.

Hint: if you spend your life lying in bed feeling sorry for yourself, on
the average, your IQ test score suffers.  Mr. Airborne Lawn Chair might
have missed the MacArthur shortlist, but at least he got out of the house.

I said it was a game, and in fact, a rigged game.  No group of volunteers
can ever be cross-section of the whole population.

                                      Larry

---
Lawrence Kestenbaum, [log in to unmask]
Washtenaw County Commissioner, 4th District
The Political Graveyard, http://politicalgraveyard.com
Mailing address: P.O. Box 2563, Ann Arbor MI 48106