James Fallows mentions Noam Chomsky’s interesting thoughts on the channeling of intelligence (emphasis, Fallows’):
You sometimes find in non-literate cultures [the] development of the most extraordinary linguistic systems: often there’s tremendous sophistication about language, and people play all sorts of games with language.
What all these things look like is that people just want to use their intelligence somehow, and if you don’t have a lot of technology and so on, you do other things.
Well, in our society, we have things that you might use your intelligence on, like politics, but people really can’t get involved in them in a very serious way — so what they do is they put their minds into other things, such as sports.
You’re trained to be obedient; you don’t have an interesting job; there’s no work around for you that’s creative; in the cultural environment you’re a passive observer of usually pretty tawdry stuff; political and social life are out of your range, they’re in the hands of the rich folks. So what’s left? Well, one thing that’s left is sports — so you put a lot of the intelligence and the thought and the self-confidence into that. And I suppose that’s also one of the basic functions it serves in the society in general: it occupies the population, and keeps them from trying to get involved with things that really matter.
It’s an interesting thought. We could say the same for video games. I’ve never thought that video game players were lazy or stupid – they’re just unproductive in economic terms. Sports and video games are the outposts redundant masculine energy. Fantasy football is one channel. If you’ve ever dealt with a dictatorial FF administrator you know how important politics can be in this realm.
Men’s general fascination with numbers is often corralled when they are boys – baseball cards and the memorization of statistical performance is/was a big hobby for many. Also, when you listen to a sports discussion between friends or on the radio/television, it’s easy to juxtapose the argument there with a political one. It’s about strategy more than it is about the actual game being discussed. It’s no wonder that tribalism pervades sports and politics alike.
I actually had similar thoughts a couple of years ago while driving through Oklahoma, listening to grown men on the radio talk excitedly about high school football. I realized that their discussion was less about boys playing a game than it was about strategizing, forecasting, planning, hypothesizing, and staking out a position that will be proven right or wrong giving them something further, again, to ruminate on.
To make a quick leap – rising income inequality is one outcome of the increase in the number of “interfaces” humans have. If intelligence is malleable or transferable in these ways – if we have more channels through which to express it – as we progress technologically intelligence becomes that more potent, especially for those who have the most of it. This argument is pretty common but I don’t think that Chomsky or progressives and redistributionists fully accept this argument. When the only way to get ahead was to manipulate the spoken language, the ability to get ahead was limited. But when you can get ahead by manipulating the written language, coded language, and the proliferation of language, you can really make some money.
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“and staking out a position that will be proven right or wrong”
This is very important. You could be the best political philosopher of your generation, but if you don’t have the power you don’t have the power. Politics is something that makes sense to people when its 100 people on a hill taking a vote and you really can effect the outcome by convincing a few people. Today its totally different.
When I played poker professionally the best part was punishing people who were “wrong” by taking their money. Same is true of stock traders. Chess players or starcraft players get the same rush just without a monetary component.
Humans need feedback mechanisms! We need to know that if we are right X will happen. If we don’t have that it doesn’t work. When Obama/Romney wins and election its not a feedback mechanism that works.
When I played poker professionally the best part was punishing people who were “wrong” by taking their money. Chess players or starcraft players get the same rush just without a monetary component.
Yeah, until they suck out on the river and draw a lucky card to beat you. lol
Chess is pure, though. There’s no crying about “disrcrimination” at a chess board.
Anti-Racist, where you been brah? Do not make these absences a habit. Were in a war against racists. No sweat for now. Good to see you are correcting white boys on their misinformation. Speak Brother on putting our Boots to the racists.
Culturally, being really really really interested in sports is considered more alpha than being even really interested in politics. Yet at the same time the people who actually determine much of culture are constantly bashing “middle america” (read: white males) for being more interested in pro football than in politics.
Promoting Justice:
please dude get off my nuts
i appreciate the love but you need to tone it down a bit
It ain’t about you Brother. It’s about the job we got before us of promoting Justice and promoting Anti-Racism. You have top intellect so we have expectations of you Soldier.
I like to think “Promoting Justice” is Chucks alter ego.
Ever watch Deadwood? The crazy preacher in Deadwood who was trying to tell it like it is to the flock; turned out he was epileptic and a bit crazy. A lot crazy.
Reminds me fondly of Anti-Racist, everyone’s favorite mascot.
I imagine him with glasses and unkempt hair, with a good book in his hand (Gould? No, … Chomsky) and really pale skin. With maybe a Marley t-shirt. The big contrast is the uber-serious look and the attempt to be cool with the marley t.
His smile must be like the vaguely religious when they shake their heads on hearing something that contravenes The Word, a mix of mild contempt and self-assurance behind a general air of concern and ignorance.
Charming, in a way, unless you let him waylay you for any time and spiel on about how you don’t understand God’s (Obama’s) plan, or something.
I may have the wrong image. But I think it fits. He sprouts liturgy like old bread sprouts mold.
“Promoting Justice:
please dude get off my nuts
i appreciate the love but you need to tone it down a bit”
lol. you guys make a great comedy duo.
Well, the two militant downlow “soldiers” always post within 10 minutes of each other. Whatever it is out there posting these two alter egos, it got problems…
I love anti-racist linking to A Song of Fire and Ice forums. Surely the place for enlightened political minds (or maybe just nerds with too much time to waste when they should be pumping out their Grievance Studies 101 papers).
Quite funny to see how so much of the discussion revolving around Obama this election cycle is, “Is America too racist to elect a black president?” Particularly funny when liberals go super-fucking-stupid mode and go on questioning Obama’s “blackness.” It’s like stepping into an alternate universe Klan meeting.
Sports can be socially beneficial. I’ve got dozens of friends I’ve met through sports that I wouldn’t have otherwise. They say it is very hard to make new friends after you turn 30. I’d say sports are the easiest route at that stage in your life, having just turned. If you’re a good player (relative to whatever level and league you play in) and pleasant to be around, your teammates are going to wind up liking you.
Soccer seems fairly polarizing in comment sections with its high-low swiple-immigrant base here in the States, but there are a lot of co-ed leagues. Not the worst sport to play in that regard.