[DesuMaiden]

I believe certain people are gifted in certain things. Some people are good at sports. Others have good drawing skills. But I am not artistically gifted or athletic. I do, however, have a gift that few people I know have. The ability to truly critically think. I am also a very talented writer. But my ability to critically think allows me to write truly intelligible articles, and provide people with very good advice.

What I've noticed throughout my 25 years of life is that most people lack in critical thinking skills. Most people believe in whatever the hell the mainstream media tells them. They don't have the ability to tell when the mainstream media is lying to them. I believe 99% of people are easily brainwashed by mainstream media. Only 1% of people actually have the critical thinking skills to see through the bullshit that the mainstream media tells them. Most of my friends claim they don't take mainstream media seriously, yet most of their opinions have already been formed by mainstream media. So in actuality, they do take mainstream media seriously. Their claim that they are immune to the brainwashing of mainstream media is false. Very few people are actually immune to the brainwashing of mainstream media. I have the critical thinking skills to see through the bullshit the mainstream media spews, and figure out the truth.

For example, I realized a long time ago the whole war on terror is a farce, and it is really all about oil. The mainstream media says we are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan to prevent terrorism, but in reality these wars are all about geopolitical reasons largely pertaining to controlling petroleum resources. Also, I realized the war on drugs is a farce. The war on drugs and terror are all about controlling the masses by providing them with a false sense of safety.

I am not academically gifted. I am not a honor student. I am a very average student academically speaking, but that doesn't matter because grades in school don't really measure intelligence. I am also smart enough to realize that making a lot of money doesn't mean you are smart either. I am smart enough to realize that owning a ton of useless crap doesn't make you happy either, so I don't buy more and more stuff to satisfy an empty void in my heart unlike some people who are addicted to buying more and more crap in order to unsuccessful satisfy their psychological needs. For example, some people think they would only feel better when they buy more and more clothing, video games or toys, but they don't actually feel better because they failed to satisfy their actual psychological needs. These people are just filling a void of sorrow, loneliness and sadness with useless junk. I know some of my friends think they will be happier if they buy the latest video game console, but it will not make them happier. Making friends with other people, acquiring more useful knowledge and skills and becoming a productive member of society is how people become happier. People don't become happier by owning more and more useless junk.

Also thanks to my critical thinking skills I am able to realize that industrial civilization is soon doomed, and I need to do something to survive the collapse of industrial civilization. The average person is too delusional and stupid to realize that shit is soon going to hit the fan, so they will continue clinging onto the current paradigm until they all perish from the collapse of industrial civilization.

Michael Ruppert is right that some people are gifted in critical thinking. I do believe critical thinking can be taught, but nobody teaches it in schools because schools are designed to make you compliant slaves to the masters of society. I believe only parents have the ability to teach their kids how to critically think. If only more people were able to critically think, we might have a better society. Unfortunately, this skill is absent in virtually all people, except a small percentage of people, so this is why our current society is so stupid and depraved.

I believe if you are able to realize that industrial civilization is soon going to be doomed means you have more critical thinking skills than the average person. However, that still doesn't mean you are immune to brainwashing by the mainstream media. But based on my own personal experiences, I think I am pretty immune to brainwashing by the mainstream media. Like Michael Ruppert, I stopped taking mainstream media seriously a LONG time ago. And I am dead serious, and my beliefs show this unlike other people who falsely claim this.

Unfortunately, I am a very pessimistic and cynical person thanks to my critical thinking skills, as they allow me to see how messed up and depraved this world truly is. If I was stupid and easily brainwashed as most people, I wouldn't be so pessimistic and cynical as I currently am. If you want to find a truly red-pilled individual, look no further than me because I truly understand how depraved and messed up this world is. Red-pilled means you truly understand how messed up and depraved this world is. Most people are blue-pilled because they have no idea how messed up and depraved the world is, and therefore they live in the delusion that everything is good and pleasant. In other words, they live in sheltered lives. I am certainly not a sheltered person. I am one of the most scarred and psychologically damaged people you know. I know what the true horrors of humanity are like.

I have few friends, and very few people I truly admire because I think most people are idiots. I am 25 years old, and I still don't have a girlfriend mainly because I think most women are too stupid for me. I can only become the boyfriend of a smart girl and not the average dumb, superficial bitchy girl. If you don't understand peak oil and its consequences, I am sorry to tell you that you are mentally deficient, and not worthy of being a friend of mine.

I have few friends because I am too smart for most people. Most people are too stupid to be my friend. I hate hanging out with retards like the mouth-breathing retards that go to frat parties to get drunk and high. I hate stupid people, and since most of humanity is stupid, I hate most of humanity.

As you can tell, there are advantages and disadvantages to being born with above average critical thinking skills. I think I should use my gifts to help me survive in the long-term. And unfortunately, the people lacking in my gift are unlikely to survive into the future. I pity the fools that deny peak oil right now because they are unlikely to survive in another 20 to 30 years. By the time they realize peak oil is real, it is already too late for them react.

Nature favors the smartest people for survival. And since I am smarter than most people, I will be favored by natural selection for survival, whereas most of the people lacking in critical thinking skills will perish.

As for censorship, you cannot ban me for this post because I am simply expressing my free speech. I don't care if this post offends some people. I am simply being honest, and if you are offended by honest, I don't have much hope for you because I don't have faith in people that deny reality. I hate it when some shit-for-brain moderator bans you for stating something that offends someone, yet all you were doing is express your free speech. I think the only reason anyone should be banned is if they are violating the law.

Anyways, that's all I have to say for this rant. Good evening.

[DMarsh]

I have the critical thinking skills to see through the bullshit the mainstream media spews, and figure out the truth.

So what is your opinion on this piece of MSM brainwashing? It was rolled out by the MSM to the masses about 10 years back now.

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2005 ... etrol.news

For example, I realized a long time ago the whole war on terror is a farce, and it is really all about oil. The mainstream media says we are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan to prevent terrorism, but in reality these wars are all about geopolitical reasons largely pertaining to controlling petroleum resources. Also, I realized the war on drugs is a farce. The war on drugs and terror are all about controlling the masses by providing them with a false sense of safety.

I would disagree. No one feels "safer" when police are bursting into homes wearing bodyarmor and gunning down anyone who wakes up to this surprise and doesn't react the right way.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=95475

Michael Ruppert is right that some people are gifted in critical thinking.

Present tense? Are you aware of where Mike Ruppert's critical thinking skills landed him?

I do believe critical thinking can be taught, but nobody teaches it in schools because schools are designed to make you compliant slaves to the masters of society. I believe only parents have the ability to teach their kids how to critically think.

And if parents lack those skills? Nearly by definition, half of humans in a given population of normally distributed intelligence are below average. If this type of distribution also applies to the ability to think critically, then only half or fewer have an "above average" ability to think critically, let alone those who can do it very, very well.

So we have 2 parents of below average critical thinking skills....teaching their child....what? Without the ability themselves, how can they teach it? While in America this is actually quite common, those who can do, those who cannot, teach, it doesn't seem reasonable to hope that putting the parents in charge will produce any better result than what the public education system in America has achieved.

I believe if you are able to realize that industrial civilization is soon going to be doomed means you have more critical thinking skills than the average person.

No it doesn't. It just means that such a person would agree with you.

Like Michael Ruppert, I stopped taking mainstream media seriously a LONG time ago.

Mike Ruppert utilized MSM references and newspaper clippings and current events continuously in his proof of complicity by the US government in 9/11. Was his analysis flawed because of this? And because he is dead, of COURSE he stopped taking them seriously....certainly for at least the past year.

Most people are blue-pilled because they have no idea how messed up and depraved the world is, and therefore they live in the delusion that everything is good and pleasant. In other words, they live in sheltered lives. I am certainly not a sheltered person. I am one of the most scarred and psychologically damaged people you know. I know what the true horrors of humanity are like.

The horrors of living in Canada weigh heavily on you do they? Lack of health care perhaps? Food or shelter? Last I checked Canadians appeared to be doing okay, doing better with care of their citizens than the US anyway, and yet living in this land of plenty and good ice hockey players has scarred you, seeing the horrors of how Canadians treat each other, or you?

I always thought Canada was a right fine place myself, seems hard to conceive that living among the largess and abundance provided by the Canadian security and social safety net, your borders protected by the biggest and baddest military power in the history of the human race, a ready and close market for any exports you might have, would leave you far from seeing anything that could be so psychologically damaging.

As you can tell, there are advantages and disadvantages to being born with above average critical thinking skills.

Indeed. I wish you well with the hate of humanity angle that yours have brought you to. I kind of like people myself.

I hate it when some shit-for-brain moderator bans you for stating something that offends someone, yet all you were doing is express your free speech. I think the only reason anyone should be banned is if they are violating the law.

Try shouting "FIRE!!!" in a crowded theater sometime, maybe after going through that practical application of how far free speech can be stretched you won't be quite so absolutist in your thinking.

[DesuMaiden]

I have the critical thinking skills to see through the bullshit the mainstream media spews, and figure out the truth.

So what is your opinion on this piece of MSM brainwashing? It was rolled out by the MSM to the masses about 10 years back now.

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2005 ... etrol.news

For example, I realized a long time ago the whole war on terror is a farce, and it is really all about oil. The mainstream media says we are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan to prevent terrorism, but in reality these wars are all about geopolitical reasons largely pertaining to controlling petroleum resources. Also, I realized the war on drugs is a farce. The war on drugs and terror are all about controlling the masses by providing them with a false sense of safety.

I would disagree. No one feels "safer" when police are bursting into homes wearing bodyarmor and gunning down anyone who wakes up to this surprise and doesn't react the right way.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=95475

Michael Ruppert is right that some people are gifted in critical thinking.

Present tense? Are you aware of where Mike Ruppert's critical thinking skills landed him?

I do believe critical thinking can be taught, but nobody teaches it in schools because schools are designed to make you compliant slaves to the masters of society. I believe only parents have the ability to teach their kids how to critically think.

And if parents lack those skills? Nearly by definition, half of humans in a given population of normally distributed intelligence are below average. If this type of distribution also applies to the ability to think critically, then only half or fewer have an "above average" ability to think critically, let alone those who can do it very, very well.

So we have 2 parents of below average critical thinking skills....teaching their child....what? Without the ability themselves, how can they teach it? While in America this is actually quite common, those who can do, those who cannot, teach, it doesn't seem reasonable to hope that putting the parents in charge will produce any better result than what the public education system in America has achieved.

I believe if you are able to realize that industrial civilization is soon going to be doomed means you have more critical thinking skills than the average person.

No it doesn't. It just means that such a person would agree with you.

Like Michael Ruppert, I stopped taking mainstream media seriously a LONG time ago.

Mike Ruppert utilized MSM references and newspaper clippings and current events continuously in his proof of complicity by the US government in 9/11. Was his analysis flawed because of this? And because he is dead, of COURSE he stopped taking them seriously....certainly for at least the past year.

Most people are blue-pilled because they have no idea how messed up and depraved the world is, and therefore they live in the delusion that everything is good and pleasant. In other words, they live in sheltered lives. I am certainly not a sheltered person. I am one of the most scarred and psychologically damaged people you know. I know what the true horrors of humanity are like.

The horrors of living in Canada weigh heavily on you do they? Lack of health care perhaps? Food or shelter? Last I checked Canadians appeared to be doing okay, doing better with care of their citizens than the US anyway, and yet living in this land of plenty and good ice hockey players has scarred you, seeing the horrors of how Canadians treat each other, or you?

I always thought Canada was a right fine place myself, seems hard to conceive that living among the largess and abundance provided by the Canadian security and social safety net, your borders protected by the biggest and baddest military power in the history of the human race, a ready and close market for any exports you might have, would leave you far from seeing anything that could be so psychologically damaging.

As you can tell, there are advantages and disadvantages to being born with above average critical thinking skills.

Indeed. I wish you well with the hate of humanity angle that yours have brought you to. I kind of like people myself.

I hate it when some shit-for-brain moderator bans you for stating something that offends someone, yet all you were doing is express your free speech. I think the only reason anyone should be banned is if they are violating the law.

Try shouting "FIRE!!!" in a crowded theater sometime, maybe after going through that practical application of how far free speech can be stretched you won't be quite so absolutist in your thinking.

You only have two posts. I have over 700 posts. Just because you were born in a developed country doesn't mean you don't understand the horrors of the world. I lived in Canada for over 20 years, but I am well-aware of the horrors of the developing world. I am also well-aware of the horrors inflicted by mankind upon other species and other members of his own species. Just because you live a relatively affluent life in a developed country doesn't mean you live a sheltered life.

As for free speech, I know what it is and what it isn't. Apparently, unfortunately, some mods think having strong opinions about something is a bannable offense. Apparently, having a dissenting opinion that offends other people is a bannable offense. I don't care what your opinion is. You are allowed to express it. Just don't do anything illegal. If I were the mods, I would only ban people if they are doing illegal things on my website. That's it.

As me being gifted in critical thinking, I only recently realized this. I believe this gift can help me survive, whereas the people lacking in these skills are unlikely to survive. I don't care if you are super talented in sports or drawing. Nothing beats the ability to critically think which most people lack in. I believe this is a skill that is mostly inherited, and most people aren't born with this skill.

[hvacman]

re: critical thinking skills can't be taught. DM - please cite supporting evidence - that is what a critical thinker would do. In rebuttal to your claim, I say tell it to the Finns.

http://ideas.ted.com/what-the-best-education-systems-are-doing-right/

The recent "Common Core" movement in the US education systems is geared toward bringing critical thinking ala' Finland back to US education and stepping away a bit from rote memorization...

I'm not sure I am skilled in the critical-thinking department, but I certainly have met a few in my much-longer-than-25 years on this earth. Among the many things I have learned from them is that truly gifted critical thinkers do not make sweeping non-evidence-based generalizations - sweeping generalizations are the antithesis of critical thought.

DM - Write less, think and read more. And when you proffer an opinion here on the forum, back up what you say. That is my advice.

[hvacman]

A fun essay on "thinking" by the author of "Lord of the Flies".

http://faculty.weber.edu/dkrantz/en2500/Thinking%20as%20a%20Hobby%20-%20Golding.htm

[AgentR11]

I'm gifted at napping.

[Shaved Monkey]

I have a green thumb
I can cook pretty well,can do most construction jobs, not too bad at writing and drawing and my BS meter is highly developed,Im also very good at napping and day dreaming.

[Sixstrings]

Hm, I'm gifted at:

* creativity
* words
* hot air, bs
* stirring the pot (some call that trolling, I call it "discussion facilitation")

Let's see, what else..

* analaysis, intuition, figuring things out
* I'm a good listener, if someone has a problem and is hurting
* I have a lot of compassion (but, I've learned one must be careful with that -- you get into "no good deed goes unpunished" territory that way. You really can't save people. Also, if you do too much for someone, you're not really giving them the space to do for you.)

I wish I knew more things a guy ought to know, like how to fix a car. And handyman stuff -- I've got a brother in law, the guy can build his own deck, has a tool for everything, he can fix anything, it's pretty cool. So I lack that. Yet, if I get into something, I can actually intuitively figure it out. Like putting together IKEA type furniture. And I did fix a washing machine once.

* I'm talented at salesmanship, and that was my career, and I was a good one, I was honest. And helpful.
* I'm slightly gifted at cooking, a newer hobby in life, and I enjoy that. It's like being a handyman except you get to eat the product.

* I play some guitar, and trumpet. A little piano. None of them very well. I speak some French -- but not very well.

* Mildly talented at a lot of things, perhaps not really gifted at any particular one thing.

* Gifted at rambling.

[Ulenspiegel]

I I do, however, have a gift that few people I know have. The ability to truly critically think. I am also a very talented writer. But my ability to critically think allows me to write truly intelligible articles, and provide people with very good advice.

Sorry DM, your posts are usually a perfect proof that you do NOT critically think. You sell BS in nice clothes.

A critical thinker knows the essential facts, is able to provide hard evidence and derives a model/projection from those.

You, in contrast, only see a "correct" outcome/model and cite "facts" that support your personal opinion. That is a quite typical rooky error in science.

If I were you, I would finish a study in a field of hard science, work a few years in reseach, i.e. have to write manuscripts that are peer reviewed and learn the shit. Then you are able to deliver something valuable when persuing the academic track. At the moment you work on the level of a (bad) journalist.

The alternative is of course to to get a non-academic real live and create something that is real and proves your point.

[Sixstrings]

I hate it when some shit-for-brain moderator bans you

Criticizing or even discussing moderation of the forum is against the CoC.

Try to remember this isn't youtube or just some random forum with a bunch of strangers, or a newspaper comments section -- everyone around here has been here for a very long time. It's like a little coffee shop. It's a nice little corner of the internet.

DM -- do you know enough to know all that you DON'T know? That's what wisdom is. The more you learn, you realize, the less you know.

You clearly enjoy writing. Here's a tip -- listen to your audience. And -- try telling someone ELSE's story. Not just your own opinions. Try putting yourself into someone ELSE'S shoes, and tell their view. If you are interested in writing, and I don't even know if you are, but if you are then that's a skill you've got to cultivate. You gotta listen close, along with write a lot. You have to develop empathy, an ability to understand what someone else sees from their vantage point.

I actually think the threads you start are often like a rorshach test thing, and it's interesting the kinds of discussions that can develop in them.

But don't be rude to anyone, and if you criticize forum moderation then they will ban you.

The mods are boss. That's just the way it is. It's the same as someone's place of business, or any workplace you may ever be in -- you have to know who the bosses are, and respect them. That's just life.

Here's how I view it -- if a mod has to talk to me, then that means that a lot of people have already complained about me, so if it gets to that point with a mod, then clearly I'm the one that's wrong.

If a person ever thinks that only they are right, and EVERYONE else is wrong, then that can be an indication of insanity.

[davep]

I hate it when some shit-for-brain moderator bans you for stating something that offends someone, yet all you were doing is express your free speech. I think the only reason anyone should be banned is if they are violating the law.

I despair when some shit-for-brain poster mistakes suspension for banning

And be careful. There are limits to free speech here, one of which is disrespecting the moderation team. I'm not too fussed about it personally, but it's in the Code of Conduct. So, unless you want another holiday, check out the announcements in the Welcome section http://peakoil.com/forums/welcome-f11.html

If the only reason for suspending or banning people on here were for breaking the law, it would be an absolute madhouse with no value whatsoever. And what jurisdiction would we use? We all come from different countries with different laws. Would we employ a crack international team of lawyers and a judge to decide what is and what isn't legal? Or do we and the posters use basic common sense? So, if you want to hang around, read the CoC and show a bit of respect. You're not some genius critical thinker, you're recycling stuff a lot of us went through a decade ago.

And a lot of that can be found in the archives if you want to really get into a subject rather than starting a thread as soon as a thought starts forming in your noggin. I deleted your iPad Review thread this morning because it was just the sort of stream of consciousness that we don't need ruining the signal to noise ratio of the site.

[davep]

Nature favors the smartest people for survival. And since I am smarter than most people, I will be favored by natural selection for survival, whereas most of the people lacking in critical thinking skills will perish.

Nature favours those who reproduce the most. Having few friends and proclaiming your own natural selection aptitude isn't necessarily the best approach to furthering your own genes.

[onlooker]

Wow, some emotive stuff here, I would just say that I sympathize with Desu, in the sense as he is young and knows some of the predicaments facing humanity and Earth, that is a bummer. On the other hand, Desu does not try to engender sympathy with his abrasive and holier then thou attitude. Okay lets hope we can have a little patience with Desu especially the moderators. I find this website really great precisely because the moderators are diligent in keeping this a site with integrity and intelligent discourse rather then insults and baseless opinions and simply regurgitating information found in other places.

[Quinny]

Sex

[copious.abundance]

I do, however, have a gift that few people I know have. The ability to truly critically think.

This is pretty funny!

What I've noticed throughout my 25 years of life is that most people lack in critical thinking skills.

Ah yes, the arrogance of youth. So here we have some 25-year-old - barely beyond a kid in my book - who thinks he/she/it is the smartest thinker since Einstein. I'll tell you what, Desu: When you get to be twice your current age (the same age as me), I hope you remember all this stuff you're writing here, and when the collapse you were expecting never arrives, you'll realize how poor your critical thinking skills really were back in your youthful and naive days of 25 years ago.

[copious.abundance]

BTW ...

I have few friends, and very few people I truly admire because I think most people are idiots. I am 25 years old, and I still don't have a girlfriend mainly because I think most women are too stupid for me. I can only become the boyfriend of a smart girl and not the average dumb, superficial bitchy girl. If you don't understand peak oil and its consequences, I am sorry to tell you that you are mentally deficient, and not worthy of being a friend of mine.

I have few friends because I am too smart for most people. Most people are too stupid to be my friend. I hate hanging out with retards like the mouth-breathing retards that go to frat parties to get drunk and high. I hate stupid people, and since most of humanity is stupid, I hate most of humanity.

This is truly the writing of a disturbed person. I would expect someone like Timothy McVeigh to write stuff like this.

[jesus_of_suburbia]

More like Santa Barbara mass murderer, Eliot Rodger. He has the same makeup. That comment about women being too stupid to recognize his greatness is a red flag. Also, weird hatred for people his age doing what people that age typically do.

Won't be surprised if we hear about some mass shooting around his whereabouts in Ontario. This isn't some disenfranchised youth. Make no mistake. This guy is on the verge of snapping.

[Ulenspiegel]

The economic problem is quite clear: There is only a very limited market for scientific prosa. However there are many people who can write beautiful texts without scientific or technological depth. Therefore, joining this part of the workforce does not improve your situation DM.

On the other hand there is demand for jounalists who can actually understand science or are able to communicate the critical aspects, i.e. are able to deliver a useful tool to bridge the gap between scientists and politicians or J6P. IMHO a real scientific journalist has still value, but this profession is not future proof IMHO (check the declining quality of scientif articles in the mainstraem press, clear sign that newspaper cut the number of specialized journalists). The high end scientific journalist would be a scientist, best case with PhD, with additional training as journalist.

A new profession, that is called data journalism, makes more sense when you want to stay in job for a longer time. A data journalist is able to analyse hard data, not only scientific stuff. He/she needs a good knowledge in programming and data processing, ability to extrct the essentials, to visualize stuff and add good texts etc.

The difference between a writer of scientific prosa and good journalism are a few years of hard work IMHO.

[AgentR11]

Desu, if you're still reading, I have a proposition for you to consider. You mention freedom of speech in your original post.

Exactly whose freedom of speech do you think is protected here?

I'll give you a hint. In order for it to be your freedom of speech, *you* would have to be the owner of this site. If you wish to exercise your right to free speech, you can setup a server at home or in a data center on a little blade, $150/month can get you there, setup some forum software or write your own html pages, register a domain name, and POOF, then *you* have true freedom of speech.... sorta... You still have to abide by the law, can't make threats, or make false, defamatory statements about other people, nor mislead those you might wish to do commerce with. You also have to abide by the terms of service of your internet service provider or datacenter and their provider; and there ARE rules there in addition to what would be prohibited speech.

But in this particular forum and modality, we posters do NOT possess this "freedom of speech" that you refer to. The owner, and its editorial staff(moderators), are the ones vested with that freedom. We are merely contributors, writing letters to the editor, if you will; they may publish or discard or edit as they please.

[Timo]

Fear not, whatever you want.
Tis always been my desire
To have inside, a kindling fire
A bright, yet subtle, idiot savant.

timo