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From John Lennon to Charles Murray: We All Want to Change the World
American Spectator ^ | March 6, 2017 | John Stacy McCain

Posted on 03/06/2017 12:24:43 PM PST by Twotone

Permit me to suggest a semester’s worth of work that some college students may wish to undertake: Study the life of John Lennon and, after you finish reading two or three biographies of the famous leader of The Beatles, go read The Bell Curve by Richard J. Herrnstein and Charles Murray. When you have completed those assignments, read Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers. The purpose of this proposed curriculum is to understand how the abandoned son of an English sailor became one of the most influential figures in popular culture during the remarkable decade of the 1960s. What was it about Lennon, or the circumstances of his childhood, that enabled this boy from Liverpool and his friends to conquer the musical world? Ah, but first things first.

(Excerpt) Read more at spectator.org ...


TOPICS: Education; History; Society
KEYWORDS: bellcurve; elites; rebels

1 posted on 03/06/2017 12:24:43 PM PST by Twotone
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To: Twotone
Ten Years After - I'd Love To Change The World
2 posted on 03/06/2017 12:27:44 PM PST by Robert DeLong
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To: Robert DeLong

That was a good article. Lennon showed what’s wrong with our public school system.


3 posted on 03/06/2017 12:35:27 PM PST by DIRTYSECRET (urope. Why do they put up with this.)
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To: DIRTYSECRET

Once there was a time..


4 posted on 03/06/2017 12:35:54 PM PST by DIRTYSECRET (urope. Why do they put up with this.)
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To: DIRTYSECRET

there are places I remember...


5 posted on 03/06/2017 12:47:08 PM PST by Mariner (War Criminal #18)
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To: Twotone

Good read! Thanks for posting!
Except I’m not entirely aggreable with the author’s apparent assumption that all the smart people are in the elite universities, and its correlative: that rural dwellers and sons of truck drivers are the low IQ folks left behind.

Farmers and truck drivers are among the smartest people I know. But they and their conservative perspectives are being shut out of the elite universities, not pulled in. There’s no “brain drain” in flyover country. What there is, due to current socioeconomic conditions, is a whole lot of WASTED potential.


6 posted on 03/06/2017 1:32:40 PM PST by mumblypeg (Make America Macho Again.)
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To: Mariner

Instant Karma’s gonna get you....


7 posted on 03/06/2017 1:33:47 PM PST by dfwgator
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To: Twotone

I’m sooo-oh-oh tired...


8 posted on 03/06/2017 1:48:47 PM PST by equaviator (There's nothing like the universe to bring you down to earth.)
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To: DIRTYSECRET
It was a good article, but I think it is Murray that shows us what is wrong with the educational system in America. Lennon never matriculated in American higher education, and his formative education was provided in England. Now it could possibly be argued that the educational systems are very similar, but having never seen the British educational system I can not attest to that.

Lennon was a victim, so to speak but I really hate using that word because he refused to allow himself to be a victim, of their educational system. While it kept him out of their higher educational system, it opened the door for him on the path that suited his personality. It allowed him to be rebellious, while also allowing him to nurture his gift of creativity.

One of my most favorite songs by him is Working Class Hero. Why? Because it really tells his entire life story, and if you want to be a success there is no better venue than his chosen career.

9 posted on 03/06/2017 2:02:22 PM PST by Robert DeLong
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To: DIRTYSECRET
P.S. I offered up that song by Ten Years After, as another example beyond John Lennon. I'd love to change the world, but I don't know what to do, so I'll just leave it up to you.

Lyrics "I'd Love To Change The World"

10 posted on 03/06/2017 2:09:01 PM PST by Robert DeLong
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To: Twotone

Imagine there’s no heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today... Aha-ah...

Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion, too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace... You...

You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world... You...

You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will live as one The Guy was a Moron...A liberal in Disguise..


11 posted on 03/06/2017 2:27:08 PM PST by hawg-farmer - FR..October 1998 (------>VMFA 235- '69-'72 KMCAS <------- "Death Angels")
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To: mumblypeg
While what you say is true. The are overlooked because the usage of standardized testing to cull the so-called "intellectual" is a woefully inept measuring tool. Or to say it bluntly, they most likely do no do well with those kinds of tests, and therefore their intelligence is never recognized.

Intelligence is not just limited to spouting back things you can memorize.

Those intelligent people you speak of can be very smart & creative, especially when faced with a problem. They are able to find a solution even with minimal resources at their disposal.

Whereas the vast majority of those coming into the workforce from major universities & colleges cannot think beyond what they were taught.

To put it in other words they are fantastic at remembering what they were taught, and even applying it, but most have no ability to think beyond that. Thus they are not the innovators within their field of study.

Real intelligence is when you can think beyond what is the norm, so to speak. To teach yourself beyond the basic building blocks provided to you, even when they directly are opposed to what you were taught.

As for some of those, not to bright folks in colleges & university's, they are the children of the rich alumni. Not really very smart, but then they cannot sponsor entire student body of those within the hallowed halls of higher learning and need monetary infusion from those rich alumni. 8>)

12 posted on 03/06/2017 2:32:31 PM PST by Robert DeLong
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To: DIRTYSECRET
The Beatles - Golden Slumber
13 posted on 03/06/2017 2:40:21 PM PST by Robert DeLong
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To: Jan_Sobieski

Ping


14 posted on 03/06/2017 9:31:06 PM PST by StoneWall Brigade
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