VAS-related readings

One of the great things about VAS is the way it encourages associative thinking. So, in honor of Tomasula and Farrell’s associative method, here are some texts that our last reading brought to mind:

• Malcolm Gladwell on the fallacies of IQ testing: “If what I.Q. tests measure is immutable and innate, what explains the Flynn effect—the steady rise in scores across generations?”

• A review of Stephen Wolfram’s attempt to displace mathematics as the foundation of all sciences

Enjoy.

Interesting + Bizarre = VAS

From wikipedia.org, Mensa's mission is to:
1. "to identify and foster human intelligence for the benefit of humanity;"
2. "to encourage research into the nature, characteristics, and uses of intelligence;"
3. "and to provide a stimulating intellectual and social environment for its members."

After reading what Mensa is about, I grew to have a positive attitude towards this organization. It supports people who have high IQ's. It's a society which would have similar ideals to magnet schools, gifted student programs, and the like. And those institutions are very normal and a part of American and European society. They're for the smart kids...

The book, VAS, points out something criminal about Mensa members. British Mensa members, being so intelligent, are asked how to improve society (129). In 1962, 47% of them say it's a good idea to kill "sufficiently unhealthy or subnormal infants"(130). Further, in 1994, Mensa members want to get rid of "homeless, retarded and elderly" (130). How absurd is that?

So now I'm confused. If people this intelligent can think such evil things, where is society headed? I'm coming to really dislike this idea of eugenics because it says if you're not one of the smart ones you should be "dead" (sterilized).

How do Square and Circle fit in? Is he stupid and insignificant in society, as seen by Circle? Or is it another matter altogether?