The Smartest Person in the World Wiffs
Marilyn vos Savant makes a major gaff
Marilyn vos Savant is reportedly (according to the Guinness Book of Records) the person who has the highest IQ of anyone in the world — maybe ever!… Although I’ve been accepted into Mensa, Marilyn would be considered to be a Super-Mensa person.
I’ve read Marilyn’s weekly column (Ask Marilyn) for several years, and she uniformly has good answers — which is why I read it. However, even the smartest person in the world can make mistakes. I recently saw this interesting question she was asked:
“I know a young woman who failed all her classes during her first (and only) semester of college. How could the school have admitted her?”
This is Marilyn’s surprisingly poor answer (where I bolded three key parts):
Plenty of students bomb as freshmen, with no one having a clue beforehand. Reasons vary wildly (from stress to finances and being just plain sick of schooling), but they have little to do with ability or intelligence.
Spending much of one’s youth sitting in classrooms, doing homework, and taking tests is unnatural and taxing. And then in college, students must study subjects in which they have no interest and will never put to use...
Marilyn: here are some “beforehand clues” that are in large flashing neon signs —
1 - In K-12 there is rampant grade inflation — so freshmen assume that all they have to do is show up for a good grade. Not so in a quality school, or the world.
2 - In K-12 they are indoctrinated with Woke ideology — so freshmen go into college with an entitlement mentality. But in a good school that won’t cut it.
3 - In K-12, Critical Thinking is not taught — so freshmen who have to do things like write papers are unable to produce more than superficial work. That won’t be sufficient at a good school — or the real world.
Marilyn, you also surprisingly stated that students are FORCED to “study subjects in which they have no interest, and will never put to use.” OMG!
1 - Typically, in college it is up to the Student to choose their major — i.e., something they are interested in. That would mean that the majority of resulting subjects would be consistent with (or necessary for) the student’s selected major.
2 - My degree was in physics, and as a freshman at Boston College I was assigned an advanced English class. I thought it would be boring and not relevant, but I applied myself anyway! It turned out to be one of the most useful and interesting classes I EVER took! I’ve put that class to use thousands of times — like write now!
3 - Students also get to choose electives. Again, how is that consistent with your statement that they are forced to “study subjects in which they have no interest”?
My takeaway is that the above “Ask Marilyn” woefully inadequate answer was likely written by a staffer while Marilyn was away on vacation.
A more representative observation from Marilyn is: Don't be afraid to challenge conventional wisdom; sometimes the greatest breakthroughs come from questioning the norms.
Here are other materials by this scientist that you might find interesting:
My Substack Commentaries for 2023 (arranged by topic)
Check out the chronological Archives of my entire Critical Thinking substack.
WiseEnergy.org: discusses the Science (or lack thereof) behind our energy options.
C19Science.info: covers the lack of genuine Science behind our COVID-19 policies.
Election-Integrity.info: multiple major reports on the election integrity issue.
Media Balance Newsletter: a free, twice-a-month newsletter that covers what the mainstream media does not do, on issues from COVID to climate, elections to education, renewables to religion, etc. Here are the Newsletter’s 2023 Archives. Please send me an email to get your free copy. When emailing me, please make sure to include your full name and the state where you live. (Of course, you can cancel the Media Balance Newsletter at any time - but why would you?
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You are completely wrong about Marilyn's answer. I also have a degree in physics and experienced the requirement of taking several classes that were not only boring but have been of no value since then. Deciding to drop out after one year in college does not necessarily indicate a lack of intelligence. There are many careers that do not require a college degree. The best example is when someone decides to start their own business. I am sure you can find such examples easily.
One other aspect could be the student was overly "protected" and coddled. They never learned consequences of their actions... Yet the "social life" in college away from those protections, the student made poor choices. Need I say more? (read Drugs, alcohol etc.) Perhaps Marilyn was afraid of offending the parent who set up their child for failure instead of instilling as you described "critical thinking skills." I recall in my college days in a fraternity (long ago) there were classmates who started drinking Monday night and didn't stop until Sunday! They were drunk perpetually, never attended classes and imagine that, they flunked out.