• whotookkarl@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      17 hours ago

      Al Capone was very successful at running blackmail and intimidation rackets despite being mentally well below average. It doesn’t take intelligence to do what maga does, that’s kinda the point why they do it because it’s the only way they’ve seen how to accumulate power that doesn’t require intelligence or at least good prediction models.

      • TankovayaDiviziya@lemmy.world
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        15 hours ago

        The mainstream should re-think what intelligence is because experts already said there are different types of intelligence. Are math prodigies with autism not intelligent? Are biologists dumb for struggling with quantum physics? That said, someone who may be unempathetic and lack emotional intelligence may have high intelligence on how to persuade and manipulate others. Many would call this Machiavellian (although personally, I don’t see Machiavellianism as inherently bad). It takes certain skill and intelligence to become a mob boss despite doing poorly in school, or even a leader of a country.

        A lot on Lemmy scoffed it when I said Trump and other dictators are not as dumb as they might seem to be, because they ended up in charge, not someone on Lemmy with PhD. It possesses a certain kind of intelligence to be a demagogue and take power.

        • Hapankaali@lemmy.world
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          4 hours ago

          On the one hand, I think it is true that a certain kind of skill is required to read and manipulate people - the same kind of skill a conman or used car salesman needs to do their work, and that kind of skill obviously doesn’t need knowledge of quantum physics or even a rudimentary understanding of how the world in general works.

          On the other hand, one shouldn’t give people like Trump, Berlusconi and Idi Amin too much credit. They ended up where they did largely due to historical happenstance, and millions of other conmen and used car salespeople stayed small-time.