How edumacated are you?

[Stigweard]

From Wiki: Religiosity and intelligence:

 

In 2008, controversial intelligence researcher Helmuth Nyborg examined whether IQ relates to denomination and income, using representative data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth, which includes intelligence tests on a representative selection of American youth, where they have also replied to questions about religious belief. His results, published in the scientific journal Intelligence demonstrated that on average, Atheists scored 1.95 IQ points higher than Agnostics, 3.82 points higher than Liberal persuasions, and 5.89 IQ points higher than Dogmatic persuasions. "I'm not saying that believing in God makes you dumber. My hypothesis is that people with a low intelligence are more easily drawn toward religions, which give answers that are certain, while people with a high intelligence are more skeptical," says the professor.

 

Also review: Religiousness, Spirituality, and IQ: Are They Linked?

 

~~~

 

Considering Taoism has an indistinct line between being a religion and a philosophy, I would be interested in exploring the link between level of education and Taoist practitioners?

 

Your comments and discussion would also be welcomed and appreciated

[mewtwo]

I gets my edumacation and i aint not no dummy. So far i have yet to get my ged but am working on it.

[Taiji Bum]

Some college... it was actually a Catholic Seminary. I started having OBE's and that was the end of any "traditional" religious education for me. LOL I still consider myself a Christian and Catholic in particular but I am sure the Pope would say differently. Thats ok though... we just wont tell him.

[froggie]

i didn't pay much attention in school much, not because i didn't want to learn, i wanted to learn totally a lot, but because mostly it was too boring and silly and pretentious and things like that

Edited February 3, 2009 by froggie

[Snowdoggie]

i didn't pay much attention in school much, not because i didn't want to learn, i wanted to learn totally a lot, but because mostly it was too boring and silly and pretentious and things like that

 

I'm still getting educated, in school and out. I have a Masters in Business specializing in Law Firm Management. Now I take auto repair and computer classes at a Community College. After years of taking what the university told me to, I have the freedom to study what I want, Auto Body repair, digital video, creative writing, whatever captures my interest.

 

Now that I am not working towards any type of degree, I pay more attention.

[sheng zhen]

I was pretty dum during my masters because I swiched halfway and then got burned out. Now I have half of two masterdegrees and my job is not related to this education at all.

 

A friend studying psychology did his master on researching attitudeds towards paranormal phenomena and differences between educated and non-educated population. He found that there actually was not much difference. He said physics professors statistically have the same attitude towards paranormal phenomena as the rest of the population.

Edited February 3, 2009 by sheng zhen

[Ya Mu]

There seems to be an energetic difference in teaching qigong to educated and uneducated folks. In general, it appears that the uneducated are more prone to religious fanaticism and more unwilling to accept energetics. On the other hand I have met plenty of educated people that let their education get in the way of self-realization. I have found that, in general, it is more difficult to teach medical qigong to an acupuncturist, massage therapist, chiropractor, or physician than to teach folks with basic college education. I believe this has to do with the forest and the trees (can't see the forest, trees are getting in the way).

I think part of this is that the educated have had more chance to travel and be immersed in other cultures whereas the uneducated are more prone to live in one place and have traveled less. This leads to thinking "my culture and way of thinking is the only culture and way of thinking".

[joeblast]

my entire school career was rife with shit that detracted from school/grades. everything from my parents deciding that my younger brother didnt do enough schoolwork so we both got dumped into a concentration camp like catholic grammar school (we both fared quite poorly there) to having my entrance exam scores for high school backwards (was always good in math, notasogood in english, but there I was freshman year in basic algebra and honors english) which screwed me for college...and I was out for a month of my second semester of college due to a ruptured l5 disc, was on academic probation after that...and then I just gave up on school altogether and started fixing computers. so yeah, school did basically jack shit for me, even though just having gone to uconn for 2 totally unproductive years looks like a plus on a piece of paper

[Fire Dragon]

Hello

 

Taking my master late in life am 40. Have been studying freely most of my life. Psychology, Massage therapeut, Practical surveying, Physics and filosofy. Later years my studies have been more practical oriented but when younger they where just for interest. I don't think educational level is of any importance for qigong practise at all. There might be differnce in how ot learn it and other things depending on educational level, but not important.

 

 

F D

[Sloppy Zhang]

i didn't pay much attention in school much, not because i didn't want to learn, i wanted to learn totally a lot, but because mostly it was too boring and silly and pretentious and things like that

 

Yeah pretty much.

 

I'm a freshman in college right now... bleh. Look around, and totally see "too many dollars but not enough sense...." (sounds like "cents", right, right? hehehe..... yeah) People get certificates saying they learn how to do stuff, but are nearly incapable of independent, rational, and common sense thought. Then you've got people talking about the prestigious institution of higher education, and how they are the leaders of tomorrow.......

 

Yeah.... tomorrow doesn't look too good

 

Some of the smartest people I know are the people who learn outside the structured education system.... just how it works. There are people within the education system that are brilliant, creative and independent thinkers too, but they are few and far between when compared to the majority of people here....

[wayne]

The best thing I have learned was the way quantum theory breaking all our dualistic thinking; I used it in my Ph.D. thesis. My real personal education in philosophy, mostly Tao, formally started in 2000 by interpreting the Tao te Ching. It took a solid 5 years! Ever since, Tao, and the early Greek and the Buddhist philosophy, have become part of my life. All I have leanred can be summarized in one same fundamental Principle of Oneness .

I have to overcome the fact that people don't like theory. But a theory is a good way to guide our mind to understand the intrinsic "mysteries" of Tao. I was really surprised to see the young age of the group members. It is a good sign that people search for meaning at younger age. I was lucky to have the best formal education but life has to be learned personally.

[Creation]

I'm a freshman in college right now... bleh. Look around, and totally see "too many dollars but not enough sense...." (sounds like "cents", right, right? hehehe..... yeah) People get certificates saying they learn how to do stuff, but are nearly incapable of independent, rational, and common sense thought. Then you've got people talking about the prestigious institution of higher education, and how they are the leaders of tomorrow.......

SO TRUE. I attended a prestigious Midwestern university for a year and found the people there to be not the intellectual cream of the crop, but a bunch of drones who are very good at "playing the game". This type of behavior is encouraged and rewarded by the system, while everyone pats themselves on the back thinking (and telling everyone) that it is such a great place to get a higher education. Learning? Exploring? Discovering? Creating (from whence I take my screen name)? What are those?

 

That was a good chunk of the reason I dropped out. But the question remains, what the hell am I going to do with my life?

[the buddha & the beast]

i had a year left in sociology & ran out of $ so i did a quick free course & became a nursing assistant. i think after i have my baby, in a year or so, i'll go back to finish college...not in sociology, but in education for kids. i joined the bums when i was trying to learn how to manage anxiety while pregnant. this is one thing i've decided to do since. i'm always so worried about doing everything just right for my kid because i feel that they are our future and they deserve a lot of things many of them never get...like i'd love to just sit and listen to a kid's thoughts like we do with each other a lot. anyway, i feel that completing a degree in education is a way i can pay it forward to all of you for teaching me so much. i'll remember, though, that some of my most important knowledge did not come out of a text book!

[bakeneko]

Well, I got a Bachelor of Arts already in comparative literature and philosophy. And am going for a Masters degree in literature now.

Not sure, if according to this "study" I should be more "skeptical"... after all I am not a hard science guy haha

[Stigweard]

I started a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering but quickly discovered that humanities and arts were more in my attunement. Since then I have made a profession of human relations and service.

[wudangquan]

I ran away from home at 15 not to come back.

 

Got my ged some years later.

 

Got B.S. in Psychology from a state school.

 

Worked 1 heinous year in the county prosecutors office.

 

Had what, clinically would probably be a psychotic breakdown.

 

Got an an airplane to India.

 

Been here in Asia for more or less all of my adult life.

 

The only formal education or training I've had since was at Wat Po in Bankok for massage.

 

Learned some martial arts, had some taoist teachers, study now in private classes with the daozhang at longquan (not leading to anything like becoming a priest - I just learn some simple things and I like to have someone to talk to ).

 

Trying to get my Chinese better. Might take a formal class soon because I've hit a plateau at my low level.

 

Don't know much and am not particularly good at anything . . .

[rookie]

Education is most valuable in exposing one to ideas and learning to think.

Knowledge can be had but using it isn't learned in school.

In my profession, all engineers have the same basic education within a field. But the ability to use it has very little correlation to grades or level.

BSEE, MSEE but I really loved mathematics. If I didn't have a family to support I would have gone into mathematics

[Stigweard]

Comparing the results of our poll to date to the graphic below what assumptions can we make?

 

This graphic shows the educational attainment among the population, aged twenty-five and above, in the United States. The percentages reflect the percent of persons at or above the given level.

[Gerard]

I got two Bachelor degrees and all sorts of Diplomas, University level and non-University level. This was done before I started the spiritual path. Now, I regret having studied all that "bantha fodder" (using Star Wars terminology ). I wish I had the opportunity to study the way Wang Liping or Kwan Sai-Hung did.

 

In terms of Tao and the Dharma I am medium-educated and still a child meditator. I will continue this path until my physical body becomes red dust.

[Stigweard]

Here is more appropriate data:

 

Some high school 8.5%

High school graduate 32.2%

Some college 16.8%

Associate's degree 8.6%

Bachelor's degree 18.1%

Master's degree 6.8%

Doctoral degree 1.2%

Professional degree 1.5%

 

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, March 2005.

 

Compared to the above poll:

 

Less than 9th grade [1.82%]

9th to 12th grade, no completion [3.64%]

High school completion (includes equivalency) [10.91%]

Some college, no degree [27.27%]

Associate degree [0.00%]

Bachelor's degree [29.09%]

Master's degree [12.73%]

Professional degree [5.45%]

Doctorate degree [9.09%]

 

Based on current data (acknowledging that the sample size is currently way too small) then we can make the initial suggestion that the Members of TaoBums have an education level that is significantly higher then the national norm.

[seadog]

I wonder is there a difference between having a high learning IQ and having an high emotional IQ?

[phore]

maybe it goes like this

you begin with traditional beliefs.

then you question it until you become agnostic

then you even question the existance of god.

then with an empty cup you can find your own answers.

people like lao tzu, da Vinci, plato, and einstein.

 

emotion tends to be associated with water

while intellect tends to be associated with fire.

 

[VCraigP]

maybe it goes like this

you begin with traditional beliefs.

then you question it until you become agnostic

then you even question the existance of god.

then with an empty cup you can find your own answers.

people like lao tzu, da Vinci, plato, and einstein.

 

emotion tends to be associated with water

while intellect tends to be associated with fire.

 

 

 

Not for me.

Went like this.

Raised in a non traditional though typical American suburban family. Born in the early 60's but not raised by hippies. May dad taught High School to some Major hippies in the late 60's early 70's, so there was some exposure there.

No religion. Never entered a church til I travelled to Europe for the first time at 20 yrs of age.

Began exploring metaphysics/occult before the age of 10.

Wrote a term paper in 5th or 6th grade comparing Buddhism/Confucianism/Taoism!?! I rediscovered this fact a few years ago while going through REALLY OLD school papers I had in storage....hmmm very interesting I thought.

 

All this to say that formal education had NOTHING to do with my developing interest in Taoist practices.

 

Although I think the initial question merely sought a correlation between educational achievement and eventual belief systems?

 

I arrived at Taoism through Martial Arts.

 

though over time I have been unpeeling the onion to try to find the roots of my interests. Martial Arts began as a search for Power and control over my environment. Of that I am pretty sure. Early interest in Occult/Magic I think stem from the same source. Although when I go FAR back, interest in Out of Body experience seems to stem from somewhere else.

 

Before going very far in school my main education was through my own research into the above mentioned fields. Up until high school and beyond I would have to say that this study was more in depth than most things I explored in school.

 

This to me is the most important thing about school. Learn how to learn and then explore on your own. Learn critical thinking. Keep your mind free.

 

Full disclosure requires me to point out that I only achieved some college, and never was a very good and focused student. I majored in Tae Kwon Do at college

 

Cheers.

 

Craig

 

I wonder is there a difference between having a high learning IQ and having an high emotional IQ?

 

Only the difference between night and day.

[Trunk]

Well, I know what a "plethora" means, if that's what you're after...

... but could it be?, that you are mad at something else?, and once again are taking it out on me???

[NYC Student]

I've got a CPA which totally helps in this economy plus a degree in Accounting and one in Finance. The only downside I saw in having an education was the structure/barriers that are built around the mind (ie belief systems, etc) - which did not lend well to achieving out of mind meditations. That took years to break! But once that was broken I am totally thankful for having an education.