Scott Douglas Jacobsen: We can wrap it up or check for any new Trump news on the AP wire: Kris Kristofferson has died. Any reflections? Yes, he was a great guy in my mind. He passed at 88, so at least he lived a long life. Rick Rosner: He was a true hero in many …
Rick Rosner: Let’s talk about Trump. He's been saying some crazy stuff recently. Scott Douglas Jacobsen: What's the craziest thing he's said in the last day or so? Rosner: He said we could get rid of crime by having a "day of violence" with no rules. Some compare it to The Purge. But he's a …
Rick Rosner: I want to talk about crystallized versus fluid intelligence, which is part of the same broad theories related to IQ. Fluid intelligence is raw problem-solving ability at its peak in young adults. The trade-off is that, as you acquire wisdom—knowledge-based expertise—this becomes crystallized intelligence. As you learn more and your brain ages, fluid …
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: What's a bigger talking point in propagandistic conservative media right now: trans issues or immigration? Rick Rosner: Trans comes up a lot, and it's a bullshit issue in that it doesn't affect—well, both issues you mentioned, trans and immigration, neither of them significantly affect most Americans' lives. Trans people are less than …
Continue reading Ask A Genius 1124: Current Political Nonsense and Currency
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: So, in your opinion, what are the benefits of married life in your sixties? Rosner: I can't speak about it in general terms, but I don't know about my situation. Well, your body requires more maintenance, checkups, and sometimes more treatments as you age, and it's good to have someone to go …
Continue reading Ask A Genius 1123: The Benefits of Marriage in Your 60s
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: So, there have been a lot of views from Germany on your website and content. Rick Rosner: Do I know anyone from Germany? No. The only German I know is a guy named Bernd, who I haven’t talked to in years. He was a cameraman on Jimmy Kimmel. Jacobsen: Oh, I see. …
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: You wanted to talk about indeterminacy? Rick Rosner: Yes, so what started me thinking about it was Shohei Ohtani. He's with the Dodgers and has been setting records. He's in what they used to call the 40-40 club, which means hitting 40 home runs and stealing 40 bases in one season. Only …
Continue reading Ask A Genius 1121: Indeterminacy and People
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: What’s the weirdest physics fact that you find interesting? Rick Rosner: The thing I find most consistently weird in physics is how you can make objects float in mid-air in a superconductor field or a magnetic field. That floating effect—where something just hovers—if you wanted to show someone how strange physics can …
Continue reading Ask A Genius 1120: Weird Physics of the World
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Did you see the post from September 24th about Elon Musk? After seeing an AP post tweet that read, "Judge orders auction of Alex Jones's Infowars to pay for legal damages to Sandy Hook families," a parody account tweeted, "I have the opportunity to do the funniest thing possible. Should I?" Rick …
Rick Rosner: Yesterday, I began by criticizing the generalizations people make about the intelligence of various demographics, which I think is unfounded. Then, I moved on to discuss how unintelligent some MAGA supporters seem. I wanted to go into the specifics of that. Twitter, now called X, has become chaotic, with users posting unchecked and …
Continue reading Ask A Genius 1118: Farm Equipment and Associative Horizon
Rick Rosner 