[Smile] What's something small that really makes you smile?

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Awrrr
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#2696180 21-Apr-2021 16:47

neb: This story kinda made me smile:
A Federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by a man who was barred from the New London police force because he scored too high on an intelligence test. In a ruling made public on Tuesday, Judge Peter C. Dorsey of the United States District Court in New Haven agreed that the plaintiff, Robert Jordan, was denied an opportunity to interview for a police job because of his high test scores. But he said that that did not mean Mr. Jordan was a victim of discrimination. Judge Dorsey ruled that Mr. Jordan was not denied equal protection because the city of New London applied the same standard to everyone: anyone who scored too high was rejected.
Only in America.

Police don't discriminate. Any black person has an equal opportunity of becoming a target.

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Lizard1977

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#2696694 22-Apr-2021 14:22

This Trademe property listing with the Photoshop fail. The lighting looked off, and when I looked a little closer...

Paul1977

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#2696989 23-Apr-2021 11:08

neb: This story kinda made me smile:
A Federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by a man who was barred from the New London police force because he scored too high on an intelligence test. In a ruling made public on Tuesday, Judge Peter C. Dorsey of the United States District Court in New Haven agreed that the plaintiff, Robert Jordan, was denied an opportunity to interview for a police job because of his high test scores. But he said that that did not mean Mr. Jordan was a victim of discrimination. Judge Dorsey ruled that Mr. Jordan was not denied equal protection because the city of New London applied the same standard to everyone: anyone who scored too high was rejected.
Only in America.

Leaving aside the total absurdity of a policy rejecting an applicant because they are too smart, this is still absolutely discrimination.

How is "anyone who scored too high was rejected" different to "anyone who was black was rejected" or "anyone who was a woman was rejected"?

tdgeek

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#2697035 23-Apr-2021 11:15

Paul1977:

Leaving aside the total absurdity of a policy rejecting an applicant because they are too smart, this is still absolutely discrimination.

How is "anyone who scored too high was rejected" different to "anyone who was black was rejected" or "anyone who was a woman was rejected"?

Agree. Choices are removed from him, but not others. Is he not allowed to choose what he wants to do, even though his IQ can better be used elsewhere?

His quality of life is being decided by others not him.

Fred99

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#2697086 23-Apr-2021 11:39

The guy was plenty smart enough to tailor a test result to suit - if he knew what the requirements were. It makes me smell a rat - it could have been a deliberate stunt for some reason.

Anyway, here's the decision for the appeal:

https://www.aele.org/apa/jordan-newlondon.html

The question presented is not whether a rational basis has been shown for the policy chosen by defendants. It is not for a trier to decide between two bodies of evidence in support of and in contradiction of the validity of that basis. Because defendants have shown that there is a rational basis for its policy, it cannot be found that the policy is arbitrary nor irrational. Plaintiff may have been disqualified unwisely but he was not denied equal protection.

eracode

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#2697088 23-Apr-2021 11:43

Lizard1977:

This Trademe property listing with the Photoshop fail. The lighting looked off, and when I looked a little closer...

The trompe-l'œil painting on the gable of the house next door has been very cleverly done.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

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frankv

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#2697094 23-Apr-2021 11:55

neb: This story kinda made me smile:
A Federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by a man who was barred from the New London police force because he scored too high on an intelligence test.

Leaving aside the total absurdity of a policy rejecting an applicant because they are too smart, this is still absolutely discrimination.

How is "anyone who scored too high was rejected" different to "anyone who was black was rejected" or "anyone who was a woman was rejected"?

Heh! I always believed that there was no IQ test for joining police. But maybe that's in NZ. Or maybe they too actively discriminate against smart people?

IQ is not one of the things you are not allowed to discriminate on (skin colour, ethnicity, sexual preference, gender, religion, physical disability). So it's perfectly *legal* and common to discriminate on IQ -- you can only go to university if you achieve certain standards, and those standards are designed to separate the high from the low IQ (if you accept the proposition that intelligence is a reasonable part of academic ability). Maybe the guy should have argued that the IQ test was culturally biassed (as they all are) and therefore illegally discriminatory. And also that therefore he (I assume a white man) was actually no smarter than a black person who took the same test and got a lower score.

There will always be conditions you have to meet to get a job -- academic qualifications, job experience, etc. Those conditions are used by the employer to discriminate -- to decide who is suitable and who isn't. The police and fire service and military discriminate on physical condition -- there are physical standards you must pass to be able to join. I've applied for jobs which required various psychometric tests, and presumably there were 'pass' and 'fail' grades on those. Another time, there was a drug test. (Disappointingly, this didn't involve giving me various psychoactive chemicals).

Fred99

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#2697143 23-Apr-2021 12:03

frankv:

Heh! I always believed that there was no IQ test for joining police.

On the careers website, requirement for police officer:

pass psychological, maths and problem-solving tests

elpenguino

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#2697148 23-Apr-2021 12:14

Fred99:

frankv:

Heh! I always believed that there was no IQ test for joining police.

On the careers website, requirement for police officer:

pass psychological, maths and problem-solving tests

I'm getting fond memories from Alas Smith and Jones, who were not so complimentary of the intelligence of the police.

Most of the posters in this thread are just like chimpanzees on MDMA, full of feelings of bonhomie, joy, and optimism. Fred99 8/4/21

Rikkitic

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#2697154 23-Apr-2021 12:32

From something I vaguely recall from something I may have read many years ago, the rationale behind rejecting people with too high an IQ for certain jobs, is that high-IQ people tend not to be suitable for such jobs due to a range of personality and psychological issues associated with high IQ. Such a person is also less likely to be satisfied and remain in the job, squandering the resources involved in training that person. 'Average' people fit in better with each other and work together better.

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Fred99

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#2697157 23-Apr-2021 12:48

Rikkitic:

From something I vaguely recall from something I may have read many years ago, the rationale behind rejecting people with too high an IQ for certain jobs, is that high-IQ people tend not to be suitable for such jobs due to a range of personality and psychological issues associated with high IQ. Such a person is also less likely to be satisfied and remain in the job, squandering the resources involved in training that person. 'Average' people fit in better with each other and work together better.

Imagine trying to run an academic institution where it seems like every single senior person in the organisation originally qualified for their jobs by writing a thesis on something incredibly obscure, but believe that nobody else knows it wasn't actually about management, student recruitment, education, building maintenance.

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Paul1977

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#2697183 23-Apr-2021 13:39

Just now realizing that the article in question is over 20 years old, so probably not worth talking about. The verdict might have been very different in 2021.

eracode

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#2697993 26-Apr-2021 08:06

Sitting upstairs and looking out the window at a small-leaved tree at eye level just outside the window. It's sunny but it has been raining and the leaves are wet. There's a tiny finch darting frenetically among the leaves to shake the water onto its back to get itself a shower, then ruffling its feathers. Beautiful.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

Eva888

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#2697998 26-Apr-2021 08:53

eracode:
Sitting upstairs and looking out the window at a small-leaved tree at eye level just outside the window. It's sunny but it has been raining and the leaves are wet. There's a tiny finch darting frenetically among the leaves to shake the water onto its back to get itself a shower, then ruffling its feathers. Beautiful.

Perfectly described so could just picture this, birds can be so cute. On an old tree stump cut flat in the garden (because it was too difficult to remove) I leave water in a shallow pottery saucer with a few stones poking out for perching in case the bees need a drink too. The birds love it. Admittedly the joy vanishes a bit when it needs scrubbing out.

eracode

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#2698521 27-Apr-2021 05:35

Eva888:

Perfectly described so could just picture this, birds can be so cute. On an old tree stump cut flat in the garden (because it was too difficult to remove) I leave water in a shallow pottery saucer with a few stones poking out for perching in case the bees need a drink too. The birds love it. Admittedly the joy vanishes a bit when it needs scrubbing out.

True - never used to pay much attention to birds but as I get older and spend a lot more time at home, I have grown to really appreciate them - particularly the native birds. The tui and kereru that inhabit the trees around our suburban North Shore home bring us great pleasure.

Then there’s the annoying blackbirds who fossick in bark gardens and make a hell of a mess scattering bark all over the paths. And the incredibly persistent sparrows who are determined to roost at night up in the mechanism of our retractable deck awning and make a hell of a mess up in there. Both of these can be deterred with judicious use of plastic netting. Still like these guys though.

However I’m not so sure about some of the non-natives. I think that mynhas, rosellas and magpies are unwanted interlopers and not compatible with our natives. I’d be happy if they were banished somehow.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

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