zodiac13 Dec 2005

I'll answer both of you:

Al, you haven't seen the rest of the world. With a few exceptions, we're the intellectual powerhouses.

LilMsLady, I've asserted nothing. Quotes are never, ever, necessarily assertions. As it happens, I believe one of the main differences between people with good fortunes and people with bad fortunes is intelligence. There. Now I've asserted something. But good fortune is obviously the cause of intelligence, not the other way around. (I'm comfortable saying that, despite being a broke unemployed kid with a Masters; I did go to private school most of my childhood, after all.)

And what kind of intelligence? I can think of three or four kinds mostly unrelated to knowing the capital of North Dakota or stepping into the street in front of a bus.

Obviously, you should now ask me to back up "good fortune is the cause of intelligence".