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On Intelligence and 2% Milk
Aug. 12th, 2023 09:19 pmThere's an old joke that people make. "I don't drink 2% milk," they say, trying to make themselves sound smart, "Because what's the other 98%?"
Yeah, that's amusing if you're a stand-up comic and your audience hasn't heard it before, let alone dozens of times before. But what if it's a real question? Well, as a real question it has a real answer... and that answer isn't even hard to find. A few seconds on Google turns up numerous resources, including this Wikipedia article, Fat Content of Milk.
"Whole milk" in the US and a few other countries has 3.25% butterfat by weight. So 2% milk still has 61.5% the fat of whole milk. And it's not "98% what" because it isn't adulterated by adding some mystery ingredient. The milk is spun in a centrifuge to remove some of the fat content, leaving simply... less fatty milk.
Some people do none of these yet consider themselves intelligent. Many do 1-2 and stop there. Few do all 4. It takes all 4 to be intelligent.
Yeah, that's amusing if you're a stand-up comic and your audience hasn't heard it before, let alone dozens of times before. But what if it's a real question? Well, as a real question it has a real answer... and that answer isn't even hard to find. A few seconds on Google turns up numerous resources, including this Wikipedia article, Fat Content of Milk.
"Whole milk" in the US and a few other countries has 3.25% butterfat by weight. So 2% milk still has 61.5% the fat of whole milk. And it's not "98% what" because it isn't adulterated by adding some mystery ingredient. The milk is spun in a centrifuge to remove some of the fat content, leaving simply... less fatty milk.
Merely Asking Questions is not Intelligence
Some people proclaim themselves smart because they ask questions. I see that a lot in politics. Merely asking questions, though, does not denote intelligence. The mark of intelligence is a person who goes through a 4 step process: (1) Recognizing there is something one doesn't know. (2) Asking a question. (3) Seeking an answer from reputable sources. (4) Incorporating the new knowledge into one's understanding of things, including revising or even discarding previous beliefs where the new information contradicts them.Some people do none of these yet consider themselves intelligent. Many do 1-2 and stop there. Few do all 4. It takes all 4 to be intelligent.
