Just because Aristotle was smart at 1 thing, doesn't mean he was smart at everything.

Dude... Aristotle was smart at nearly everything. But my point was that it is by no means obvious that the same laws of motion apply in the heavens as on earth. It did take the genius of a Newton to figure that out. Of course, in retrospect, it seems obvious.

To me, it is common sense that gravity is based on mass, and mass is based on density. One thing is heavier than another because it has more "stuff" in it, it's denser. So it would be common sense that gravity is based on attraction between mass

No one thought of this before Newton though. It's not exactly common sense if it is not common.

People confuse "being well prepared" and "being knowledgeable" for intelligence. Nah. Intelligence is raw processing power and intellectual performance specs. It's only 1 factor in being correct, and it usually helps you get to the right answer FASTER, all else being equal.

Correct, but earlier, you were telling me that modern people are smarter than people in the past because they have more 'data'. That was wrong, and you are correct here instead.

But one of the things I've learned through my development of knowledge and intelligence is that ultimately, being consistently correct is far more important than being faster. It's very rare that speed matters.

Intelligence is not just speed though. It aids in speed, but things like reasoning are much more important.

Again, you have no idea. My IQ might be higher than his. Just because he came up with classic ideas that stood the test of time doesn't mean his brain was high performance. You can be of mediocre mental intelligence and yet end up being a great thinker because your PROCESS yields superior results. You can have fantastic mental abilities like THIS GUY and yet amount to nothing in life.

Sauvants generally do not have high general intelligence (g, or IQ). But you do need at least a way above average IQ to come up with great ideas. Anyone can be an NPC and regurgitate the ideas he hears from other people. To think different is the skill.

Idk how you could go back and forth with me all this time and not know that I know a shitload of stuff.

Because I thought you would conveniently not know something because it is to your disadvantage to know. And because it makes sense that a greater power would attack a weaker one, not vice versa.

So when "South Ossetian separatists began intensively shelling Georgian villages on 1 August." everyone and their mother should have known "this is a trap, the Russians are just on the other side of the Roki Tunnel just waiting for the signal to pounce, they told their proxies to stir shit up and provoke a response in order to get a pretext to invade." The smart thing to do would have been to go on high alert, prepare to resist invasion by bringing up reinforcements, and to stay totally passive to deny the Russians their excuse to invade. Even if Russia went in anyway, staying purely defensive and playing the victim is simply the "correct" and winning answer in terms of the international response. Putin is keenly attuned to the international response, and would likely have not gone in or backed down sooner if the world viewed the conflict as pure Russian bullying, as opposed to Russia riding to the rescue of the poor victim Ossetians.

Correct. It's a shame that Putin lost his Midas touch and thought that was would be equally effective without a casus belli. Not sure if the element of surprise, such that it was, was worth it.

But no, Saakashvili had huffed too much paint and ordered a futile attack to seal the Roki tunnel after it was too late and multiple waves of Russians had already come through. Georgia did not attack Russia, it attacked its own territory occupied by separatists.

According to the US. The US also recognizes Kosovo as independent, even though it's Serbia's own territory as I believe you and I both agree.

The United States is cursed with shitty "friends".

I wish we would be independent instead of lackeys of the US.