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If you're not a conservative when you're 14...

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TuringAI

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Here's an article I found:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/08/fashion/...no_interstitial

This kid may be smart, a genius maybe, but doesn't rallying behind this kid give the impression that conservative principles are fairly simple minded? Not that this kid is simple minded, he may be some kind of prodigy. Still, what does it say of the Republican Party?

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He is one of the few young kids who isn't a dumbass liberal. He seems intelligent enough, but Im wondering if it's just been drilled into his head. Any kid can sound smart. You can teach a new dog any trick you want.

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He seems intelligent enough, but Im wondering if it's just been drilled into his head. Any kid can sound smart. You can teach a new dog any trick you want.

The response he got is I guess expected. People call his defense of a principled stand as unrealistic - his view - a function of his youth. Ideals and principles are really only guides they say.

Edited by ~Sophia~
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I think a kid is perfectly capable of grasping and articulating the particular complexities of the philosophies involved in both political parties, the reason most don't is that they choose not to; they are given no reason to want to. When it comes down to it, understanding conservativism (I believe he makes a spelling error calling it conservatism, I could be wrong) is not a very complex task, no more complex than attempting to understand and manipulate video game mechanics or ways to get out of doing work at home and school. If this kid had a radio show talking about Objectivist philosophy, or even seemed to have an understanding of a good philosophy, beyond politics, I would be impressed. As such, I don't find this kid very impressive.

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I am impressed. He has quite an event schedule on his website, has self-published a small book, and posts regularly on his blog with a voice that could come from someone much older (minus the occasional spelling mistakes.) However, it's clear that religion is important to him, leading to claims that life begins at conception; he also blames corruption on selfish actions. I suspect he is going to become a major political force within a few years because of his passion for it. Anyone who has a passion for something, enough of a passion that he produces enough to be recognized for it publicly, deserves some amount of respect, even though he has been brought up on a faulty moral base.

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He is one of the few young kids who isn't a dumbass liberal.

Where I went to school, the only kids with liberal leanings were the really intelligent ones non of the conservatives wanted to be friends with. I was always bothered that we divided on politics in middle school.

I think, as soon by this kid, it's all about their environment. The kid is bright, but replicates his environment. He's home schooled and attends a Christian school and goes to a Baptist church. He shares all the same views those around him share, but is a lot better at articulating them.

I'm torn about 14 year olds, I've seen some exceptionally bright ones and some horrifyingly stupid ones. I think it's the age when you decide if you're going to go through life being a dumbass or not.

Anyone who has a passion for something, enough of a passion that he produces enough to be recognized for it publicly, deserves some amount of respect, even though he has been brought up on a faulty moral base.

I agree, I respect passion however it's presented. As long as it's for something... positive. Needless to say, passion for things like murder or torture shouldn't be respected.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The response he got is I guess expected. People call his defense of a principled stand as unrealistic - his view - a function of his youth. Ideals and principles are really only guides they say.

God, I know how that feels. Every teacher I've had that wasn't a conservative...wait...okay, every teacher that I've had has told me some form of "You'll change when you get older".

It's been true to an extent, but not in the way they expected. I moved towards Objectivism, which I don't think they were expecting.

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This is random, but I know a guy that was in the gifted program for several years in elementary and middle school, but now that he's grown up some people call him dumb. What usually happens to the gifted children once they get older?

I depends on what happens between being a gifted child and being an adult. I also know a few of people who were also in the gifted programs in elementary and middle school, who in high school, focused on drugs, skipped college (if they graduated at all), and never focused on their intellect.

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I depends on what happens between being a gifted child and being an adult. I also know a few of people who were also in the gifted programs in elementary and middle school, who in high school, focused on drugs, skipped college (if they graduated at all), and never focused on their intellect.

Me too, it's pretty tragic imagine what the world would be like if all the "gifted" kids remained gifted.

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It's very easy for gifted children to grow up 'damaged' in a way. The schools aren't any good for them, because schools are focused on the bottom part of the classroom in terms of intelligence. They will go through lessons painfully slow, and then gifted kids just get bored and frustrated.

With proper education a lot of those gifted kids can grow up to be incredible adults. Public school is very much not proper education though, not for a regular kid, and certainly not for a gifted one.

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