"Human Accomplishment" by Charles Murray (1 of 2)

This guy co-authored the "Bellcurve" that was so controversial. Here are some quotes from his fantastic work on human acheivment.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Ayn
• Rand
• Objectivism
• education
• Leonard
• Peikoff
• Brandon
• Cropper
• murray
• author
• book
• accomplishment
• art
• modern
• painting

[cropperb]

I might add that I myself haven't worked a 40 hour week since five years ago. I prefer free time to read and listen to lectures on cd. And make Youtube videos.

[RMeirKahane]

I am very impressed that you made a video of this. Unfortunately, it is all too rare to see anything of this scholarly stature anywhere on youTube. One thing you said that I do question, though, is your valuing work over free time. If all we do is work, where is there free time to think deeper about life, to produce great works of literature, music, art, and philosophy? People who work hard are understandably too tired to even think about such things.

[cropperb]

Actually, I could name several historical figures who accomplished great things while at leisure, so I appreciate leisure, but these great men used even their leisure time tocreate: Da Vinci, Galileo, Newton, Einstein, and many more great thinkers did their greatest during a period of lots of free time in their lives.

[tomdownes1]

Smile a little more. Not just for me, but for yourself as well. (Advice from a fellow Objectivist.)

[cropperb]

Thanks, I'll try to remember that. People tell me that all the time... Of course, it is said that Issac Newton laughed in public on only one ocassion: a gentleman asked him what good was the study of Euclid's "Elements of Geometry" upon which occasion Mr. Newton was very merry.

[reneekatz]

No, - Work ALL THE TIME at a menial job and DIE AT 30. An American factory worker doesn't have it nearly as bad as the poor people back then by any stretch of the imagination. Blind Marxist idiot.

[RMeirKahane]

I have only seen very few of your videos, but it is already clear to me that unlike 99% of the people who make these videos on youTube, that yours are actually high quality in that they are at once interesting, thought provoking, and informative. I look forward to watching all of them.

[centurion180ad]

22% of the American population that will admit it, are not employed at all right now.

[TookUpTheCause]

the jews have nobody even close to Imhotep, Pasteur, Fleming, Jenner, Leibniz, Newton, Maxwell, Darwin, Hutton, Galileo, Copernicus, Mendel, Faraday, Hawking, Edison, Tesla, Goethe, Shakespeare, Swift, Dickens, Gogol, Twain, Pound, Poe, DaVinci, Michelangelo, VanGogh, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, Brahms, Voltaire, Schopenhauer, Socrates, Aristotle, Plato, Sophocles, Hobbes, Locke, Hume, Kant, Nietzsche, Adam Smith, Paine, Ingersoll, Bertrand Russell, Turing, Crick & Watson, etc

[ChristophDollis]

By the way, I appreciate this review. You're honest where you disagree with Murray while at the same time acknowledging he's quite the brilliant thinker.

I am following your example by pointing out where I disagree with you!

[ChristophDollis]

So you're saying hunters hated hunting, but farmers loved 60-70 hours a week of tilling the Earth?

Seriously?

There were reasons for agriculture, but great joy of farming wasn't the key.

Try -- more consistent food supply and a debatable -- but probably very real -- opioid-like effect of grains on the brain, an effect which persists to this day with all those who couldn't imagine giving up their bagels and bread and pasta.

You're rationalizing. Murray is right here.

[EZBROWN27]

I like your assessment of the free time. The only thing I would say:in regards to, the work analogy mention. Work in the scenario you gave would be close to addiction, and cannot be painted with a broad brush. You certainly have to take other things in to account. Example: what is the reason for this pleasure in work is it to avoid other things in your life, is it rewarding to the ego.People liking for their specific work are for many reasons not necessary good reason. Just sparking up dialogue

[yak6ex]

Are you a socialist?

[courtabeth]

Poor, work hard at a meanial job, die in an earlier grave. Sounds like wage labor and factory worker America to me, let alone the third world countries exploited by contemporary labor.You have your eight comment objectivist following.So what?I'd like to see you strapped to the machine I used to work at in a factory sixty hours a week and see your troglodyde face.How can one person have so many bad ideas. It's mystifying.

[tyrbolo]

It's interesting to see this but there were a number

of enormously flawed things presented. You'd get more

out of HG Wells non-scholar type outline of history.