The Off Topic Topic

[Sheilbh]

I'm willing to bet our royals are both uneducated and not very bright

I thought Prince Charles was bright, or at least a big nerd?  Hence why it might not have worked out when he married a cheerleader type.

I don't know about either of those - he's the first royal to go to university (Cambridge) with two A-levels which, needless to say is not their normal admission criteria. He got a 2:2 and there's a story that his bodyguard who attended all the lectures and tutorials also sat the exam and got a first

I don't know that he's particularly smart or nerdy to be honest. What's interesting - and Ben Judah's argued this in a recent piece in the Washington Post - is that Charles has kind of been right in a lot of things. He used to be a joke for his comments on, say, environmentalism, organic farming, inter-faith relations (the defender of faiths etc). Now they're fairly mainstream opinions. He's got a very conservative coherent worldview that the natural world is important and there is a "natural" order, which he will as monarch, be part of.

[Maladict]

I don't know that he's particularly smart or nerdy to be honest. What's interesting - and Ben Judah's argued this in a recent piece in the Washington Post - is that Charles has kind of been right in a lot of things. He used to be a joke for his comments on, say, environmentalism, organic farming, inter-faith relations (the defender of faiths etc). Now they're fairly mainstream opinions. He's got a very conservative coherent worldview that the natural world is important and there is a "natural" order, which he will as monarch, be part of.

He always seemed like a fairly sensible person to me. There are many royals more worthy of ridicule than Charles.

[Richard Hakluyt]

Charles is alright. I would say that he has a reflective mind rather than a particularly clever one; which might explain why he has proven to be correct about so many things. Cummings is the reverse of course, stunned by his own intelligence he manages to fuck things up even when he is right 

[The Brain]

I'm happy that the Swedish king and his kids are not intellectuals. They don't need to be for their role, and it would just mean increased risk of overstepping bounds etc.

[Caliga]

Charles is alright. I would say that he has a reflective mind rather than a particularly clever one; which might explain why he has proven to be correct about so many things. Cummings is the reverse of course, stunned by his own intelligence he manages to fuck things up even when he is right 

He seems to have a lot of intellectual curiosity to me, which you wouldn't expect from him if he was dim.

[Syt]

1957 was wild.

[Threviel]

Does the test measure education or intelligence? Because I believe you can be uneducated yet quite smart.

It tests a few things. When I did it last it had 20p maths, 20p statistics, 20p English, 20p Swedish and 42p word understanding (what does colloquial mean for example).

A few of the best high school students on a typical high school should get 2.0. To be a doctor you need 2.0, to be an engineer you might need 1.2 or so.

[Threviel]

I don't know that he's particularly smart or nerdy to be honest. What's interesting - and Ben Judah's argued this in a recent piece in the Washington Post - is that Charles has kind of been right in a lot of things. He used to be a joke for his comments on, say, environmentalism, organic farming, inter-faith relations (the defender of faiths etc). Now they're fairly mainstream opinions. He's got a very conservative coherent worldview that the natural world is important and there is a "natural" order, which he will as monarch, be part of.

He's also big on alternative medicin, which probably means that one can't be lucky with every thing. He's like the blind hen standing on a small pile of grain, eventually all the easy ones are eaten...

[Valmy]

I think there are two very important qualities for any modern royal:

1. Mediocrity. It is key that the common people identify with the royals, if they have exceptional intellects then that undermines this level of celebrity. Also you generally do not want people with great ability to be in ceremonial offices where they are supposed to not interfere with government. If the Royal is actually more able and intelligent than the politicians well that could create problems. Especially as they could use their unofficial influence and access to actually shape policy.

2. Self-awareness. The Royals need to know that they are mediocre minds and not suffer delusions of genius.

So being a vapid glamorous celebrity is probably perfect. Charles is a mediocre mind but he does mean well and want to do good and has ideas of his own, which is suspect 

[Sheilbh]

He's also big on alternative medicin, which probably means that one can't be lucky with every thing. He's like the blind hen standing on a small pile of grain, eventually all the easy ones are eaten...

Yeah I think that's all part of his very conservative, natural order/natural world worldview. It definitely has massive flaws.

On an unrelated note, I regret to announce that I've joined the alt-right after seeing how Birmingham is naming some new streets:

Can a city die of cringe?

[Valmy]

Diversity Grove?

Just name the streets after trees or something FFS.

[Grey Fox]

What's a Close?

[Sheilbh]

What's a Close?

It's just a type of street. I think it's normally for cul-de-sacs but I could be wrong.

Edit: Although I might think it's for cul-de-sacs because there was a soap I watched as a kid set in a "close" which was one

[Barrister]

Diversity Grove?

Just name the streets after trees or something FFS.

Numbers FTW.

Every street in Edmonton runs north-south, while avenues run east-west.  Downtown starts with 100 Ave and 100 St, and they go up or down the further you get away.  Building numbers also correspond to the nearest intersecting street.  My government office building's address is 10365 97 St, which once you know the system means you know it's just off of 103 Avenue.  So just by being given an address you know immediately which part of the city it is in, and can find it pretty easily even if you've never really been to that part of town.

[Sheilbh]

Numbers FTW.

Every street in Edmonton runs north-south, while avenues run east-west.  Downtown starts with 100 Ave and 100 St, and they go up or down the further you get away.  Building numbers also correspond to the nearest intersecting street.  My government office building's address is 10365 97 St, which once you know the system means you know it's just off of 103 Avenue.  So just by being given an address you know immediately which part of the city it is in, and can find it pretty easily even if you've never really been to that part of town.

No. Addresses aren't to help people find a place - they give character.