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Book Preview: Thumos by Canny and Quach
[1] Capability; that means, potential ability. Object permanence is not an inborn capability during the first few months of a human baby but it is the firsthand knowledge, acquired through experience around the second year, of knowing the existence of a hidden object, thanks to its mental representation in the baby’s mind. Such capability is found in a certain type of monkey at a much earlier age. Since the monkey is never considered as intelligent as the human, it is safe to conclude that having an additional capability earlier in life does not make you more intelligent. Because capibility is only a potential power to act, having more capabilities does not make you more intelligent either.
[2] Intelligence; that means, maximal options. Intelligence is a process causing gradual, physical changes through a series of states leading to maximal options in the future. To use your intelligence, you must therefore physically act and discharge your capabilities. Your intelligence is successfully expressed after the number of options in the future is greatly increased. Because repetition of the same act cannot normally generate a further increase in future options, intelligence reuse is an impossibility for the same actor. Doing the same thing the second time is not intelligent because it normally incurs an opportunity cost without increasing future options. To measure intelligence, you need to count the number of options in the future. This calls for cogency.
[3] Cogency; that means, logically convincing. The expression of your intelligence is indisputable when others are convinced that it logically is the cause for an increase of future options. Therefore, the use of intelligence requires a proof of intelligence. Both demands cogency in writing. It takes a long time to learn how to write. It takes even longer to learn how to do it cogently. When it’s showtime, thumos is what makes it possible.
[4] Thumos; that means, the power within. Found within the bounds of a mortal’s lifespan, it is a psychological faculty that can be activated and discharged to turn passion into action, according to The Book of Thumos, written by Canny and Quach.
© Copyright 2017 Canny and Quach. All rights reserved.
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