The ASVAB & Me: A Kid Story
[I need to get away from the whole CPS abuse and corruption thing for a day or two- it's beginning to take a toll, so I thought I'd do a Kid story... it's been a while]
When you go into the military you have to take an aptitude test to get in... it's called an ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery). To call the one that I took to get in back in the Dark Ages remedial would be the understatement of the year... after all, back then they weren't looking for rocket scientists- they wanted people who they could train and mold into cannon fodder.
Now you have to remember that I was 17 at the time and had never set foot inside a school (except maybe to steal something), so I had no idea what to expect. The only yardstick I had to measure my own wit was my interaction with my peers- with whom I was able to hold my own, although our interactions were seldom what could reasonably be described as intellectual in nature. So here I am in a room with a bunch of guys all set to get out aptitude tested... this was after I had already failed the physical and had to beg to get this far. I'm legally blind in one eye and after telling the doc, you only need one eye to shoot a gun, he let me pass... so I figured I already had one strike against me.
There were a lot of what I figured were regular questions, a little math, a little other stuff... But there was one question that sticks with me to this day. It will give you a sense of the tone of what the military considered "aptitude" at the time. There's a box on the paper subdivided into quarters- in one box is a picture of a hammer, another had a saw, a third a screwdriver and in the final box a pie. The caption read: "Which one does not belong."
Now here's how my mind works... my first reaction is: 'how fucking retarded are these people. If they're this fucking stupid, I should be running the whole show in 6 months.' Then my street experience kicks in and I'm thinking" 'This is a trick question.' The analytical side of my brain fires up... 'Maybe it isn't the pie that doesn't belong- maybe it's the hammer. You can cut a pie with a saw and, albeit clumsily, with a screwdriver... Hmmm.' Well, I wrestled with this problem analyzing it seven ways from Sunday before coming up with... 'Better go with the obvious choice.'
They upgraded the test in 1976 and as it turns out, it's a good thing I enlisted when I did... it looks like I would have flunked more than the eye test. I did some of the math battery yesterday, just for fun. I passed, but just barely (and I have an MA in Economics). In my own defense, let me say that a lot of it's stuff I forgot because I just don't use it- like prime numbers... when's the last time you used them? To me a prime number is one with a dollar sign and lots of zeroes... Now those are prime! Conversely, sub-prime numbers have a red minus sign in front of the dollar sign.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this trip down Memory Lane... I'm @richq11- The Kid That Became A Guy
GIF by @papa-pepper
Blind in one eye shouldn't have even been considered as grounds for dismissal. All you lose is depth perception. But, you usually gain an accuracy of telling where things are. Which is far better when you are trying to shoot said things.
People like police have to have an IQ between a certain range. Not to dumb, but not to smart either. They have to be really good order followers, and not be able to think their way out of situations like, setting up a check point is violating the constitution, maybe we shouldn't do it.
I use prime numbers all the time. Also trigonometry. And fractions.
They come in handy when building and designing things. But, I run into people who build things like me that can't do the numbers, and I wonder how on earth they do it.
My IQ is pretty good... This wasn't an IQ test (I had one of those in college). Funny you mentioned the police. There was a guy in NYC that sued the NYPD because they turned him down because his IQ was too high. Think about it- if your kid got kidnapped, wouldn't you want the smartest guy alive looking for him. I'd rather have him than an order-follower!
It took me months to get through boot camp because as it turned out, I sucked at following orders.
a lot of departments still select against high IQ, but the trend may have been curtailed
nowadays, a lot of PDs are selecting for advanced education (bach's)...however, we all know that edumactaion aint got shiite to do with IQ
PD's want Gestapo mentality assholes... ones they can train to believe that normal people are "the enemy" it's mostly guys that come back from the Middle East not wrapped too tight!
i dont have the empirical evidence, but I bet this is true more in NE area big cites, and in some small rural areas than everywhere
I know a lot of good guys that are cops
I had a guy pull me over here in Ft Smith to tell me my brake light was out... With his gun drawn! I asked a friend who's been on the force 20 years and he said that's how they're training them all over the country.
maybe he was trying to justify his colleagues shitty behavior? I don't look at it as all cops are good any more than I do all cops are bad.
some departments are more corrupt to begin with, and I understand why good cops cover up for bad ones.
The bottom line is if that we want better police behavior across the board, we have to deal with the corruption of government over all
Military makes a man. Upvoted :)
rich your trips down memory lane are trippy man, you have already experienced more than many of us ever will. you take care okay :)
My friend... I pray none of you ever have to experience the things I did!!! Thanks and keep well yourself. By the way- what do you think about Smartcash?
heh...I aced that test.
the guy said
"with these test results you can BE what you want to be"
After basic training was over I was assigned the job of Truck Driver.
the moral is
I CAN be what I want to be.
but
I WILL be what they tell me to be.
I aced it too. I was luckier, I got it in writing- any Class A school I wanted. I wanted to be a frogman and they said: We have just the thing for you- Coronado Island. What a fucking mistake that turned out to be!!! I wound up as a GM 2 on a PBR!
I drove a truck hauling bombs for a year.
then when my tour was over I cross trained ASAP.
into..
Crypto.
Funny you should mention that my friend... I was just about to write a post about that very subject!
go for it.
to be clear...I was crypto MAINT.
I worked on the hardware..the electronics and stuff.
stone age stuff by comparison with today.
I remember when a 2400 baud modem was considered to be BLAZING fast..cost thousands of dollars and was seeeeecret.
I get it DUH!!! Hey, I bought a 2400 bps modem when I was in college (for my Hyundai 286)... Talk about blazing speed, you could watch paint dry while waiting for a connection. When we tried it out, somehow my computer savvy buddy and I wound up in the Supreme Court's database... we were shitting!
My big crypto prediction post is done! Probably look like an idiot- my background is econ. not crypto!
My back ground is heavy haul truckin and drinkin beer.
GO for it.!
ROFL
I remember a quote from The Caine Mutiny (a great book, btw)
You were in the MC you know what I'm talking about. I figure the Navy is a system designed by geniuses to be run by morons... That's why the smart guys at the bottom of the heap wind up getting killed because of shitheels from Annapolis!
Songbird McCain, perhaps? oh, I think you got the quote righter than me ;>
It's so cool when folks share a personal story like yours I appreciate it that's how you get to know steamians thanks for going down memory lane
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"Hello! I'm @shadow3scalpel and with the help of my protege, @chairborne, we are actively assisting veterans, retirees and active servicemen and women here on Steemit. We feel it is our 'duty' to support each other. Any questions or comments you may have, simply respond to this comment, thank you!"
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Comment by @killerwhale. This is a opt-in bot.
Great post man very interesting...
up voted & resteemed done my friend
What a style