Social Intelligence

1. FADE IN.

3. Act 1

5. INT. STUDY - DAY

7. PETER checks phone notifications.

9. PETER (V.O.): Why do some Americans think that CONVID-19 is just a hoax?

11. Pausing.

13. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): As a reasonable person, I can't understand how the brains of those Americans function.

15. Peter surfs the web.

17. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I've mined something interesting. US' average IQ was 98, (the mean being 100) and ranked 24 out of 108 countries/territories. US isn't that great after all.

19. Reading.

21. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): OMG! Hong Kong ranked no.1! The systematic review wasn't done for Hong Kong though.

23. Peter smiles.

25. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): That helps explain the American phenomenon.

27. Act 2

29. INT. STUDY - CONTINUOUS

31. Reading.

33. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Naturally, there's the concern that the supporting data of the findings might have considered only specific population groups or a small sample size per country/territory.

35. Reading.

37. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But the outcome of the studies and the evidence synthesis command a higher level of confidence than any bare assertions.

39. Reading.

41. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It is also thought that environmental factors such as access to proper nutrition, incidence of infectious diseases and education may play a bigger part in explaining the IQ variance from country to country.

43. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): That explains why many African countries didn't fare well.

45. Pausing.

47. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Although IQ isn't the only way to measure intelligence, it does give insight.

49. Nodding

51. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Yes, the broader measure of intellect should extend beyond IQ to include curiosity, social intelligence and creativity.

53. Reading.

55. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Curiosity is a fundamental human trait. Anything that disrupt people's coherent experience should trigger their curiosity. But the object and degree of curiosity depend on the person or situation.

57. Reflecting.

59. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): As to creativity, ie the ability to be original, to capture and deliver value is a rare trait. How about social intelligence?

61. Reading.

63. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Social intelligence is the capacity to know oneself and to know others. Social intelligence develops from experience with people and learning from societal successes and setbacks. It's just common sense.

65. Reflecting.

67. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When we just focus on ourselves, our world contracts and our problems loom large. This is the natural first stage of people's lives.

69. Reflecting.

71. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In the next stage of our lives, we would commit to others. When we care about others, our world expands. Our personal problems become small. More importantly, our lives become meaningful.

73. Reading.

75. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Incidentally, politics are no more than social games. People doing well in politics apply their social intelligence to their advantage to rule over or master others.

77. An ANCHOR (40s) is interviewing a MAN (50s) on TV.

79. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): There're few statesmen who can set aside their own egoism. Russia's spokesperson on air is talking about Putin as one of them in pandemic times.

81. Nodding.

83. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): How many of those in authority can reach such a stage of statesmanship?

85. Reflecting.

87. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): As to common folks, they might just want to have a low-level soft existence - leaping for their blind faith and staying true to their selfish selves.

89. Reflecting.

91. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And their biological bias of meanness remains and won't commit or care about the social environment.

93. Pausing.

95. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd):The American phenomenon in pandemic times is one example.

97. Pausing.

99. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But human's mental power of reasonableness is one great fortune in life.

101. Act 3

103. INT. STUDY - CONTINUOUS

105. PETER (V.O.): While humans can be selfish and mean, can they be kind, compassionate. cooperative and lovely?

107. Thinking.

109. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): Our emotion must be the result of our brain activity in the context.

111. Thinking.

113. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Are those Americans who think CONVID-19 is a hoax suffering from social anxiety disorder and so they react in ways that might enable them to withdraw from the situation?

115. Thinking.

117. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): Our temperament can be easy, difficult, or slow to warm up. Are those Americans difficult, or slow to warm up, to accept the pandemic situation?

119. Pausing.

121. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): The word "hoax" is probably a convenient word for them to represent their emotional state.

123. Reflecting.

125. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): In attempting to answer the question, I've learned deeply too, discovering more my true self in the final stage of my life.

127. Peter types on his phone.

129. FADE OUT.

131. THE END